Zak Brown stopped for a chat with Sky Sports' Martin Brundle on his grid walk. The McLaren boss said pole position hasn't exactly been the lucky starting spot for the feature races that have taken place this weekend, with most of them being won from second or third on the grid.

George Russell said tyre degradation is the big talking point in the paddock, while Oliver Bearman added he's feeling OK after his heavy hit during practice yesterday.

National anthem complete - great rendition. Carlos Sainz and fellow Spaniard Fernando Alonso can be happy with that.

Andrew Benson
BBC F1 correspondent in Madrid

Image source, Getty Images

Hopes are not high for an exciting race at the Spanish Grand Prix.

There is potential for a dramatic one, with crashes and safety cars and red flags, yes, but in terms of racing, not so much.

All the drivers have been talking about how difficult overtaking is. Max Verstappen said: "Even, let’s say, best-case scenario, you are faster, you can’t pass. There are no corners where you can pass. So, you need to rely on people deg-ing very aggressively, you know.

"The long runs were very tough, a lot of deg for everyone, so that will be probably the key point. But even with that, I need to still figure out a corner where to pass."

"Deg" - tyre degradation - will be key. Graining - where the surface tears and grip reduces - was so bad in first practice that George Russell only part-jokingly talked about a six-stop race. Of course, that won’t happen. But graining, as McLaren team boss Andrea Stella put it, "seems to be quite inevitable for all competitors".

For this reason, tyre management - or "grandmother driving," as Kimi Antonelli put it - will be a strong feature. The long pit lane - the longest on the calendar - means everyone will want to one-stop if possible, either on a soft-hard, or soft-medium strategy.

A stop costs about 24 seconds under green-flag conditions, or about 13 under safety car. So without incidents, the race could be quite processional.

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The dust has settled on last week's first-lap battle between Ferrari team-mates Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, with seven-time world champion Hamilton saying any controversy had been well and truly "squashed".

Hamilton recovered from his practice crash to look competitive in Q3, however, he was soon beaten by Kimi Antonelli, Max Verstappen and Lando Norris and will start fourth on today's grid. He did edge Leclerc, who starts fifth, by just 0.006 seconds, but he felt the Italian team's performance slipped away.

Hamilton said: "I felt pretty awesome in Q3 run one, and then just didn't have any more grip or power in the last one."

Leclerc desperately needs a drama-free weekend after his high-speed crash at Ferrari's home track of Monza last Sunday. He called his qualifying lap "quite good", but with overtaking difficult here, he said: "We will see how the race unfolds and try to take any opportunity we have to get ahead."

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It was a surprise to see qualifying incident-free on Saturday, especially after the two crashes and a lengthy delay in third practice a few hours earlier. Will the 57 laps of the Madring be as clean as quali? The threat of a safety car or red flag is in the air.

Following Arvid Lindblad's shunt in the Racing Bulls in Friday's second session, Lewis Hamilton brought the clock to a stop in the final hour when he crashed into the barriers at the final corner.

Image source, EPA

It wasn't a high-speed hit, and the seven-time world champion tried to make it back to the pits with front wing damage. After a 45-minute delay to the repair the barriers, the session finally resumed.

In the closing stages of FP3, Oliver Bearman lost control of the rear of his Haas and crashed heavily at Turn 10, with the damage keeping him out of qualifying altogether.

Image source, PA Media

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If you're someone who likes an F1 corner to have a name and a meaning, then the Madring has a good selection for you.

• Hortaleza (Turn Three)- a fast right-hander named after the nearby Madrid neighbourhood
• Subida de las Carcavas (Turns Six and Seven) - uphill section meaning "The Ravines Climb" or "The Gullies Climb"
• El Bunker (Turn Eight) - named after real Spanish Civil War bunkers from La Mata Espesa that sit next to the track
• La Chicane (Turns 10 and 11) - quick right-left section designed to reduce speed so drivers can take La Monumental flat out
• La Monumental (Turn 12)- inspired by the shape of a bullring and is now the longest corner on the calendar
• Las Enlazadas de Valdebebas (Turns 14-16) - high-speed section of corners which leads into a heavy braking zone at Turn 17
• Norte (Turn 18) - fast left-hander named after the North Convention Centre on-site
• El Parque (Turn 22) - Final corner named after the scenic park: El parque Juan Carlos I

Matt Warwick
BBC Sport

Monumental. The corner everyone in F1 is talking about when discussing this race.

A 26-degree banked challenge, substantially longer than the one at the Dutch Grand Prix's Zandvoort. Monumental scythes through what will feel like a small town come race day.

It comes complete with a VIP viewing area that could house the King of Spain and his family and sits, appropriately, like a castle on top of the hill. The corner itself is a difficult structure to walk up, and in 44C heat, the tarmac is impossible to sit on.

"It's a real experience, not just to be in Madrid but for F1," says Luis Garcia Abad, Madring boss and former manager to Spain's only world champion Fernando Alonso, among other Spanish sports stars.

