The Spanish Grand Prix qualifying session got underway on a rainy Saturday afternoon. As drivers headed out onto the track, spots of rain began to fall. The conditions quickly became treacherous as many cars suffered off-track moments, including Fernando Alonso who damaged his car on his first lap. The Spaniard incident made him a non-threat for pole position.
The red flag was brought out as debris littered the track and teams made repairs to their cars. When the session resumed, Ferrari decided not to send its cars out immediately and they were amongst a big group of drivers lacking time on the board by the time of the stoppage.
Q1 proved to be the most challenging session, with many drivers suffering off-track moments and a red flag. Leclerc failed to set a competitive time early on and struggled for pace throughout the session, complaining of issues with his rear tires. He narrowly escaped the drop zone with a late flier but was later shuffled back, finishing in 19th place. Logan Sargeant was the only driver behind him, with Bottas, Kevin Magnussen, and Alexander Albon also being eliminated.
In Q2, Sergio Perez went off the track and was knocked out of the session. George Russell narrowly missed out on a top-ten spot after an incident with his teammate Hamilton, who managed to go through despite not setting a final time. Zhou Guanyu and the AlphaTauri drivers were eliminated behind Russell.
The final segment, Q3, took place in dry conditions. Verstappen took new softs and set a provisional pole time of 1m12.272s. His rivals could not threaten his time even with new tires. Carlos Sainz delighted the home crowd by securing second on the grid, followed by Lando Norris in third.
Pierre Gasly achieved a good fourth position, but he has been awarded two three-place grid penalties for impeding Sainz and Verstappen in qualifying. That means he is relegated from P4 to P10 on the grid. After Gasly's penalty, Lewis Hamilton will start from P4 and Lance Stroll P5 as the lead Aston Martin driver. Behind Canadian driver, their race will start Esteban Ocon and Nico Hulkenberg. Alonso failed to secure a top position and finished ahead of Oscar Piastri in tenth.
Spanish Grand Prix Qualifying Results
The Race Preview
The Spanish Grand Prix has been a staple of the Formula 1 calendar since its inception in 1951. The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya is known for its fast corners and technical sections.
Verstappen heads into the race as the favorite after securing pole position in qualifying. He has had an impressive start to the season and currently leads the championship standings. However, Sainz is not far behind him and will be looking to close the gap with a strong performance in Spain.
Ferrari will be hoping for better luck in the race after a disappointing qualifying session that saw Leclerc knocked out in Q1. Sainz performed well in front of his home crowd and will be looking to secure a podium finish.
Lance Stroll managed to secure fifth place on the grid, giving the team some hope for a better result in Sunday's race. Ocon and Hulkenberg also put in solid performances during qualifying and will be looking to score points for their teams.
The Spanish Grand Prix promises to be a thrilling race with plenty of action expected throughout the field. Fans will be hoping for a fair and exciting competition that showcases the best of Formula 1.
