Lando Norris surprised friend and foe by taking pole position for the Spanish Grand Prix at the Madring. The McLaren driver starts from the first spot on the grid. Next to him is World Championship leader Kimi Antonelli, who again has an excellent starting position to further extend his lead in the championship.
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On the second row are two drivers who do not give each other an inch. Max Verstappen drove to a neat third place and starts directly next to Lewis Hamilton, who recorded the fourth time. The Dutchman and the Ferrari driver are close to each other, promising an interesting battle especially at the start and in the first laps.
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Charles Leclerc starts the race from fifth place, followed by Mercedes driver George Russell in P6. Oscar Piastri has to settle for the seventh starting position. Meanwhile, Liam Lawson remains a substitute for Isack Hadjar at Red Bull and occupies the eighth place on the grid. Franco Colapinto and Arvid Lindblad complete the top ten.
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Spanish showdown on the grid
At the back, attention mainly goes to the two Spanish home drivers. Carlos Sainz starts the first Grand Prix at the Madring from P17, while Fernando Alonso begins his race on home soil from eighteenth place. For both drivers, it will be a difficult task to fight for points in front of their own crowd. However, more is at stake on Sunday: the honor of Spain is also on the line at the Madring.
UPDATE: Sainz has received a three-place grid penalty for holding up Valtteri Bottas during qualifying.
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The Spanish Grand Prix starts on Sunday at 15:00.


Read everything about the Spanish GP here