During the Spanish Grand Prix qualifying, McLaren driver Lando Norris emerged victorious from a thrilling duel against Red Bull opponent Max Verstappen, earning him his second pole position of his Formula 1 career.
Lando Norris captured a stunning pole position at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, marking his first pole since the Sochi Autodrom in 2021. The McLaren driver posted an impressive final lap time of 1m 11.383s, edging out Red Bull’s Max Verstappen by a mere two hundredths of a second.
Mercedes demonstrated their strong practice form with a solid qualifying performance. Lewis Hamilton secured P3, surpassing his teammate George Russell, who took P4, thus locking out the second row for Sunday’s race.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and local hero Carlos Sainz finished fifth and sixth respectively, in what proved to be a highly competitive session. Pierre Gasly delivered a standout performance for Alpine, claiming P7.
Red Bull’s Sergio Perez qualified eighth, but a grid penalty from Canada will see him drop three places, promoting Esteban Ocon in the other Alpine and McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, who struggled in Q3 and did not set a time. Home favorite Fernando Alonso narrowly missed out on Q3, being pushed into the Q2 drop zone by former teammate Ocon, and will start from P11.
In the drop zone, Alonso was joined by Alfa Romeo drivers Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu, who qualified P12 and P15 respectively. Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg and Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll took the P13 and P14 spots. Kevin Magnussen, in the other Haas, missed the cut for Q2 by a fraction, finishing in P16, just behind Stroll, who was hindered by Williams’ Logan Sargeant during Q1.
AlphaTauri’s updates failed to yield the desired results as both Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo struggled, ending up in P17 and P18. Williams endured a challenging session, with Alex Albon and Logan Sargeant rounding out the grid in P19 and P20, facing a tough task to add points on race day.
As the teams prepare for the race, McLaren’s strategic play for pole and the close competition between top drivers promise an exciting contest at the Spanish Grand Prix.
