Lando Norris’ ‘body language’ proved his true feelings on Oscar Piastri scoring Spanish Grand Prix pole

Oscar Piastri scored pole position for the 2025 F1 Spanish Grand Prix with the biggest margin over second place so far this season to beat McLaren teammate Lando Norris.

Norris had initially set the pace in Q3 at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya this Saturday. Yet Piastri hit back at the end of the session to earn the 24-year-old’s fourth pole of not only the 2025 F1 season but his career. The Australian has converted two of his poles into wins so far.

Piastri also set the pace during Q1 and Q2 for the Spanish GP, as the McLaren star continued his momentum from practice having led in FP2 and FP3. The Melbourne native will now look to replicate his results in China and Bahrain by claiming the victory in Montmelo this Sunday.

McLaren have not won the Spanish GP since Kimi Raikkonen was victorious with the Woking crew in 2005. But Piastri and Norris have now earned the papaya team’s first front-row lock-out at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya since Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard in 1998.

Lando Norris’ body language proved he was annoyed with Oscar Piastri scoring pole for the Spanish GP

A margin of 0.209 seconds separated Piastri and Norris in their fight for pole for the Spanish GP. It eclipses the 0.168s margin that the Australian held when he edged Mercedes’ George Russell for pole for the Bahrain Grand Prix and the average of 0.085s for the season thus far.

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Saturday was not as successful for Red Bull as while Max Verstappen sealed P3 on the grid, Yuki Tsunoda qualified 20th and last for the Spanish GP. And while Norris claimed after Q3 that he was happy with P2, Olli Caldwell does not believe the Briton shared his true feelings.

“The fight for pole certainly went down to the wire,” Caldwell told BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra 2 after qualifying in Spain. “Lando Norris, I think, certainly wanted that pole position.

“He said he’s happy with that, but his body language and smile tell me otherwise. The way he walked off from those pictures with Oscar Piastri. But the McLarens [are] looking strong.”

What did McLaren’s Lando Norris say after qualifying P2 for the Spanish GP in Barcelona?

Norris had the momentum ahead of the Spanish GP after the 25-year-old slashed his deficit to Piastri in the F1 drivers’ championship down to just three points by winning the Monaco Grand Prix from pole. They were the Briton’s first pole and win since round one in Australia.

What the Bristol-born racer showed in the Principality also tempted Nico Rosberg to suggest that Norris’ pole in Monaco could be ‘super powerful’ for the title fight. Yet he now needs to react in the Spanish GP to avoid Piastri instantly stretching his championship lead back out.

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Norris also admitted that it was his fault the McLaren driver failed to secure his 12th career pole position at this weekend’s Spanish GP. The six-time Grand Prix winner made too many mistakes on his last flying lap at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya to threaten Piastri’s run.

“Oscar drove very well,” Norris claimed in his post-qualifying interview in Spain. “I think the pace is definitely there, just a couple of little mistakes. Like I said, Oscar was driving very well all weekend. A good result for the team and an interesting start for tomorrow.

“Hopefully, it’s an easy race for me. It’s a long [595 metres] run down into Turn 1, which is normally interesting. We’ve got a lot of quick guys behind us, we won’t count them out. It’s a good result for today. I’m happy.”