F1 qualifying results: Max Verstappen takes Spanish GP pole
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen took pole position for the Spanish Grand Prix, the seventh round of the 2023 Formula 1 World Championship, ahead of local hero Carlos Sainz.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB19
Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Verstappen will start ahead of Sainz and Lando Norris (McLaren) after the one-hour qualifying session, which is split into three segments with five cars each being knocked out in Q1 and Q2 before the top-10 shootout of Q3.
Spanish Grand Prix qualifying results: Verstappen on pole from Sainz
Cla | Driver | Chassis | Engine | Time | Gap | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | Red Bull | 1'12.272 | ||
2 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | Ferrari | 1'12.734 | 0.462 | |
3 | Lando Norris | McLaren | Mercedes | 1'12.792 | 0.520 | |
4 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | Renault | 1'12.816 | 0.544 | |
5 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | Mercedes | 1'12.818 | 0.546 | |
6 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | Mercedes | 1'12.994 | 0.722 | |
7 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine | Renault | 1'13.083 | 0.811 | |
8 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas | Ferrari | 1'13.229 | 0.957 | |
9 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | Mercedes | 1'13.507 | 1.235 | |
10 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | Mercedes | 1'13.682 | 1.410 | |
11 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull | Red Bull | 1'13.334 | 1.062 | |
12 | George Russell | Mercedes | Mercedes | 1'13.447 | 1.175 | |
13 | Zhou Guanyu | Alfa Romeo | Ferrari | 1'13.521 | 1.249 | |
14 | Nyck de Vries | AlphaTauri | Red Bull | 1'14.083 | 1.811 | |
15 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri | Red Bull | 1'14.477 | 2.205 | |
16 | Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo | Ferrari | 1'13.977 | 1.705 | |
17 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | Ferrari | 1'14.042 | 1.770 | |
18 | Alex Albon | Williams | Mercedes | 1'14.063 | 1.791 | |
19 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | Ferrari | 1'14.079 | 1.807 | |
20 | Logan Sargeant | Williams | Mercedes | 1'14.699 | 2.427 | |
View full results |
What happened in Spanish Grand Prix Q1?
In tricky damp weather conditions on slick tyres, the session was red flagged after Valtteri Bottas spun his Alfa Romeo into the gravel, while Alex Albon (Williams) spun off at Turn 5, Nyck de Vries rotated his AlphaTauri and Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin also took a trip through the gravel.
Verstappen set the pace at 1m13.615s despite being involved in an impeding investigation with Pierre Gasly (Alpine), who then beat him with 1m13.471s as the times tumbled at the end. Norris and then Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) improved to the P1 spot, Hamilton lapping in 1m12.937s for the quickest lap of the session, as Verstappen slipped back to ninth.
Falling at the first hurdle were Bottas, Kevin Magnussen (Haas), Albon, Charles Leclerc – who suffered a disastrous session in his Ferrari – and Logan Sargeant (Williams).
Spanish Grand Prix Q1 results: Hamilton fastest from Norris
Cla | Driver | Laps | Time | Gap | Interval | km/h | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Lewis Hamilton | 11 | 1'12.937 | 229.759 | |||
2 | Lando Norris | 10 | 1'13.295 | 0.358 | 0.358 | 228.637 | |
3 | George Russell | 11 | 1'13.326 | 0.389 | 0.031 | 228.541 | |
4 | Carlos Sainz | 10 | 1'13.411 | 0.474 | 0.085 | 228.276 | |
5 | Nico Hulkenberg | 9 | 1'13.420 | 0.483 | 0.009 | 228.248 | |
6 | Esteban Ocon | 9 | 1'13.433 | 0.496 | 0.013 | 228.208 | |
7 | Pierre Gasly | 9 | 1'13.471 | 0.534 | 0.038 | 228.089 | |
8 | Nyck de Vries | 10 | 1'13.581 | 0.644 | 0.110 | 227.749 | |
9 | Max Verstappen | 9 | 1'13.615 | 0.678 | 0.034 | 227.643 | |
10 | Zhou Guanyu | 10 | 1'13.677 | 0.740 | 0.062 | 227.452 | |
11 | Oscar Piastri | 8 | 1'13.691 | 0.754 | 0.014 | 227.409 | |
12 | Fernando Alonso | 9 | 1'13.747 | 0.810 | 0.056 | 227.236 | |
13 | Lance Stroll | 11 | 1'13.766 | 0.829 | 0.019 | 227.177 | |
14 | Yuki Tsunoda | 11 | 1'13.862 | 0.925 | 0.096 | 226.882 | |
15 | Sergio Perez | 10 | 1'13.874 | 0.937 | 0.012 | 226.845 | |
16 | Valtteri Bottas | 10 | 1'13.977 | 1.040 | 0.103 | 226.529 | |
17 | Kevin Magnussen | 9 | 1'14.042 | 1.105 | 0.065 | 226.331 | |
18 | Alex Albon | 8 | 1'14.063 | 1.126 | 0.021 | 226.266 | |
19 | Charles Leclerc | 10 | 1'14.079 | 1.142 | 0.016 | 226.217 | |
20 | Logan Sargeant | 6 | 1'14.699 | 1.762 | 0.620 | 224.340 | |
View full results |
What happened in Spanish Grand Prix Q2?
