Norris in pole position! Qualifying for the VC of Spain produced the fourth different winner in a row

Another thrilling qualifying session was on offer on Saturday at the tenth round of this year’s Formula 1 season at the Spanish circuit near Barcelona. In a breathtaking finish, Lando Norris and McLaren took pole position ahead of Red Bull and Max Verstappen, who this time missed out on the top spot by two hundredths of a second. Norris’ second career qualifying success brought the unbiased fans a fourth man on pole position in a row. Mercedes confirmed the great form from Canada by gaining second row ahead of Ferrari.

After a couple of track-specific sessions in Monaco and Canada, Formula 1 visited a circuit that should, in theory, mark the return of Red Bull’s relative dominance, particularly Max Verstappen. However, all three practice sessions saw three different winners from three different teams, with no reigning world champions among them.

Friday’s free practice sessions were first dominated by Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton, while Saturday’s was dominated by Carlos Sainz. Nevertheless, Verstappen proved that Red Bull is a great contender for pole position despite its apparent problems. The top four teams were virtually a hundredth apart after the qualifying simulations.

Q1: Solid for Alpine and Sauber, downfall for VCARB

Even the initial quick attempts in the first part of qualifying indicated a rapid pace at the circuit near Barcelona. Sergio Pérez was the first driver from the leading stables to set the 1:13.0 bar. However, teammate Verstappen destroyed it with his own time seven tenths of a second better.

So it turned out that the Mexican’s installation attempt was by no means going to be enough, especially after he was immediately humbled by eight other drivers. Including Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who managed to beat the time of last year’s pole position Verstappen early in Q1.

However, the big driver reshuffle due to track evolution did not take place at the end of Q1. The top teams assessed the situation that their early attempts would push them into the next part of qualifying, while the stables from the other half of the field had to go out and hope for an improvement.

In the end, both Alpin and Sauber drivers emerged victorious, with Nico Hülkenberg still managing to squeeze into Q2 on a Haas. Conversely, the imaginary guillotine landed on the heads of Kevin Magnussen, slightly surprisingly both RB drivers Juki Cunoda and Daniel Ricciardo and both Williams drivers Alex Albon and Logan Sargeant.

Q2: The eye of the controversial Briatore sent Alpine on again

Only eight teams made an appearance in the middle segment of qualifying. It took nearly seven minutes for the first competitive times to appear on the leaderboard. Stroll’s 1:13.630 was almost universally bettered by at least one second, with Verstappen hooking onto the existing lead. His attempt of 1:11.653 returned the three-time world champion to where many expected him to be, with a fairly conclusive two tenths lead over mclaren Norris.

The trio of drivers below 1:12, Verstappen, Norris and Sainz, remained in the pits at the end of Q2, including Leclerc, happy with a time almost four tenths behind the Dutchman. Piastri did not improve, the Mercedes of Hamilton and Russell shot up to second and third respectively at the end, and Pérez finished eighth despite two fast laps.

Unexpectedly, Alpine took the last two tickets to Q3. Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon, already under the watchful eye of F1 paddock returnee Flavio Briatore, took out Alonso, Bottas, Hülkenberg, Stroll and Chou.

Q3: Norris’s out-of-nowhere performance earns him pole position

Pérez started the first round of trials with a slow 1:13.061. Verstappen followed it up with a time of his own of 1:11.673, which none of the other drivers have beaten so far. The promisingly paced laps after the opening two sectors of Norris, Leclerc or Hamilton eventually ended with overall losses of less than three tenths. Russell and Sainz, on the other hand, pulled it off brilliantly in the third part of the circuit and also squeezed to within the same distance of Verstappen.

Without a legitimate attempt for the time being, Piastri remained, who staked everything on a single fleeting lap. However, that gamble slipped through the Australian’s fingers when he failed to negotiate the exit of Turn 12 and went into a duck.

Meanwhile, however, the Ferrari drivers were putting together their best stunts. Sainz led teammate Leclerc to the line, but the two fell short of Verstappen by a difference of around six-hundredths of a second with the Monegasque ahead of the home hero. The reigning champion, however, momentarily burnt everyone’s pond with a respectable 1:11.403 attempt.

However, the Red Bull’s joy was quickly thwarted by Norris with an even more impressive time, who to the delight of the orange team, reached pole position. The Briton stole the top spot from Verstappen on Sunday’s grid by just two hundredths of a second! Mercedes jumped to second row at the end with Hamilton ahead of Russell. That left the third row to Ferrari, while the fourth row would belong to Alpine after a three-place penalty to Pérez, who would start the grand prix from eleventh position.

Norris’ second career pole position also marks the fourth different winner from four different stables in the last four qualifying sessions on Saturday. You can see the overall qualifying results from the Spanish GP in the attached post below.

Sources