Oscar Piastri, currently leading the championship, secured pole position for the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona, narrowly beating his teammate Lando Norris.
Piastri`s impressive final lap, a 1:11.546, gave him a significant advantage of over 0.2 seconds ahead of Norris`s McLaren.
Norris had held a slight lead after the initial Q3 laps, but couldn`t improve his time on the final run.
This pole position is a significant boost for Piastri, especially after Norris reduced his championship lead to just three points with a win at the recent Monaco Grand Prix.
“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 potential impacts on McLaren`s performance due to a technical directive regarding front wings, the team`s cars (often referred to as `papaya cars`) appeared as dominant as they have throughout the season.
The Spanish qualifying session suggested a potential trend for the remainder of the season, with Piastri and Norris consistently posting quick lap times during practice and all qualifying segments.
After the session, Norris admitted, “Couple of little mistakes, but just didn`t do it,” acknowledging his inability to secure pole. He added, “But Oscar was driving well all weekend.”
Referencing the long run to Turn 1 on the circuit, Norris commented on Sunday`s race start, stating, “An interesting start [coming] tomorrow.”
A moment of gamesmanship between the McLaren teammates during qualifying offered a glimpse into how their championship rivalry might unfold.
As Piastri completed his initial lap, he was informed that Norris was close behind, seemingly attempting to benefit from the aerodynamic `tow` effect.
To prevent aiding his teammate, Piastri moved off the main racing line.
Upon being notified of Norris`s approach, Piastri responded with “Cheeky.”
Behind the dominant McLarens, the other teams and drivers competed for the remaining top positions.
Max Verstappen and George Russell, currently third and fourth in the championship standings, secured the second row of the grid. They both posted an identical lap time of 1:11.848, exactly 0.302 seconds slower than Piastri.
Lewis Hamilton qualified fifth, marking only the second time this season he has outqualified his Ferrari teammate, Charles Leclerc.
Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli secured sixth place, qualifying between the two Ferrari cars.
French drivers Pierre Gasly (Alpine) and Isack Hadjar (RB) maintained their strong qualifying performances, finishing eighth and ninth. Local hero Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) reached Q3, delighting the home crowd by qualifying in tenth.
Hadjar`s impressive qualifying laps have earned praise throughout the paddock. In contrast, Yuki Tsunoda, his teammate at RB (the other Red Bull entry), finished last in qualifying.
Struggles for Red Bull`s second team drivers have been a recurring theme over the years, and Tsunoda seems to be facing similar difficulties.
The Japanese driver expressed surprise at his lack of pace after being eliminated, stating on the team radio:
“Wow, honestly, I mean… that was a pretty clean lap.”
Franco Colapinto from Argentina was another driver eliminated in Q1. This marks his third consecutive Q1 exit in his three races since replacing Jack Doohan at Alpine.
Colapinto will start from 19th position, just ahead of Tsunoda. Alpine attributed his issue to a driveline problem.
