BARCELONA, Spain – Championship leader Oscar Piastri sensationally secured pole position from teammate Lando Norris in a dramatic finish to qualifying for the Spanish Grand Prix.
A superb lap of 1:11.546 from Piastri right at the end provided him with a comfortable margin of 0.2 seconds over Norris in the other McLaren.
Norris had been ahead by a slim 0.017s after the initial runs in Q3 but was unable to improve his time on his final attempt.
This pole position serves as a significant morale boost for Piastri, particularly after Norris reduced the gap in the championship standings by winning the previous race in Monaco.
“Nice work, very nicely done,” Piastri commented after taking pole. “Quite some turnaround from last year, so well done everyone. Let`s have ourselves some fun tomorrow.”
Despite recent speculation about whether McLaren`s performance advantage might be restricted by a new technical directive concerning front wings, the papaya cars appeared as dominant as they have throughout the season.
The qualifying session in Spain could potentially indicate the dynamic for the remainder of the year, with Piastri and Norris consistently trading fastest times across practice and through all three qualifying segments.
“A couple of small mistakes, but just didn`t manage it,” Norris admitted after the session. “But Oscar was driving excellently all weekend.”
Referring to the long run down to Turn 1, Norris added: “An interesting start [it will be] tomorrow.”
In what could be a preview of their potential championship rivalry, there was a subtle moment of tactical play between the McLaren teammates. As Piastri completed his first hot lap, he was told Norris was approaching closely behind, likely aiming to benefit from the slipstream effect (“tow”).
Piastri deliberately moved off the racing line to prevent giving his teammate any aerodynamic advantage.
When informed of Norris closing in quickly, Piastri responded: “Cheeky.”
The rest of the field was left to compete for the position of “best of the rest” behind the dominant McLaren duo.
Fittingly, Max Verstappen and George Russell, the next two drivers in the championship order, locked out the second row of the grid, both setting an identical lap time of 1:11.848, which was 0.302 seconds adrift of Piastri`s benchmark.
Lewis Hamilton finished fifth, outqualifying his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc for only the second time this season.
Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli qualified between the two Ferrari cars, securing sixth place.
French drivers Pierre Gasly and Isack Hadjar continued their strong qualifying performances, finishing eighth and ninth respectively. Fernando Alonso delighted the home crowd by making it into Q3 and qualifying tenth for Aston Martin.
Hadjar`s performances have garnered considerable praise within the paddock, and his result appears even more impressive given that Yuki Tsunoda, driving the other Red Bull machine, finished dead last.
Verstappen`s teammates at Red Bull have historically faced difficulties, and Tsunoda appears to have encountered similar challenges.
The Japanese driver seemed surprised by his lack of pace, commenting on the radio after being eliminated: “Wow, honestly, I mean… that was a pretty clean lap.”
Argentina`s Franco Colapinto was also eliminated in Q1, meaning he has not advanced beyond the first qualifying session in any of his three races since replacing Jack Doohan at Alpine.
Colapinto will start 19th, directly ahead of Tsunoda. Alpine stated that the issue causing Colapinto`s lack of pace was a driveline fault.
Spanish GP Qualifying Results (Top 10)
- 1. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) – 1:11.546
- 2. Lando Norris (McLaren) – +0.209
- 3. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) – +0.302
- 4. George Russell (Mercedes) – +0.302
- 5. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) – +0.499
- 6. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) – +0.565
- 7. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) – +0.585
- 8. Pierre Gasly (Alpine) – +0.653
- 9. Isack Hadjar (RB) – +0.706
- 10. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) – +0.738
