Spain – Qualifications: Nico Rosberg beats Lewis Hamilton in Barcelona

As expected, and as is often the case in Catalonia, the weather is very mild at the time of the start of the first European qualifying sessions of the season. The temperature is 27 degrees in the air compared to 45 degrees on the track, and the weather is sunny.

As a reminder, during Free Practice 3, Nico Rosberg was ahead of Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton. The three drivers were within three tenths of each other. Will the two German drivers be able to stop the Englishman’s impressive streak, unbeaten in the flying lap exercise since the start of the season?

Q1: To each his own, it is a Spaniard who takes the track first. Roberto Merhi in his Marussia heads out with the softest tires available, the mediums.

First interesting piece of information: Nico Rosberg makes a mistake in the last sector of his out lap, goes off the racing line, and disrupts his preparation.

After the first six minutes of qualifying, Carlos Sainz Junior set a time of 1:28.492. Kimi Räikkönen is the first of the “big guns” to head out, on hard tires. However, the Finn complains about the lack of grip from his rear tires. The first benchmark time is set by Lewis Hamilton at 1:27.322, also on hard tires. He is ahead of Nico Rosberg by three-tenths and Sebastian Vettel by six-tenths.

The McLaren-Hondas are already on soft tires even though there are still more than 5 minutes left in Q1.

With five minutes remaining, this session temporarily places Kvyat, Grosjean, Maldonado, Stevens, and Merhi in the red zone. Great performance by Toro Rosso, equipped with hard tires and within the top ten. There is lingering doubt among the leaders about switching to soft tires.

The drivers embark on their final attempts of the session. Kimi Räikkönen plays it safe and switches to medium tires. Hamilton betters his own benchmark with a time of 1:26:382, while «Iceman » fails to surpass him, even on soft tires. As the drivers begin their final lap, the red zone hasn’t moved.

Maldonado gets out of the danger zone with a convincing time of 1:27.281. Daniil Kyvat and Romain Grosjean also improve by several tenths. The 5 slowest drivers in this Q1 are ultimately Marcus Ericsson in his Sauber, the two Force Indias of Hülkenberg and Pérez, with Will Stevens and Roberto Merhi bringing up the rear on the last row. For the first time this season, both McLaren-Hondas advance to Q2.

Eliminated in Q1: Ericsson, Hülkenberg, Pérez, Stevens, and Merhi.

Q2

The surviving Sauber of Felipe Nasr is the first to hit the track for this 15-minute session.

In the first salvo, Nico Rosberg takes the lead with a time of 1:25.166: he improves the 3 sectors set by Lewis Hamilton just seconds earlier. At this point in the session, the two Mercedes are ahead of the two Ferraris. Following are Bottas, Verstappen, Massa, Sainz, Ricciardo, and Kyvat. It’s interesting to note that Bottas is within the same tenth as Vettel.

Five minutes before the end, Alonso, Grosjean, Maldonado, Button, and Nasr would not participate in Q3. Fernando Alonso is seven-tenths behind Daniil Kvyat: the gap seems large.

The drivers are off for the last run of this Q2. From Hamilton to Bottas, they’re staying in the garage, all other drivers are on the track to battle it out. Daniel Ricciardo will be the last driver to start his timer. Big slide in a corner for the local hero: Fernando Alonso fails to improve, he will not participate in Q3. He was overtaken in the standings by Maldonado, then by Romain Grosjean, but it’s not enough to beat Kyvat’s position. The Top 10 hasn’t ultimately changed. First elimination of the season in Q2 for the Frenchman while Fernando Alonso beats Jenson Button in qualifying for the first time this season.

Eliminated in Q2: Grosjean, Maldonado, Alonso, Button, Nasr

Q3

Here is the highlight of this Saturday afternoon at the Circuit de Catalunya with the battle for Pole Position. The green light is on for 12 minutes.

The first driver to take the track is Valtteri Bottas. He is followed by Kimi Räikkönen and Lewis Hamilton, who respects the alternating agreement made with his teammate: Therefore, it’s Nico Rosberg who has the preferential position by starting behind.

The track is clearing and improving. Bottas surprisingly holds the reference time in the first sector ahead of the Mercedes. But in the hairpin of the second sector, he misses the apex. Rosberg is faster than Hamilton in the first sector, however, the Englishman is ahead in the second.

At the end of this lap, Nico Rosberg strikes hard: with a time of 1:24.681. He is three-tenths ahead of Lewis Hamilton! The two Mercedes currently occupy the front row ahead of Vettel, Bottas, and Räikkönen. Vettel is 0.777s behind Rosberg.

Massa, Sainz, Ricciardo, and Kvyat did not set a time, so they will only have one attempt.

After a pit stop, the ten drivers take to the track together. Felipe Massa adopts an aggressive strategy by starting last to benefit from ideal conditions. Bottas, on the other hand, is once again the first on the track.

Less than a minute remains, and we are on the last attempt of this Q3: Hamilton improves his first sector to 23.2 but is still behind his teammate. The 2014 world champion loses time in the second sector. Vettel remains in contact. No change in position: Hamilton does not dislodge Rosberg from Pole.

On the second row, Vettel is placed third. He is the only non-Mercedes driver under one second. Bottas is 4th, 1.013 seconds off the reference time. A nice surprise from Toro Rosso, locking the 3rd row: Carlos Sainz Junior takes 5th position at home ahead of Max Verstappen. The big disappointment is Kimi Räikkönen, 7th at 1.7 seconds. Daniil Kvyat will accompany him on the 3rd row. Felipe Massa and Daniel Ricciardo will start from the 9th and 10th positions, respectively.

After a difficult start to the season, overshadowed by Hamilton, Nico Rosberg was under scrutiny during these qualifications. He responded to critics in the best possible way by securing the 16th Pole Position of his career, equaling Kimi Räikkönen and Felipe Massa in the standings.

Now it’s time for the 66 Laps of the Grand Prix. The meeting is scheduled for tomorrow at 2 p.m. for the start.