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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

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.

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Spanish Grand Prix qualifying results: Verstappen on pole from Sainz

Cla Driver Chassis Engine Time Gap
1 Netherlands Max Verstappen Red Bull Red Bull 1'12.272  
2 Spain Carlos Sainz Ferrari Ferrari 1'12.734 0.462
3 United Kingdom Lando Norris McLaren Mercedes 1'12.792 0.520
4 France Pierre Gasly Alpine Renault 1'12.816 0.544
5 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton Mercedes Mercedes 1'12.818 0.546
6 Canada Lance Stroll Aston Martin Mercedes 1'12.994 0.722
7 France Esteban Ocon Alpine Renault 1'13.083 0.811
8 Germany Nico Hulkenberg Haas Ferrari 1'13.229 0.957
9 Spain Fernando Alonso Aston Martin Mercedes 1'13.507 1.235
10 Australia Oscar Piastri McLaren Mercedes 1'13.682 1.410
11 Mexico Sergio Perez Red Bull Red Bull 1'13.334 1.062
12 United Kingdom George Russell Mercedes Mercedes 1'13.447 1.175
13 China Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo Ferrari 1'13.521 1.249
14 Netherlands Nyck de Vries AlphaTauri Red Bull 1'14.083 1.811
15 Japan Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri Red Bull 1'14.477 2.205
16 Finland Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo Ferrari 1'13.977 1.705
17 Denmark Kevin Magnussen Haas Ferrari 1'14.042 1.770
18 Thailand Alex Albon Williams Mercedes 1'14.063 1.791
19 Monaco Charles Leclerc Ferrari Ferrari 1'14.079 1.807
20 United States Logan Sargeant Williams Mercedes 1'14.699 2.427
 

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 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton 11 1'12.937     229.759
2 United Kingdom Lando Norris 10 1'13.295 0.358 0.358 228.637
3 United Kingdom George Russell 11 1'13.326 0.389 0.031 228.541
4 Spain Carlos Sainz 10 1'13.411 0.474 0.085 228.276
5 Germany Nico Hulkenberg 9 1'13.420 0.483 0.009 228.248
6 France Esteban Ocon 9 1'13.433 0.496 0.013 228.208
7 France Pierre Gasly 9 1'13.471 0.534 0.038 228.089
8 Netherlands Nyck de Vries 10 1'13.581 0.644 0.110 227.749
9 Netherlands Max Verstappen 9 1'13.615 0.678 0.034 227.643
10 China Zhou Guanyu 10 1'13.677 0.740 0.062 227.452
11 Australia Oscar Piastri 8 1'13.691 0.754 0.014 227.409
12 Spain Fernando Alonso 9 1'13.747 0.810 0.056 227.236
13 Canada Lance Stroll 11 1'13.766 0.829 0.019 227.177
14 Japan Yuki Tsunoda 11 1'13.862 0.925 0.096 226.882
15 Mexico Sergio Perez 10 1'13.874 0.937 0.012 226.845
16 Finland Valtteri Bottas 10 1'13.977 1.040 0.103 226.529
17 Denmark Kevin Magnussen 9 1'14.042 1.105 0.065 226.331
18 Thailand Alex Albon 8 1'14.063 1.126 0.021 226.266
19 Monaco Charles Leclerc 10 1'14.079 1.142 0.016 226.217
20 United States Logan Sargeant 6 1'14.699 1.762 0.620 224.340

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 Netherlands Max Verstappen 15 1'12.760     230.318
2 United Kingdom Lando Norris 16 1'12.776 0.016 0.016 230.268
3 Spain Carlos Sainz 16 1'12.790 0.030 0.014 230.223
4 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton 17 1'12.999 0.239 0.209 229.564
5 France Esteban Ocon 15 1'13.001 0.241 0.002 229.558
6 Australia Oscar Piastri 14 1'13.059 0.299 0.058 229.376
7 Canada Lance Stroll 17 1'13.082 0.322 0.023 229.304
8 Spain Fernando Alonso 15 1'13.098 0.338 0.016 229.253
9 France Pierre Gasly 15 1'13.186 0.426 0.088 228.978
10 Germany Nico Hulkenberg 15 1'13.283 0.523 0.097 228.675
11 Mexico Sergio Perez 17 1'13.334 0.574 0.051 228.516
12 United Kingdom George Russell 18 1'13.447 0.687 0.113 228.164
13 China Zhou Guanyu 16 1'13.521 0.761 0.074 227.934
14 Netherlands Nyck de Vries 16 1'14.083 1.323 0.562 226.205
15 Japan Yuki Tsunoda 19 1'14.477 1.717 0.394 225.009

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 Netherlands Max Verstappen 20 1'12.272     231.874
2 Spain Carlos Sainz 22 1'12.734 0.462 0.462 230.401
3 United Kingdom Lando Norris 22 1'12.792 0.520 0.058 230.217
4 France Pierre Gasly 21 1'12.816 0.544 0.024 230.141
5 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton 23 1'12.818 0.546 0.002 230.135
6 Canada Lance Stroll 23 1'12.994 0.722 0.176 229.580
7 France Esteban Ocon 21 1'13.083 0.811 0.089 229.300
8 Germany Nico Hulkenberg 18 1'13.229 0.957 0.146 228.843
9 Spain Fernando Alonso 18 1'13.507 1.235 0.278 227.978
10 Australia Oscar Piastri 20 1'13.682 1.410 0.175 227.436

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