Formula 1 qualifying Barcelona: Norris pole shocks Verstappen

The order for the first run in the 12-minute Q3 was Perez, Verstappen, Ocon, Sainz, Piastri, Gasly, Norris, Leclerc, Hamilton, Russell. The Mexican’s best time on soft tires did not last long. Verstappen was almost one and a half seconds faster and set a time of 1:11.638 minutes for the competition. Norris came within a tenth of a second. Hamilton and Russell followed closely behind, a hundredth of a second behind the McLaren driver. Sainz and Leclerc were just under two and a half tenths of a second behind in fifth and sixth place. Gasly, Ocon and Perez followed at a large distance behind them. Piastri was in tenth place without a valid lap time.

For the showdown, Perez moved ahead of Piastri, Ocon, Sainz, Leclerc, Verstappen, Gasly, Norris, Hamilton and Russell. Piastri threw away his last attempt with a driving error in turn 12. Ferrari was successful with its final offensive and improved to third and fourth place with Leclerc and Sainz. Verstappen improved again by almost three tenths of a second, but the almost certain pole position was snatched from him at the last moment. Norris beat the champion by two hundredths of a second. Ferrari’s joy also lasted only a short time. With improvements, Hamilton and Norris moved up to third and fourth place.

Q1 in Barcelona: Albon cannot save Williams’ honour

That was Q1: The rear midfield delivered the first lap times in the early stages of the 18-minute Q1. Ricciardo was initially at the top of the rankings. After six minutes, the favorites also started their time hunt in better track conditions. With a time of 1:12.306 minutes, Verstappen set the bar for the competition. Norris narrowly failed to beat the world champion, while Leclerc beat the best time by another five hundredths of a second. After the first exchange of blows, the order was Leclerc, Verstappen, Norris, Sainz, Russell, Gasly, Hülkenberg, Hamilton, Piastri and Perez.

Ricciardo, Tsunoda, Zhou, Magnussen and Sargeant were in the knockout positions before the final phase. For the last run, all drivers from Russell onwards moved up to fifth place. The track evolution brought about improvements throughout the midfield. Hamilton took the lead on new soft tyres with a time of 1:12.143 minutes. Alonso was briefly threatened with a knockout, but the local hero secured his ticket for the second round in ninth place. Teammate Stroll just made it into Q2 in 15th place.

This time, the red lantern went to Williams. For the first time in 2024, Albon failed to make it into Q2. The Thai driver’s worst grid spot this season was 14th place. In Barcelona, ​​Saturday after Q1, he finished 19th, ahead of teammate Logan Sargeant. The American is also facing an investigation by race control for blocking Lance Stroll at the start of the session.

Q2 in Barcelona: Alpine closed for the first time in Q3

That was Q2: In the second part, the top teams took their time again. At the start of the 15-minute Q2, Stroll was alone on the track. The Canadian set a time of 1:13.630 minutes, but this was no obstacle for the competition. The usual suspects took control again towards the halfway point of the session. In the first run, Verstappen was out of reach for the competition this time with a time of 1:11.653 minutes. Norris came closest to the Red Bull driver, two tenths of a second behind. Behind him were Sainz, Piastri, Leclerc, Russell, Gasly, Perez, Hülkenberg and Stroll.

With a used set of tires, Hamilton initially did not get beyond P13. Ocon, Bottas, Alonso and Zhou were also in the knockout zone. In the final minutes, the top five, except for Piastri, remained in the garage. The pursuers also tried to improve. Hamilton improved to second place, with Russell immediately behind him. Things did not go well for Alonso this time. However, for the first time this year, both Alpine drivers made it to the final. Gasly and Ocon moved into Q3 in ninth and tenth place.

The weather: The conditions were also ideal for qualifying at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. The air temperature was 24 degrees Celsius at the start of the session at 16:00 CEST. The asphalt was measured at 38 degrees Celsius with light cloud cover.