"Every part of the track has its own personality. Monumental… Turn 12, is huge, amazing.

"We really wanted to have an iconic part of the circuit – more than 30,000 people around one corner."

Read 'It started as a joke, a fantasy' - F1 heads to football-obsessed Madrid here

The Madring has been described as a "crazy circuit", and polesitter Lando Norris advised drivers need certain big body parts to take on the 5.414km Spanish challenge.

The Madring uses a mix of purpose-built track and public roads to create a similar concept to the Miami International Autodrome in Miami. There are 22 corners in total, although there is a 5A and 20A on the track map, with the one to watch being Turn 12, or 'La Monumental'.

The 550 metre-long banked corner offers a couple of different options for a racing line, and if a driver wants to go wheel-to-wheel with a competitor, this is the spot to do it.

There are heavy braking zones around the fast-flowing Madring, and the pit entry is located just before the final corner of El Parque.

There has been many guests spotted at the Madring today. Plenty of them are footballers, past and present, who have put their boots away for the day to watch some racing.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Carlos Sainz has been one proud man showing everyone around the Madring in the build-up to the Spainsh Grand Prix, but sadly for the Madrid-born driver, he's dropping down a few places on his home grid.

Sainz was knocked out in Q1 on Saturday and was due to line up in 17th place. But the Williams driver was found to have impeded Valtteri Bottas' Cadillac in the final moments of the first session at Turn 17, so now he has to shift three places to P20.

During the drivers' parade a few moments ago, Sainz said he's disappointed with his starting position, but he's still going to enjoy the day in front of his adoring fans.

Andrew Benson
BBC F1 correspondent in Madrid

Image source, Getty Images

The session had started with predictions of a crash-fest, after drivers had been warning about the high-risk nature of the new Madring street circuit, with tricky entries to corners and walls coming back at the drivers on the exits.

Two red flags during final practice had led some teams to have private sweepstakes as to how many stoppages there would be in qualifying, but the session ran cleanly, with no incidents.

Pole looked to be a battle between Kimi Antonelli and the Ferraris, with Max Verstappen perhaps in the mix.

In the end, the Ferraris faded, as they so often have this year when it really matters, and Lando Norris rose to the front with a breathtaking performance.

Image source, Getty Images

Lando Norris was in shock at claiming pole position for today's Spanish Grand Prix in Madrid. The world champion was left watching on from the garage in second practice due to a gearbox issue, missing out on valuable track time. Norris said he had to rely on data collected by team-mate Oscar Piastri, following more disruptions in third practice.

Norris took pole position from Kimi Antonelli by just 0.011 seconds, with Max Verstappen making a late charge, but eventually placing his Red Bull third on the grid, 0.140secs off Norris' best time.

"Oh, what a lap, gorgeous," said the McLaren driver. "Oh, that might be my best one."

Norris also secured pole in Hungary before the summer break and Zandvoort after it, winning both races. "I'm shocked. I'm a little bit surprised to be here. It was probably one of the best laps I've done ever in my career," he said.

"One of those laps when everything came together."

Image source, Getty Images

Lando Norris booked himself the best seat in the house at the all-new Madring, but will the world champion be able to keep himself out of danger at "the most risky circuit of the whole calendar", as George Russell described it.

The McLaren driver has youngster Kimi Antonelli alongside him on the front row, with four-time world champion Max Verstappen sharing the second row with fellow multiple title winner Lewis Hamilton.

Norris will be aiming for his third victory of the campaign; Antonelli is looking for his eighth.

Send us your thoughts on who you think will win today's Spanish Grand Prix. and remember you can add a photo to your messages, so if you're following along from the track in Madrid, or somewhere a bit bonkers, get them in to us.

We had some cracking pictures sent in yesterday, with Chris in Japan crowned F1 live page reader of the day. Just click the 'get involved' button on the live page, or vote for you winner above.

Lorraine McKenna
BBC Sport Journalist

Image source, Getty Images

Hello, folks. What will the Madring, the hybrid street circuit which is the new home of the Spanish Grand Prix, offer us in the way of entertainment over 57 laps? It's hard to tell. But what we do know for certain is world champion Lando Norris is the first driver to start on pole position at the 5.414km track.

Norris' lap in yesterday's Q3 shootout was described as a "masterpiece" by McLaren team boss Andrea Stella, and the 26-year-old himself said his time of 1:31.824 was "gorgeous".

Championship leader Kimi Antonelli has to settle for second on the grid alongside Norris on Sunday. But after his heroics in Monza last weekend - he came from the back of the field to win the race - the Italian will be confident of walking away from the Spanish capital with a decent points haul to add to his 66-point advantage at the top of the drivers' championship.

Overtaking opportunities might be hard to come by at the Madring, so the short run down to Turn One could be Antonelli's, or Max Verstappen's, who starts third, best chance to catch Norris early doors.