Spain – Qualifications: Bottas on Cloud Nine, Ferrari Six Feet Under

The fifth qualifying session of the season marked the return to Europe, with a trend since the beginning of the weekend: Mercedes well above a Ferrari team struggling with the exploitation of Pirelli tires.

The battle for the clock in Catalonia took place on a dry track under a blue sky, dotted with clouds. Compared to FP3 this morning, the temperature had naturally warmed up, to the great benefit of the Italian tires.

Q1: Renault on the brink, Ferrari already falling behind

As often, it was a Williams that opened the track with Robert Kubica followed by the Racing Point of Lance Stroll, who crashed in FP2.

From his first lap, Nico Hülkenberg missed the apex at turn 4 and ended up in the gravel trap! The driver of Renault #27 slightly hit the tire barrier but tore off his front wing. The German returned to the pits at low speed, leaving pieces of carbon on the track.

Following the yellow flag, Max Verstappen’s Red Bull took the lead with a provisional best time of 1:17.244 on red tires. But Valtteri Bottas quickly thwarted the Dutchman by reclaiming the provisional leadership with a time of 1:17.175.

Returning to the pits to repair his Renault, Nico Hülkenberg was released by his mechanics in the final moments to attempt to reach Q2. Unfortunately, the final struggle proved fatal for him, as the former Sauber driver was pushed into the red zone by Räikkönen’s Alfa Romeo. In 16th place, Hülkenberg watched Daniel Ricciardo barely make it into Q2!

At the end of Q1, the Williams cars logically occupied the lower end of the table, with Robert Kubica even trailing by one second and two tenths behind his teammate, George Russell, who will start behind him tomorrow on the grid, due to a three-place penalty for a gearbox change following his crash in FP3. *Drivers eliminated in Q1: Kubica, Russell, Giovinazzi, Stroll, Hülkenberg*

Q1 CLASSIFICATION: Nice work, Lando 👏#SpanishGP 🇪🇸 #F1 pic.twitter.com/xrmjrjNlfd

— Formula 1 (@F1) 11 mai 2019

Q2: Ricciardo passes, Mercedes on a cloud

The sun had taken its place over the Spanish track for the start of Q2. Still on soft tires, Charles Leclerc hit the track in the wake of Lewis Hamilton.

From their first lap, the Mercedes set the pace, with Lewis Hamilton claiming the lap record at 1:16.038! A performance to be applauded from a first attempt in Q2.

Far from the German benchmark, the two Ferrari drivers were relegated to more than 6 tenths for Vettel and 1.5 seconds for Leclerc! For his part, Max Verstappen slotted into provisional 4th position, 1 tenth behind Vettel. With five minutes remaining in the session, Charles Leclerc was forced to return to the track to improve his time after a messy first lap.

In danger of elimination, the two Toro Rosso drivers, Daniil Kvyat and Alexander Albon, were making their effort at this stage just like Norris, Räikkönen, and Perez. Ricciardo closed the list of provisional qualifiers in Q3.

During the last attempt, Bottas confirmed his form by setting a new circuit record at 1:15.924! A bit further back, Daniel Ricciardo secured his spot in Q3, three-tenths ahead of Lando Norris, the first to be eliminated. At the buzzer, Pierre Gasly was just two-tenths behind Max Verstappen, in fifth position. Charles Leclerc slightly reassured himself by finishing 4th, one-tenth behind his teammate.

Drivers eliminated in Q2: Perez, Räikkönen, Sainz, Albon, Norris

Q2 CLASSIFICATION: Danny Ric squeezes into the top 10 shootout 💪#SpanishGP 🇪🇸 #F1 pic.twitter.com/ivEj09UNHq

— Formula 1 (@F1) 11 mai 2019

Q3: Bottas stratospheric

No more bluffing this time! If there was any doubt about the balance of power between Mercedes and Ferrari, it was definitively confirmed on the first lap of Q3. Valtteri Bottas achieved the absolute best time, with a staggering time of 1:15.4. The provisional tally was steep, even for Lewis Hamilton, who was six-tenths behind the Finn. The Briton was certainly stung, just ahead of Vettel’s Ferrari.

On this first attempt, only Charles Leclerc hadn’t left the garage. The Monegasque was betting everything on a single run, four minutes before the end of the session.

The humiliation continued: Leclerc couldn’t even get ahead of Verstappen: fifth, one second and two tenths from pole position!

The final lap confirmed Bottas’s domination: no improvement but the pole, the 9th of his career, but above all the third consecutive in 2019! Hamilton remained 2nd, ahead of Vettel; Verstappen held on to his 4th place, ahead of Leclerc, and Gasly, in the same tenth as the Ferrari numbered 19.

After the hope of FP3, Romain Grosjean confirmed and secured the seventh-fastest time, ahead of the other Haas, driven by Kevin Magnussen. Two seconds behind, Daniil Kvyat’s Toro Rosso (9th) and Daniel Ricciardo’s Renault (10th) closed out this top 10. The Australian will still drop three positions on the grid due to his collision with the Russian at the last Grand Prix in Azerbaijan.

Here is the final ranking of these qualifications in Spain:

Looks like @ValtteriBottas had his porridge this morning 💪#SpanishGP 🇪🇸 #F1 pic.twitter.com/baEEJ28mjc

— Formula 1 (@F1) 11 mai 2019