BARCELONA: Lando Norris brushed aside the drama of his McLaren team’s hospitality unit catching fire to produce “the best lap of my life” and deprive Max Verstappen of pole for the Spanish Grand Prix in qualifying on Saturday.
Lewis Hamilton will start on the second row alongside his Mercedes teammate George Russell.
Verstappen looked sure to set off for Sunday’s 10th round of the season from the front of the grid.
But in the last throw of the top-10 shoot-out Norris denied the Red Bull ace by a mere two hundredths of a second.
“Today was the perfect lap,” said Norris after only his second career pole.
“My best lap by a long way, I knew I had to do something perfect, it was probably my best lap ever.”
Norris produced his one minute 11.383 seconds of magic after a “stressful” day when the McLaren hospitality unit caught fire before third practice.
McLaren team boss Zak Brown told Sky Sports one staff member had to go to hospital but had been discharged, adding: “Happy to report everyone is fine.”
“I lost my shoes. It’s all been a bit messy,” said Norris.
“I like to listen to my music loud beforehand, but didn’t have that this time. But it’s not the end of the world. I’m not going to complain about it.”
Turning back to a vintage qualifying session, Norris, whose only other pole came in Russia in 2021, reflected: “It’s been a while since Sochi!
“Max seemed a bit stronger today, but we made some changes,” added the Briton who won his maiden Grand Prix in May in Miami.
“I’m super happy to be on pole, it’s going to be tough but we’re here to win!“
Verstappen, targeting a fourth straight world title, leads the championship by 56 points from Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who starts Sunday’s race in fifth, with Norris seven points back in third.
“I think the whole of qualifying was better than practice for me,” said Verstappen, who won his maiden Grand Prix in Barcelona in 2016 and is on a hat-trick after wins in Catalonia in 2022 and 2023.
“It all clicked much better. The other teams are catching up, we need to bring more performance to the car.”
Ferrari-bound Hamilton was happy to be toward the front of the grid as he out-qualified his teammate Russell for only the second time this year.
“It’s good to be back up here, great to see we are progressing,” he said.
“We are slowly climbing closer to the guys in front, it’s really on a knife edge.
“I’m really happy to be in P3 with that long straight to turn one.”
Joining Leclerc on the third row will be his Ferrari teammate and home favorite Carlos Sainz.
Next came the Alpine of Pierre Gasly, the second Red Bull of Sergio Perez, who has a three-place grid penalty from Canada, Esteban Ocon in the other Alpine and Oscar Piastri in the second McLaren.
After only a tenth of a second had covered the top four in final practice earlier the stage was set for an intriguing pole battle.
Complicating matters was a sizeable drop in temperature, with morning sunshine giving way to heavy cloud cover with the wind picking up.
The action on track though was anything but cool, as drivers scrambled to eke out every last ounce of performance for a Grand Prix won from pole in 24 of 33 races run at the circuit.
After clipping the McLaren of Norris at the end of final practice Leclerc tuned up for qualifying with a trip to the FIA’s headmaster’s study as the race stewards investigated the incident.
Leclerc was arguably fortunate to escape with only a reprimand rather than a grid penalty, announced just before qualifying got under way.
Hamilton grabbed the honors in the first qualifying run, jumping from 14th to first, with Verstappen leading the Mercedes duo after the second session.
Verstappen came alive when it counted most — after a quietish time in the three practice sessions he led Q3 after the first flurry of laps.
All the drivers pitted to prepare for one last attempt at depriving the Red Bull ace from Sunday’s pole, with Norris nailing it to end a trying day on a high.
This is the 10th round of the 24-race season and the first of a triple header with Austria and Silverstone coming up over the next two weekends.
Norris shrugs off McLaren fire to nab Spanish pole after ‘best ever lap’
https://arab.news/rkfd3
Norris shrugs off McLaren fire to nab Spanish pole after ‘best ever lap’
- Lewis Hamilton will start on the second row alongside his Mercedes teammate George Russell
- Norris produced his one minute 11.383 seconds of magic after a “stressful” day when the McLaren hospitality unit caught fire before third practice
FIA, Formula 1 and all 11 race teams sign 9th Concorde Agreement
- FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem says new contract secures the FIA Formula One World Championship’s long-term future
DUBAI: The Federation Internationale de l’Automobile, the global governing body for motorsport and the federation for mobility organisations worldwide, and Formula One Group, the commercial rights holder, have announced the signing of the Concorde Governance Agreement, a contract defining the regulatory framework and governance terms of the FIA Formula One World Championship until 2030.
This follows the announcement in March that the 2026 Commercial Concorde Agreement had been signed by all the teams and Formula One Group.
Together, these agreements constitute the ninth Concorde Agreement, a major step forward in the professionalisation and global development of the sport.
First introduced in 1981, the Concorde Agreements are designed to promote sporting fairness, technological innovation and operational excellence, and align all key stakeholders around a shared vision for structured governance and continued growth of the sport.
Each iteration of the Concorde Agreements has shaped the FIA Formula One World Championship into the global spectacle it is today.
The ninth Concorde Agreement announced today marks the beginning of a new era of collaboration between the FIA and Formula One Group, who have worked together to write the next chapter in Formula One history, demonstrating mutual respect, transparency and shared purpose between the two organisations.
It confirms the participation of all FIA Formula One World Championship teams, including the incoming Cadillac Formula One team, through the end of the decade, and provides a stable foundation for the sporting and technical evolution of the sport.
The Concorde Agreement underscores the commitment of the FIA, Formula One Group and all teams to continue growing and developing the sport, and to keep driving the momentous expansion it has enjoyed in recent years.
The new contract enables the FIA to invest further in improved race regulation, race direction, stewarding and technical expertise for the benefit of the championship, and means the sport can continue to evolve, providing exciting technological innovation and sporting action for fans, broadcasters and partners, all within a stable and structured regulatory framework.
Combined with record viewership growth, a dynamic race calendar, and increasing engagement from younger audiences, the FIA Formula One World Championship enters this next chapter with unprecedented momentum.
Mohammed Ben Sulayem, president of the FIA, said: “The ninth Concorde Agreement secures the FIA Formula One World Championship’s long-term future and I am proud of the dedication that has been invested in this process.
“I would like to thank Stefano Domenicali and his team in what has been a strong collaboration, building a framework grounded in fairness, stability, and shared ambition. This agreement allows us to continue modernising our regulatory, technological, and operational capabilities, including supporting our race directors, officials, and the thousands of volunteers whose expertise underpin every race.
“We are ensuring that Formula One remains at the forefront of technological innovation, setting new standards in global sport.”
Domenicali, president and CEO of Formula One Group, said: “Today is an important day for Formula One. As we celebrate 75 years of this incredible sport, we are proud to write the next chapter in our long and amazing history.
“This agreement ensures that Formula One is in the best possible position to continue to grow around the world. I want to thank the president of the FIA, Mohammed Ben Sulayem and all the teams for the collaboration and determination to achieve the best results for the entire sport in our discussions.
“We have a huge amount to be proud of, but we also are focused on the opportunities and exciting potential for Formula One in the years ahead.”
