Dutchman Max Verstappen (Red Bull) took his fourth pole position of the season on Saturday, his first in Barcelona, for the Spanish Formula 1 Grand Prix, the seventh race of the season, to be held on Sunday.
The two-time world champion, who took his 24th career pole and second in a row after already being fastest in Monaco, took the best lap in the first of two attempts in the final qualifying stage, Q3, in 1, 12,272 minutes.
Verstappen left Spain’s Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) in second, 0.462s behind, with Britain’s Lando Norris (McLaren) in third, 0.520s.
“The car felt really good. I like Barcelona, the circuit and the fans,” said the championship leader, who won pole in Spain for the first time in his career, at the circuit where he won twice, in 2022 and 2016, the latter the first in Formula 1.
After taking the final record he stopped improving, on the second attempt, towards the end of Q3, to save a set of tyres, at a time when he was already guaranteed ‘pole’ and even his time on it was improving. . .
The big surprise was the elimination of Monegasque Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) straightaway in Q1, who complained that the car was “uncontrollable” in left-hand corners. Leclerc will start from 19th position.
For Carlos Sainz, who races here at home, second place was his best result in qualifying this season.
“I needed this result. It was one of the toughest qualifying sessions I’ve had in Barcelona. Now we can concentrate on getting a podium tomorrow. [no domingo]”, he emphasized.
Pierre Gasly (Alpine) was fourth, 0.544 seconds behind Verstappen, but the French driver could still be penalized for hindering two other drivers.
Britain’s Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) finished fifth, 0.546 seconds. The former champion had an incident with his teammate, compatriot George Russell (Mercedes), who collided with him starting a fast lap at the end of Q2 and was eventually eliminated after finishing in 12th place, behind the Mexican Sergio Perez (Red Bull). , who took the lead after failing to brake and starting from 11th.
Canadian Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) was sixth, followed by Frenchman Esteban Ocon (Alpine) and German Nico Hulkenberg (Haas).
Spaniard Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) was stuck in ninth position after damaging the flat bottom of his car while leaving the runway during Q1.
Australian Oscar Piastri (McLaren) completed the top 10.
The Spanish Grand Prix is the eighth stage of the Formula 1 World Championship, but it turns out to be the seventh race, due to the cancellation of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix due to the flooding that hit that Italian region.
Max Verstappen, who has four victories, arrives in Catalonia at the top of the championship, with 144 points, 39 more than his team-mate Sérgio Pérez, who won the other two.
Source: DN
