Max Verstappen secured his first Spanish GP pole position in Formula 1. His initial lap in Q3 was plenty enough to be on pole. His teammate was out in Q2 with an uninspired effort running wide on his first attempt and not having enough to advance into Q3.
Spain had a hero but it wasn’t the one everyone thought they would have. Carlos Sainz was able to qualify in P2 ahead of Fernando Alonso who, in his defense, had a damaged underfloor that hobbled his effort. It was a good lap from Carlos while his teammate, Charles Leclerc, couldn’t get out of Q1.
Great qualifying results from Lando Norris’s McLaren in P3. Pierre Gasly had a terrific run but impeded twice during the session and was penalized for the effort. He will start in P10.
Also a great result for Lance Stroll and Nico Hulkenberg in P6 and P8 respectively.
Qualifying Results:
| Pos | Name | Car | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1m13.615s | 1m12.76s | 1m12.272s |
| 2 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | 1m13.411s | 1m12.79s | 1m12.734s |
| 3 | Lando Norris | McLaren-Mercedes | 1m13.295s | 1m12.776s | 1m12.792s |
| 4 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine-Renault | 1m13.471s | 1m13.186s | 1m12.816s |
| 5 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1m12.937s | 1m12.999s | 1m12.818s |
| 6 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin-Mercedes | 1m13.766s | 1m13.082s | 1m12.994s |
| 7 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine-Renault | 1m13.433s | 1m13.001s | 1m13.083s |
| 8 | Nico Hülkenberg | Haas-Ferrari | 1m13.42s | 1m13.283s | 1m13.229s |
| 9 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin-Mercedes | 1m13.747s | 1m13.098s | 1m13.507s |
| 10 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren-Mercedes | 1m13.691s | 1m13.059s | 1m13.682s |
| 11 | Sergio Pérez | Red Bull | 1m13.874s | 1m13.334s | |
| 12 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1m13.326s | 1m13.447s | |
| 13 | Guanyu Zhou | Alfa Romeo-Ferrari | 1m13.677s | 1m13.521s | |
| 14 | Nyck de Vries | AlphaTauri-Honda RBPT | 1m13.581s | 1m14.083s | |
| 15 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri-Honda RBPT | 1m13.862s | 1m14.477s | |
| 16 | Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo-Ferrari | 1m13.977s | ||
| 17 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas-Ferrari | 1m14.042s | ||
| 18 | Alex Albon | Williams-Mercedes | 1m14.063s | ||
| 19 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1m14.079s | ||
| 20 | Logan Sargeant | Williams-Mercedes | 1m14.699s |
I was impressed to see Red Bull let Verstappin fall down the ratings in Q2 to save soft tires. It paid off and just shows how good Red Bull and Verstappin is this year.