Mercedes believed it had secured pole position until Lando Norris entered the picture.

Mercedes Formula 1 team boss Toto Wolff briefly thought Kimi Antonelli had secured pole position for the Spanish Grand Prix – until Lando Norris seized it from him.

Antonelli significantly improved on his initial 1m32.140s during his second Q3 attempt at the new Madring circuit, recording a 1m31.835s and surpassing all his competitors by a minimum of 0.178s.

All, except for one. Norris, whose first attempt yielded a 1m32.525s, propelled himself to pole position with a 1m31.824s, despite what McLaren team principal Andrea Stella described as a three-tenths loss in the last corner.

Wolff certainly didn’t foresee this outcome – but chose to remain optimistic when asked if this represented a missed opportunity for pole or a fortunate second place.

“It’s a gain, looking at it from that perspective,” Wolff told Austrian broadcaster ORF. “Before the weekend, I never thought we’d be at the front on this track layout.”

“When Lewis crossed the finish line, it looked like we were winning this. And then Lando delivers a lap like that under conditions that suddenly became very hot, where he excels at managing rear overheating. It’s impeccable.”

Lando Norris, McLaren

McLaren had been slower than Mercedes in every practice session and qualifying segment leading up to Q3, so Wolff was caught off guard by this change in pace.

“That surprised us, too,” he remarked. “But Lando has demonstrated before that he can occasionally deliver a lap like that. Particularly when it comes to managing rear axle overheating effectively. In that respect, I believe he's in a class of his own.”

When asked about his expectations for the race, Wolff notably referenced the championship contest. Lewis Hamilton, who is Mercedes’ primary contender for the drivers’ title, currently trails Antonelli by 76 points, while George Russell sits just 10 points ahead of his former teammate.

“The most crucial thing is that we don’t get involved in any collisions; that wouldn't be beneficial for the budget cap,” he emphasized. “And we need to avoid losing points to Lewis and Ferrari. I think here we have to score, finish strong, and hopefully end up on the podium, ideally ahead of Lewis. Then we will have achieved our objectives.”

Photos from F1 Spanish GP - Sunday

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