Spanish GP: Verstappen romps to pole position as rivals struggle

Max Verstappen was simply unstoppable as he stormed to pole position at the Spanish Grand Prix.

In a qualifying session that saw many of the closest rivals struggle, the Dutchman eased his way to Red Bull’s first pole in Barcelona since 2011.

In contrast, teammate Sergio Perez failed to reach Q3 for the second straight race, Fernando Alonso hit trouble and Charles Leclerc will start near the back of the grid.

Q1

Spots of rain and damp patches from an earlier downpour meant conditions were very difficult as qualifying began with multiple drivers going off track.

The worst area was at Turn 11, where a puddle remained on the racing line and caused spins for Valtteri Bottas and both AlphaTauris.

Fernando Alonso also had a moment running wide at the final corner but continued before a red flag was thrown to clear gravel pulled onto the track.

Both Ferraris were first out on track when the session resumed, but Carlos Sainz would be impeded by Pierre Gasly on his flying lap, with a penalty likely for the Alpine.

Verstappen went fastest but less than a tenth ahead of Oscar Piastri in an impressive second for McLaren.

The two drivers under pressure were Sergio Perez and Charles Leclerc in 16th and 17th respectively entering the final runs.

Checo just scrambled through in 15th but Leclerc could only finish 19th as track conditions improved, leading to a flurry of faster times.

Zhou Guanyu eliminated his Alfa Romeo teammate Valtteri Bottas in 16th with the final lap of Q1, ahead of Kevin Magnussen 17th for Haas.

Alex Albon was 18th and Logan Sargeant 20th as the two Williams’ sandwiched Leclerc’s Ferrari.

Q2

Verstappen set a blistering pace at the front but was only two-tenths ahead of Hamilton in P2 for Mercedes.

In contrast, teammate Perez was down in eighth, eight-tenths slower than the Dutchman but ahead of Carlos Sainz in ninth as the last runs began.

While the Spaniard secured his place in Q3, Checo ran wide into the gravel at Turn 5 and could only manage 11th with his final flying lap.

George Russell was only 12th for Mercedes after making contact with teammate Hamilton on the main straight in a spooky moment.

Zhou finished 13th, followed by Nyck De Vries and Yuki Tsunoda had his best time deleted for exceeding track limits and was demoted to 15th.

Q3

On his first run, Verstappen upped the ante again with a scintillating 1m12.272s that would be enough to secure pole position.

Most opted for used tyres initially, while Alonso only did one run as his team frantically tried to fix floor damage sustained in Q1.

The home favourite had the support but not the speed as he could only manage ninth fastest in the Aston Martin.

Instead, it was the other Spaniard, Carlos Sainz, who joined Verstappen on the front row in second for Ferrari.

Lando Norris pulled out a brilliant lap to take third for McLaren, ahead of Gasly in fourth but facing two impeding investigations by the stewards.

Hamilton took fifth, followed by Lance Stroll in sixth as the Canadian outqualified his teammate for the first time this season.

Esteban Ocon was seventh, Nico Hulkenberg eighth and Oscar Piastri rounded out the top 10 behind Alonso.