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F1 Spanish GP qualifying - Start time, how to watch & more

Charles Leclerc topped Friday practice for Ferrari at the Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix. Here’s how and when to watch qualifying.

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari F1-75

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari F1-75

Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

Leclerc beat Mercedes duo George Russell and Lewis Hamilton to top spot in second practice at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, having also been fastest in opening practice, to mark a strong start to the weekend for the F1 world championship leader. 

Despite missing out on the top time, Mercedes was optimistic its upgrade package delivered for the Spanish GP has cured much of its porpoising problem, meaning the team can focus on extracting better performance from its W13 F1 car.

But the major talking point at the Spanish GP was the FIA investigation into Aston Martin’s F1 car upgrades, having drawn incredible similarities to the Red Bull car, as the Silverstone-based team was judged to have not broken any rules in developing its own package. 

Max Verstappen led the Red Bull charge in Spain, with fifth place in FP2 just behind Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, as Alpine’s Fernando Alonso took sixth ahead of the sister Red Bull of Sergio Perez.

Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel, Esteban Ocon (Alpine) and Mick Schumacher (Haas) rounded out the top 10 in FP2.

Carlos Sainz, Ferrari F1-75

Carlos Sainz, Ferrari F1-75

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

What time does qualifying start for the F1 Spanish Grand Prix?

Qualifying for the Spanish GP starts at 4pm local time (3pm BST), using the regular Q1, Q2 and Q3 knockout session format.

Date: Saturday 21st May 2022
Start time: 4pm local time – 3pm BST

How can I watch Formula 1?

In the United Kingdom Formula 1 is only broadcast live on Sky Sports, with highlights shown on Channel 4 several hours after the race has finished. Live streaming through NOW is also available in the UK.

Sky Sports F1, which broadcasts the F1 races, can be added as part of the Sky Sports channels which costs £20 a month for new customers. Sky Sports can also be accessed through NOW with a one-off day payment of £11.98p or a month membership of £33.99p per month.

Fans wanting to watch the race for free will have to wait until Saturday evening (qualifying) or Sunday evening (race) to see the highlights on Channel 4.

How can I watch F1 Spanish GP qualifying?

In the United Kingdom every F1 practice, qualifying and race is broadcast live on Sky Sports F1, with Spanish GP qualifying coverage starting at 2:20pm GMT.

· Channel: Sky Sports F1
· Start time: 2:20pm BST 21st May 2022

Autosport will be running a live text coverage of qualifying here. 

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes W13

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes W13

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

When can I watch the highlights of F1 Spanish GP qualifying?

In the United Kingdom Channel 4 is broadcasting highlights of qualifying for the Spanish GP at 6:45pm BST on Saturday. The full programme will run for 90 minutes, covering both qualifying and wrapping up the major talking points of the race weekend so far.

For the entire 2022 F1 season, Channel 4 will broadcast highlights of every qualifying and race of each event. The highlights will also be available on Channel 4’s on demand catch up services.

· Channel: Channel 4
· Start time: 6:45pm BST 21st May 2022

Will F1 Spanish GP qualifying be on the radio?

Live radio coverage of every practice, qualifying and race for the 2022 F1 season will be available on the BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC 5 Live Sports Extra or via the BBC Sport website.

Coverage of Spanish qualifying will start at 2:55pm BST on BBC 5 Live Sports Extra and the BBC Sounds app.

What's the weather forecast for qualifying at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya?

Sunny and hot weather is forecast for Saturday afternoon for the start of qualifying at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Montmelo. The temperature is set to be 27 degrees Celsius at the start of qualifying, four degrees cooler than Miami GP qualifying.

F1 Spanish GP: FP2 results

Cla Driver Time Gap
1 Monaco Charles Leclerc 1'19.670  
2 United Kingdom George Russell 1'19.787 0.117
3 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton 1'19.874 0.204
4 Spain Carlos Sainz 1'19.990 0.320
5 Netherlands Max Verstappen 1'20.006 0.336
6 Spain Fernando Alonso 1'20.203 0.533
7 Mexico Sergio Perez 1'20.632 0.962
8 Germany Sebastian Vettel 1'20.703 1.033
9 France Esteban Ocon 1'20.745 1.075
10 Germany Mick Schumacher 1'20.757 1.087
11 France Pierre Gasly 1'20.917 1.247
12 Denmark Kevin Magnussen 1'21.013 1.343
13 Canada Lance Stroll 1'21.249 1.579
14 Japan Yuki Tsunoda 1'21.285 1.615
15 Australia Daniel Ricciardo 1'21.385 1.715
16 Finland Valtteri Bottas 1'21.828 2.158
17 China Zhou Guanyu 1'21.866 2.196
18 Thailand Alex Albon 1'22.319 2.649
19 Canada Nicholas Latifi 1'23.197 3.527
20 United Kingdom Lando Norris 1'23.388 3.718

F1 Spanish GP: FP1 result

Cla Driver Time Gap
1 Monaco Charles Leclerc 1'19.828  
2 Spain Carlos Sainz 1'19.907 0.079
3 Netherlands Max Verstappen 1'20.164 0.336
4 United Kingdom George Russell 1'20.590 0.762
5 Spain Fernando Alonso 1'20.768 0.940
6 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton 1'20.811 0.983
7 United Kingdom Lando Norris 1'21.279 1.451
8 France Pierre Gasly 1'21.422 1.594
9 Australia Daniel Ricciardo 1'21.737 1.909
10 Japan Yuki Tsunoda 1'21.814 1.986
11 France Esteban Ocon 1'21.891 2.063
12 Canada Lance Stroll 1'21.920 2.092
13 Poland Robert Kubica 1'21.975 2.147
14 Denmark Kevin Magnussen 1'22.089 2.261
15 Germany Mick Schumacher 1'22.146 2.318
16 Germany Sebastian Vettel 1'22.164 2.336
17 Finland Valtteri Bottas 1'22.614 2.786
18 Netherlands Nyck de Vries 1'22.920 3.092
19 Canada Nicholas Latifi 1'23.011 3.183
20 Estonia Jüri Vips 1'24.138 4.310

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