Oscar Piastri has taken pole for the Spanish Grand Prix after an absorbing qualifying session in which McLaren proved to be the preeminent force. It was a tight battle between the two teammates that very nearly turned controversial.
Having gone fastest during his initial run at the start of Q3, Lando Norris very nearly obstructed his teammate at turn 12 with a move Piastri described as “cheeky”.
The Australian responded by taking provisional pole and promptly darted out of the way to avoid giving his teammate a tow down the main straight.
As qualifying drew to a close, Norris briefly extended his advantage with a time of 1.11.755, an improvement he later admitted he didn’t expect to make. However, an inspired run from Piastri saw him go purple in all three sectors and best his teammate by over two-tenths of a second. The Australian happy to have ‘delivered when it counts’.
Just behind them, Lewis Hamilton put in a strong performance to briefly go third fastest but ultimately lost out to both Max Verstappen and George Russell. Even so, the seven-time world champion remained positive, describing the result as “an improvement from my qualifying side”.
By contrast, his teammate Charles Leclerc climbed out of his car with three minutes to go, having run out of fresh tires. His initial time was enough to secure seventh on the grid after what he considered a ‘tricky’ session.
Fernando Alonso gave his home fans something to cheer about by briefly grabbing P5, however, the two-time world champion had to settle for tenth by the end of the session. His second consecutive Q3 appearance.
Elsewhere, Isack Hadjar got the most out of his machinery with the ninth fastest time, as did Pierre Gasly who, in contrast to his teammate’s Q1 exit was able to secure P8. A welcome return to form after a disappointing weekend last time out in Monaco.
Williams’ struggles in free practice proved not to be a red herring. Alex Albon missed out on Q3 and will start 11th, while his teammate Carlos Sainz was one of the most surprising Q1 exits alongside Yuki Tsunoda. Who will start tomorrow’s race last on the grid, the Japanese driver lamenting the lack of “an overall step forward”. Franco Colapinto will start 19th, having suffered a mechanical failure at the end of Q1.
Gabriel Bortoleto put together what he himself described as the “best qualy of the year” with 12th, a tenth, and four places ahead of his experienced teammate Nico Hulkenberg.
Liam Lawson will start 13th having failed to follow his teammate into Q3. Lance Stroll ended the session 14th ahead of Oliver Bearman who voiced both his surprise at getting into Q2 given his struggles in practice, as well as his disappointment at having used all his fresh tires prior to the second part of qualifying.
His teammate Esteban Ocon will start 17th one place ahead of Carlos Sainz. The local hero attributed his result to an abundance of traffic as well as the resulting dirty air.
Having dominated the weekend thus far, McLaren are the odds-on favourites for victory on Sunday. However, as both George Russell and Max Verstappen proved last season, pole position in Spain does not guarantee the race win. With Verstappen, Russell and Hamilton right behind them, both Piastri and Norris will have plenty to think about during the 579-meter dash down to turn one.
