“We cannot fight for victory”

Ashley Davis2 days ago

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Article by Cosmin Nistor – Published Saturday, June 13, 2026 9:17 p.m. / Updated Saturday, June 13, 2026 9:17 p.m.

Lando Norris (McLaren) has drawn conclusions after qualifying for the Spanish Grand Prix and is not at all optimistic ahead of Sunday's race. The world champion will only start from fourth on the grid and believes that the gap to Mercedes is too big to hope for victory.

George Russell took pole position in Barcelona with a time of 1:14.679, while Norris finished 0.322 seconds behind the Mercedes Briton.

His teammate, Oscar Piastri, did not have a successful qualifying session either. The Australian, last year's race winner on 'Catalunya', will only start from seventh place, 0.411 seconds behind Russell.

Lando Norris: “We can't fight for the win”

After qualifying, the McLaren driver admitted that his team had taken a step forward since the disaster in Monaco, but believes that the gap to the rivals is still too big.

“I'm back to where I was before Monaco. I think everyone was pretty desperate after Monaco because it was such a shocking weekend. I simply returned to the form I had in Montreal, where I left third. I think we have taken a step forward.

We have a few minor things that seem to help us a little, and right now every millisecond makes a difference. So I think we're happy with that step forward. We're glad to be back on track, but it's not like the car was pretty out there.

It's good to bounce back from a disappointing weekend, but we were 3.5 tenths off pole position, which is a big gap. So I'm satisfied, but not enough.

No, we cannot fight for victory. A gap of 3.5 tenths on this track? It needs more grip, a good back, and those are things we don't have today. So it's unlikely”Norris said, according to formula1.com.

Russell and Hamilton will start from the front row

The Spanish Grand Prix will feature a front row of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton.

The Briton from Mercedes took his third pole position of the season, while Hamilton produced the surprise of qualifying and pipped Ferrari to second place.

Kimi Antonelli and Lando Norris will start from the second row, while Max Verstappen will start from the fifth position.