Spanish Grand Prix – Qualifying: Verstappen imperial and Norris 3rd

Q1:

With the risk of intensifying rain, all drivers were rushing to get out of the pit lane and set a time on the driest possible track.

During his training session, Yuki Tsunoda lost control of his AlphaTauri between turns 11 and 12. Having worn out his tires, the Japanese driver went out for another warm-up lap. He wasn’t the only driver on the grid slipping on the asphalt like soap on a bathroom floor. Fernando Alonso came to greet his fans a bit too closely at the entrance of the final turn and had a harmless excursion into the gravel. Valtteri Bottas, on the other hand, performed a similar pirouette to Tsunoda’s. The Finnish driver’s off-track excursion caused a lot of gravel to be scattered onto the track, prompting the race officials to display a red flag.

Once the track was cleared, the Formula 1 cars were allowed to go back out. Ferrari immediately released its two drivers into the wild. The drivers had to set a time in Q1 to avoid being caught out by the possible arrival of heavier rain. While Carlos Sainz showed a good pace right away, Charles Leclerc was in a much trickier position after his initial attempts. With 7 minutes remaining in the session, the Monegasque driver was dead last while his teammate occupied the 6th position. A full second separated the two Prancing Horses. The catastrophe was confirmed when the checkered flag waved. Charles Leclerc was eliminated in a distant 19th position. Sergio Perez, clocking the 15th fastest time, narrowly escaped the same fate. This is the first time since the 2019 Monaco Grand Prix that the Scuderia’s young prince has been eliminated in Q1.

Despite a good pace during this Q1, Pierre Gasly was going to end this qualifying session with a sword of Damocles hanging over his head. Having consecutively blocked Carlos Sainz and Max Verstappen, the race direction indicated that they would look into it at the end of the session. Gasly could potentially face a 6-place penalty in Sunday’s race.

The eliminated drivers from Q1: Valtteri Bottas (16th), Kevin Magnussen (17th), Alexander Albon (18th), Charles Leclerc (19th) and Logan Sargeant (20th).

Q2:

Setting a very early 1’12’760 in this Q2, Max Verstappen confirmed his dominance in Hispania by leaving his teammate eight tenths behind. Completing his lap later than his former rival, Lewis Hamilton remained at a respectable distance from the Dutchman. The seven-time world champion could, however, rejoice in seeing that the changes made to the W14 seem to be paying off.

After his nightmare weekend on the Monegasque rock, Perez did not wake up from his bad dream in Spain. Far from the pace of his teammate, Sergio Perez lost his car in the gravel at the exit of the fifth turn before being unable to improve his lap and getting stuck in Q2.

Another disappointing performance from George Russell, who was eliminated in 12th position while Hamilton set the 4th best time. The two Mercedes drivers made contact at the start of their final attempts. George Russell, who seemed unaware that his teammate was also on a fast lap, squeezed him onto the grass on the straight leading to the pit lane. Hamilton ended up damaging his front wing on the rear right tire of car number 63.

The eliminations from Q2: Sergio Perez (11th), George Russell (12th), Guanyu Zhou (13th), Nyck De Vries (14th), and Yuki Tsunoda (15th).

Q3:

Cleared of his teammate and Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari, Max Verstappen was well alone at the top of the timesheet. After the first laps of each driver, the two-time world champion, with his 1’12’272, was 9 tenths ahead of the driver in second place, Lewis Hamilton. The competition could reassure themselves by saying that the Dutchman had gone out with new tires, not worn ones.

Finally, it is Carlos Sainz who will join Max Verstappen on the front row for tomorrow’s race. After a lackluster start to the season for McLaren, Lando Norris achieves a stunning performance by placing his papaya-colored car in third position. Pierre Gasly can be pleased with the fourth fastest time, but his misjudgments in Q1 will likely cause him to drop down in the rankings. With his damaged underbody following his Q1 off-track excursion, Fernando Alonso could only manage a 9th position.

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