Verstappen set the pace at 1m12.760s, just 0.016s faster than Norris’s McLaren, as his Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez struggled for pace and went off on the opening lap of his final run at Turn 7.
On his final attempt, Perez failed to make the top 10 by 0.051s. In another bizarre moment, the Mercedes cars collided on the run to Turn 1, while passing Sainz’s Ferrari, with Hamilton’s car losing his front wing endplate.
Knocked out at this point along with Perez were George Russell (Mercedes), Zhou Guanyu (Alfa) and the AlphaTauris of de Vries and Yuki Tsunoda.
Spanish Grand Prix Q2 results: Verstappen fastest from Norris
Cla | Driver | Laps | Time | Gap | Interval | km/h | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Max Verstappen | 15 | 1'12.760 | 230.318 | |||
2 | Lando Norris | 16 | 1'12.776 | 0.016 | 0.016 | 230.268 | |
3 | Carlos Sainz | 16 | 1'12.790 | 0.030 | 0.014 | 230.223 | |
4 | Lewis Hamilton | 17 | 1'12.999 | 0.239 | 0.209 | 229.564 | |
5 | Esteban Ocon | 15 | 1'13.001 | 0.241 | 0.002 | 229.558 | |
6 | Oscar Piastri | 14 | 1'13.059 | 0.299 | 0.058 | 229.376 | |
7 | Lance Stroll | 17 | 1'13.082 | 0.322 | 0.023 | 229.304 | |
8 | Fernando Alonso | 15 | 1'13.098 | 0.338 | 0.016 | 229.253 | |
9 | Pierre Gasly | 15 | 1'13.186 | 0.426 | 0.088 | 228.978 | |
10 | Nico Hulkenberg | 15 | 1'13.283 | 0.523 | 0.097 | 228.675 | |
11 | Sergio Perez | 17 | 1'13.334 | 0.574 | 0.051 | 228.516 | |
12 | George Russell | 18 | 1'13.447 | 0.687 | 0.113 | 228.164 | |
13 | Zhou Guanyu | 16 | 1'13.521 | 0.761 | 0.074 | 227.934 | |
14 | Nyck de Vries | 16 | 1'14.083 | 1.323 | 0.562 | 226.205 | |
15 | Yuki Tsunoda | 19 | 1'14.477 | 1.717 | 0.394 | 225.009 | |
View full results |
What happened in Spanish Grand Prix Q3?
On the first runs, Verstappen lapped in 1m12.272s, almost a second clear of the opposition on fresh tyres as opposed to everyone else on used rubber.
On the final runs, Verstappen didn’t need to improve, as Sainz took second – 0.462s in arrears – from Norris, Gasly (who is likely to get a grid penalty for impeding), Hamilton, Lance Stroll (Aston Martin), Esteban Ocon (Alpine), Nico Hulkenberg (Haas), Alonso (whose car suffered damage in its early off) and Oscar Piastri (McLaren).
Spanish Grand Prix Q3 results: Verstappen takes pole
Cla | Driver | Laps | Time | Gap | Interval | km/h | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Max Verstappen | 20 | 1'12.272 | 231.874 | |||
2 | Carlos Sainz | 22 | 1'12.734 | 0.462 | 0.462 | 230.401 | |
3 | Lando Norris | 22 | 1'12.792 | 0.520 | 0.058 | 230.217 | |
4 | Pierre Gasly | 21 | 1'12.816 | 0.544 | 0.024 | 230.141 | |
5 | Lewis Hamilton | 23 | 1'12.818 | 0.546 | 0.002 | 230.135 | |
6 | Lance Stroll | 23 | 1'12.994 | 0.722 | 0.176 | 229.580 | |
7 | Esteban Ocon | 21 | 1'13.083 | 0.811 | 0.089 | 229.300 | |
8 | Nico Hulkenberg | 18 | 1'13.229 | 0.957 | 0.146 | 228.843 | |
9 | Fernando Alonso | 18 | 1'13.507 | 1.235 | 0.278 | 227.978 | |
10 | Oscar Piastri | 20 | 1'13.682 | 1.410 | 0.175 | 227.436 | |
View full results |
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