Spain Qualifying Reaction
Image: Red Bull Content Pool
Red Bull have once again shown that their RB19 as a package is a true force to be reckoned with and, in the right hands, is on track to potentially win every race this season. Some surprises and disappointments later, qualifying at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya has come to a close and it’s all eyes forward for lights out.
Max Verstappen will take his first Spanish GP front-spot start for the race.
Let’s delve into each session and look at the details:
Q1
One of this weekend’s home favourites Fernando Alonso gave viewers the first ‘moment’ of qualifying as he went wide negotiating the newly-formatted final corner, showing off his rallying skills with all four wheels on the gravel. The Alfa Romeo of Valtteri Bottas went off the tarmac, causing a red flag due to gravel on track. Not too long after did fans in the grandstands see Yuki Tsunoda also losing control and pirouetting due to a wet patch on the exit of Turn 11.
Image: @F1 on Twitter
Williams’ Alexander Albon found the gravel trap too, this time at the downhill Turn 5, seemingly breaking traction to the track and over-correcting a snap under braking. Nyck de Vries mimicked his teammate’s error at the same place, perhaps in sympathy, frustratedly asking “What am I doing wrong here?” over the radio.
With all these offs occurring, Nico Hulkenberg put his Haas on pole with 10 seconds of the session remaining, though this would be short-lived as Lewis Hamilton snatched the top spot, with compatriot Russell sandwiching Norris in P2. Ferrari fans weren’t quite sure how to feel with home hero Sainz 4th fastest, yet with Leclerc in P19, an admittedly terrible session for last year’s pole-sitter. This was the Monegasque’s first Q1 elimination since 2019.
So, out for Q1 were the following drivers:
16th - Valtteri Bottas
17th - Kevin Magnussen
18th - Alexander Albon
19th - Charles Leclerc
20th - Logan Sargeant
Q2
The start of the second qualifying session was fairly uneventful, with the usual Dutch suspect putting his Red Bull on pole with two minutes remaining. Grandstand eyes would remain on the Bulls as Sergio Pérez had a very similar trip to the gravel trap as Albon, this time appearing to be caused by understeer. There’s no doubt that the Mexican’s recent blunders have stirred whispers and rumours of a replacement - Checo really needs to switch it on if he wants to prove himself and keep the sport’s most valuable seat as of right now.
McLaren have had an uncharacteristically fantastic weekend so far, with the more experienced Norris finishing Q2 in P2, four positions ahead of his teammate Piastri in an equally impressive P6. Norris has gone on record to claim that their car seems to get along well with the track conditions at the Spanish circuit and that it’s up to the team to figure out why that is and capitalise on it to make improvements moving forward.
Image:@McLarenF1 on Twitter
As spirits flew high in the McLaren garage, one half of the Red Bull garage seemed deflated and somewhat defeated as Pérez missed out on Q3 by 51 milliseconds, edged out by Nico Hulkenberg. “Unbelievable”, claimed Sergio Pérez.
As for the Mercedes boys, there was some brief contact heading down the main straight, some confusion on both parts clearly being the cause.
“George just backed off. That’s really dangerous. I might have some damage on the car.”
Perhaps some flashbacks to 2016 for the Brit!
The drivers that didn’t make it to Q3 were:
11th - Sergio Pérez
12th - George Russell
13th - Zhou Guanyu
14th - Nyck de Vries
15th - Yuki Tsunoda
Q3
Verstappen set a lightning-fast lap of a 1:12.272 , which wasn’t to be topped for the rest of the session - a clear statement of intent that he has no plans to take his foot off the gas (pun definitely intended).
Norris put his MCL60 second fastest shortly thereafter, with Ocon in third, only to be both pushed down a place by Hamilton, whose best efforts only put him within a second of Verstappen. Sainz then split the old rivals with a +0.462 lap for P2, with Hamilton sent down temporarily to P6, with Stroll only a tenth or so behind as the flag fell.
Max actually backed out of a full-send lap near the end, which was half a second quicker than the prior lap that already got him pole. The Dutchman’s hunger for perfection is not to be understated.
“That last lap was gonna be very lovely!”
Image: @redbullracing on Twitter
A great session for Alpine also, with Pierre Gasly setting the fourth fastest lap and Ocon in 7th, the perfect position to put pressure on the Mercedes-powered Stroll and Hamilton ahead.
It was later confirmed that Gasly would receive a six-place grid penalty for impeding Verstappen and Sainz during qualifying.
Haas were more than happy to see Hulkenberg in a cosy P8; McLaren over the moon to have both drivers in the top 10.
Final Qualifying Results
With Q3 out of the way, what does the starting grid look like for Sunday? See below:
1 - Max Verstappen (NED)
2 - Carlos Sainz (ESP)
3 - Lando Norris (GBR)
4 - Pierre Gasly (FRA) (+6, net 10th)
5 - Lewis Hamilton (GBR)
6 - Lance Stroll (CAN)
7 - Esteban Ocon (FRA)
8 - Nico Hulkenberg (DEU)
9 - Fernando Alonso (ESP)
10 - Oscar Piastri (AUS)
11 - Sergio Pérez (MEX)
12 - George Russell (GBR)
13 - Zhou Guanyu (CHN)
14 - Nyck de Vries (NED)
15 - Yuki Tsunoda (JPN)
16 - Valtteri Bottas (FIN)
17 - Kevin Magnussen (DEN)
18 - Alexander Albon (THA)
19 - Charles Leclerc (MON)
20 - Logan Sargeant (USA)
