Mercedes thought it had pole position until Lando Norris came along

Kimi Antonelli was beaten by Norris on the line, by the slightest of margins, for Madring pole

Mercedes Formula 1 team principal Toto Wolff briefly believed Kimi Antonelli had taken pole position for the Spanish Grand Prix – until Lando Norris snatched it away.

Antonelli markedly improved on his initial 1m32.140s on his second Q3 run at the new Madring track, setting a 1m31.835s and outpacing all his rivals by at least 0.178s.

All, but one. Norris, whose first effort was a 1m32.525s, vaulted himself to pole position with a 1m31.824s, despite what was described by McLaren team principal Andrea Stella as a three-tenth loss in the final corner.

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Wolff definitely didn’t see it coming – but preferred to see the glass half full, when asked if this was a lost pole position or a gained second place.

“It’s gained, looking at it that way,” Wolff told Austrian broadcaster ORF. “Before the weekend, I never believed we’d be at the front on this track layout.

“When Lewis crossed the line, it seemed clear we were winning this. And then Lando puts in a lap like that under conditions that suddenly got so hot, where he is so good at managing rear overheating. It's flawless.”

Lando Norris, McLaren

Photo by: Simon Galloway / LAT Images via Getty Images

McLaren had been slower than Mercedes in all practice sessions and qualifying segments prior to Q3, so Wolff didn’t expect this shift in performance.

“That surprised us, too,” he said. “But Lando has shown in the past that he can occasionally pull out a lap like that. Especially when it comes to getting a handle on rear axle overheating as best as possible. And in that regard, I think he's in a league of his own.”

Asked how he expected the race to unfold, Wolff notably pointed to the title battle. Lewis Hamilton, who is Mercedes’ main challenger for the drivers’ title, currently has a 76-point deficit to Antonelli, while George Russell is just 10 points ahead of his former team-mate.

“The most important thing is that we don't crash into anything; that wouldn't be good for the cost cap,” he pointed out. “And not losing points to Lewis and Ferrari. I think here you have to score, drive home, hopefully end up on the podium, hopefully ahead of Lewis. Then we’ve reached our goals.”