Spanish Grand Prix – Qualifying: Leclerc on top

Q1:

Guanyu Zhou was the first driver to hit the track during this first part of qualifying. He was followed by the two AlphaTauri drivers, Yuki Tsunoda and Pierre Gasly. The Frenchman was only a second behind the time set by the Chinese driver. Indeed, the Normandy driver did not have ideal free practice sessions due to mechanical issues that prevented him from getting much track time.

The first top driver of the championship to hit the track was Sergio Perez. With a time of 1’20’447, the Mexican provided a slipstream down the straight to his garage neighbor, Max Verstappen. The Dutchman then set a lap time three tenths of a second faster than Perez. The two Red Bulls were ultimately beaten by the hometown hero, Carlos Sainz, before being overtaken by his teammate, Charles Leclerc, by a mere 31 milliseconds.

The Aston Martins, which have sparked a lot of debates and discussions since the beginning of the weekend due to their resemblance with Red Bull, ultimately did not make it to Q2. There was also disappointment for the local hero, Fernando Alonso, who, blocked on his final lap by Lando Norris, couldn’t advance from Q1.

Eliminated in Q1: Sebastian Vettel (16th), Fernando Alonso (17th), Lance Stroll (18th), Alexander Albon (19th), and Nicholas Latifi (20th).

Q2:

The big surprise of this early Q2 was the explosive form of the Mercedes. George Russell recorded a superb 1’19’470. That’s 5 tenths faster than the championship leader, Charles Leclerc. On the other side of the Mercedes garage, Lewis Hamilton placed his car in second position. The numerous improvements made by the German team this weekend seem to be paying off.

During his last attempt, Carlos Sainz set the fastest time of the session before being beaten by Max Verstappen’s Red Bull. The Dutchman was ahead of the Spaniard by two tenths.

Ferrari customers were celebrating at the party with both Kevin Magnussen and Mick Schumacher’s Haas cars managing to reach Q3. The Danish driver recorded the 5th best time in Q2, ahead of drivers like Charles Leclerc and Sergio Perez. Valtteri Bottas also had a good performance behind the wheel of his Alfa Romeo, finishing in 8th place.

Disappointment for the French with Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly failing to make it into the Top 10. Alpine and AlphaTauri don’t appear to be among the dominant forces in the midfield.

Eliminated in Q2: Lando Norris (11th), Esteban Ocon (12th), Yuki Tsunoda (13th), Pierre Gasly (14th), and Guanyu Zhou (15th).

Q3

It is a Charles Leclerc, under pressure from the competition, who made a very costly mistake. During his first attempt, the Monegasque lost control of his car at the exit of the last chicane, ruining his lap. At the same time, his teammate Carlos Sainz placed second but far behind Max Verstappen’s Red Bull.

Despite this mistake during his first attempt, the Monegasque quickly made up for it during his second by setting a time of 1’18’750, securing him the pole position. This is his fourth pole position this season. A motor problem at the end of the session prevented Max Verstappen from fighting for a front-row start.

The two championship leaders will therefore depart side by side tomorrow on the grid. Although the Mercedes are not present in the front row, the improvements have nevertheless allowed the silver arrows to get closer to Ferrari and Red Bull.