P1racenews AI automatic summary:
It’s a fourth pole of the season for Oscar Piastri in qualifying for the Spanish Grand Prix.
Oscar Piastri secured his fourth F1 pole position of the season in a thrilling qualifier for the Spanish Grand Prix, beating his teammate Lando Norris. Piastri’s final lap was exceptional, allowing him to snatch pole position from Norris by just 0.017s with a lap-time of 1:11.546s, marking McLaren’s first front-row lock-out in Barcelona since 1998. Behind them, Max Verstappen will start third, followed by George Russell in fourth and Lewis Hamilton in fifth, while home favorites Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz will start in 10th and 18th respectively.
In Q2, Alex Albon narrowly missed out on the top 10, being just 0.030s behind Gasly, marking Williams’s best qualifying position in Barcelona since 2017. Gabriel Bortoleto secured 12th place, edging ahead of Liam Lawson in 13th, with Lance Stroll and Ollie Bearman following in 14th and 15th. Piastri dominated Q2, setting the pace ahead of Norris and Verstappen, posting a 1:11.998 lap-time.
The biggest surprises in Q1 were the eliminations of Carlos Sainz in 18th place and Yuki Tsunoda in 20th place, with Tsunoda struggling with the set-up of his Red Bull. Sainz’s best lap was a 1:13.203, while Tsunoda’s was a 1:13.385, with Franco Colapinto facing a late drama in 19th place despite initial promise. Nico Hulkenberg finished in 16th, and Esteban Ocon in 17th, as Piastri, Verstappen, and Norris shone in the session.
