It has been a hectic and close Spanish GP weekend and as qualifying approached, for the first time this season there was a genuine expectation that three teams are in the hunt for the top positions.
Of course, we’ve seen Ferrari and Red Bull up there all season, but Mercedes seemed to have kept their pace from Friday – unlike in Miami – and Lewis Hamilton and George Russell would be eyeing at least the second row of the grid come Q3. Still, Charles Leclerc had three poles so far this season and a practice hat-trick suggested he was very much the man here to beat today.
Zhou, Tsunoda and Gasly – who had a precautionary gearbox change – were the first out on track for Q1, which as always was an 18-minute opening segment for qualifying. Max Verstappen initially set the pace but both Ferrari cars outpaced the world champion, with Charles Leclerc just ahead of Carlos Sainz with an opening 1:19.861. George Russell and Lewis Hamilton went fourth and fifth, again losing their speed in the twisty last sector, being 0.3s off the pace. The five drivers who did not take any further part in qualifying were Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin), Fernando Alonso (Alpine), Lance Stroll (Aston Martin), Alex Albon and Nicolas Latifi (Williams).
Carlos Sainz was now carrying the hopes of the home crowd after Fernando Alonso’s shock exit. Sergio Perez was the quickest of the Red Bull duo, setting the third-fastest time of Q2 – 0.360 seconds off George Russell’s lap. Max Verstappen was back in sixth, while Charles Leclerc was the quickest Ferrari in fourth and Carlos Sainz is seventh. The faster Ferrari and Red Bull cars were on used tyres so that explains the gap to Mercedes at this stage.
Carlos Sainz and then Max Verstappen went fastest to knock Mercedes down a few spots in the final stages of Q2, as both McLarens appeared to set laps to get through to Q3, but Lando Norris had had his time deleted for track limits! Norris, Ocon, Tsunoda, Gasly and Zhou were eliminated. A great performance for Ferrari junior Mick Schumacher, who made it through to Q3 in the Haas!
Show your support for Scuderia Ferrari with official merchandise collection from Puma! Enter the online Puma Store and shop securely! And get your F1 tickets for every race with VIP hospitality and unparalleled insider access. Click here for the best offers to support Charles and Carlos from the track!
12 minutes, and likely two flying laps would dictate the top-10 starting grid for tomorrow’s Spanish Grand Prix at the Circuit de Catalunya. For the first time in the 2022 Formula One season, it was Ferrari vs Red Bull vs Mercedes in the fight for pole!
He’s been fastest all through the weekend’s practice sessions, but Charles Leclerc spun it on his first run of Q3, as Max Verstappen went fastest of all for the first Q3 laps, and that was provisional pole for the Red Bull, some 0.4s ahead of the lead Ferrari! Carlos Sainz was second ahead of Sergio Perez and the Mercedes, with George Russell pipping Lewis Hamilton. The Monegasque driver was is first on track for the final run, swiftly followed by Carlos Sainz, Hamilton, Verstappen and Russell. And what a response from the Ferrari man as he puts in a 1:18.750 at the end of his first lap of the final run to take provisional pole! His teammate Carlos Sainz will start from second row in third.
What a comeback from Charles Leclerc to recover from that spin! He was an incredible 1.1s faster than Q1 and Q2
Leave a Reply