Lando Norris put together a brilliant lap to claim Pole Position for the Spanish GP. In a qualifying session where Verstappen was consistently setting the pace, Norris grabbed P1 in the dying moments of Q3. The British driver becomes the fourth Pole sitter in four rounds.
Fine margins separated the entire field in qualifying. However, there was a rather significant three-tenth gap between Verstappen in P2 and Hamilton in P3. The two drivers on the front row produced something special to create this deficit.
Norris should be especially pleased, considering that Perez gave his teammate a tow on his final attempt. McLaren continue their excellent performance since Miami – even as rivals bring upgrades.
Lewis Hamilton led an all-Mercedes second row in Barcelona. With a good start tomorrow, the Silver Arrows can be in contention. The W15 proved its speed from Montreal was no fluke.
Ferrari were marginally behind, with Leclerc in 5th and Sainz in 6th.
The Italian outfit might be slightly underwhelmed by their pace. However, the SF-24 showed strong promising signs in the FP2 simulations. Provided this is replicated tomorrow, they can be in the mix on Sunday.
Spanish GP Qualifying: Alpine thrive, Williams struggle in midfield
Gasly was the first of the Alpine duo, securing a season-best P7 in qualifying. Teammate Esteban Ocon was in P9, cementing a very strong session for the A524. With the French team struggling for points, the Spanish GP presents a huge opportunity.
Perez and Piastri were the main losers from Q3. The Mexican driver finished seven-tenths behind his teammate. His final attempts weren’t helped by the fact he needed to use extra sets of soft tyres in Q1.
A three-place grid drop will push him down to P11, further complicating the Austrian team’s afternoon tomorrow.
The one positive for Red Bull was Piastri’s poor session. After invalidating his first attempt, the 23-year-old made a mistake at the end of Q3. Finishing without a representative time, the Australian has work to do on Sunday.
Alonso will start from P10, although the AMR24’s lack of pace is a cause for concern. Upgrades continue to underdeliver.
Speaking of underdelivering upgrades, VCARB finished P17 and P18. The Faenza-based team is clearly yet to optimise their new components.
It was an encouraging session for Sauber, with both cars making Q2 for the first time in 2024. Bottas was especially fast, putting himself within striking range of points.
Hulkenberg put together a strong lap to claim P13 for Haas, while Williams suffered a very poor session – something which many anticipated at this circuit.
