Max qualifies third for Spanish Grand Prix: 'Very good result'
Published on 12 September 2026 by Stefan Meens
Max Verstappen will start Sunday’s Spanish Grand Prix from third on the grid. At the new Madring, only pole sitter Lando Norris (McLaren) and championship leader Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) were quicker than the Oracle Red Bull Racing Driver. Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton will line up alongside Max in P4.
“It was a good qualifying session for us”, said Max. “Third place is a great result. The car felt good and I was able to attack the corners the way I want to. It’s good result.” Max adds: “If we really want to compete at the front, everything has to be in tip-top shape. At the moment, we’re still falling a little short every now and then.”
At the start of qualifying, several drivers opt to run the medium Pirelli tyre to preserve enough fresh soft tyres for the business end of the session. Among those to do so are the two Red Bulls and Ferraris. Both teams comfortably progress to Q2, as do the other frontrunning teams, McLaren and Mercedes.
Local heroes Carlos Sainz (Williams) and Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) join the Cadillacs of Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas, Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) and Oliver Bearman (Haas) in the sextet that strand in Q1.
In the second part of qualifying, the remaining sixteen drivers all opt for the soft Pirellis. Max is the pace setter throughout the session, being quickest after both his first and second timed lap. Further back, Nico Hülkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi), Esteban Ocon (Haas), Pierry Gasly (Alpine), Yuki Tsunoda (Racing Bulls) and Alex Albon (Williams) miss out on progressing to the top ten shootout.
In the final part of qualifying, Lewis Hamilton sets the pace after the first flurry of flying laps. The British driver is followed by the Mercedes of Antonelli and Russell, Leclerc and Max in fifth. However, it is McLaren that, somewhat surprisingly, clinch pole. A scintillating lap by Lando Norris, is marginally enough to beat Antonelli. The difference between the top two is a mere 0.011s with Max having to settle for P3, trailing Norris by 0.140s.
| pos | driver | team | q1 | q2 | q3 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lando Norris | NOR | McLaren | 1:33.469 | 1:32.873 | 1:31.824 |
| 2 | Kimi Antonelli | ANT | Mercedes | 1:33.267 | 1:32.591 | 1:31.835 |
| 3 | Max Verstappen | VER | Red Bull Racing | 1:33.381 | 1:32.431 | 1:31.964 |
| 4 | Lewis Hamilton | HAM | Ferrari | 1:33.531 | 1:32.710 | 1:32.013 |
| 5 | Charles Leclerc | LEC | Ferrari | 1:33.532 | 1:32.755 | 1:32.019 |
| 6 | George Russell | RUS | Mercedes | 1:33.211 | 1:32.850 | 1:32.149 |
| 7 | Oscar Piastri | PIA | McLaren | 1:33.829 | 1:33.204 | 1:32.294 |
| 8 | Liam Lawson | LAW | Red Bull Racing | 1:33.310 | 1:32.780 | 1:32.316 |
| 9 | Franco Colapinto | COL | Alpine | 1:33.963 | 1:33.038 | 1:32.903 |
| 10 | Arvid Lindblad | LIN | Racing Bulls | 1:34.340 | 1:33.204 | 1:33.041 |
| 11 | Nico Hulkenberg | HUL | Audi | 1:34.417 | 1:33.223 | |
| 12 | Gabriel Bortoleto | BOR | Audi | 1:33.986 | 1:33.388 | |
| 13 | Esteban Ocon | OCO | Haas F1 Team | 1:34.667 | 1:33.667 | |
| 14 | Pierre Gasly | GAS | Alpine | 1:34.246 | 1:33.753 | |
| 15 | Yuki Tsunoda | TSU | Racing Bulls | 1:34.311 | 1:34.084 | |
| 16 | Alexander Albon | ALB | Williams | 1:35.307 | 1:35.532 | |
| 17 | Carlos Sainz | SAI | Williams | 1:35.312 | ||
| 18 | Fernando Alonso | ALO | Aston Martin | 1:35.388 | ||
| 19 | Sergio Perez | PER | Cadillac | 1:35.913 | ||
| 20 | Valtteri Bottas | BOT | Cadillac | 1:38.011 |
