Pole of surprises in Barcelona, except one: Max Verstappen nobody beats him. The Dutchman puts Red Bull ahead of everyone in the strange Catalan qualifying characterized by the humidity of the morning rain and many uncertainties. For the double world champion it is the pole n ° 24 in his career, 4th of the year and first of his career at Montmelò, where he won his first gp in 2016 by taking the wheel of Red Bull for the first time. “The car went on the tracks.”
It flew. That of his teammate, Sergio Perez, instead goes into the gravel and is eliminated in Q2. Max without opponents, but this time he finds a redhead, that of Carlos Sainz: the Spaniard is 2nd at home with Ferrari, almost 5 tenths from the blue spaceship. Third Lando Norris on the McLaren, while Hamilton’s Mercedes, which had rough contact with Russell’s, is 4th after the six-place penalty inflicted on the Alpine driver Gasly (now tenth), sanctioned for impeding the damage by Sainz and Verstappen. The Spaniard from Ferrari applauded by his audience, which is partly also that of Fernando Alonso who, eagerly awaited, however is only 8th with the Aston Martin. He takes off his helmet and admits: “It was tough, complicated conditions on the track, indeed one of the most complicated qualifying sessions, it wasn’t at all obvious. I was very good, I rode very well. I’m in the best position for the race and I’ll try to get on the podium”. The changes to the SF 23 (panels, bottom, mirrors), although designed above all for the race pace, seem to work. At least for him.
F1 Gp Spain, Verstappen takes pole, Sainz second. Leclerc eliminated in Q1: live coverage of qualifying
by the Sport editorial staff
Because for Charles Leclerc it is a disaster. The Monegasque excluded in the first round: he will start 19th in the race. Penultimate and in the last row, after him only the Williams of the rookie Sargeant. It is the first time that he has been eliminated in the first pole exam since Monaco 2019: at the time it was due to an error by the pit wall, which kept him in the pits trusting in a time later beaten by the competitors. “Undrivable car”, says the Monegasque who took pole at Montmelò last year, but was then abandoned by the engine in the race. Everything has changed: for the worse. “Incredible,” he says again on the radio when they tell him he’s out. But he already knows. The redhead, who changed her clothes in Catalonia to be more constant in the race, really doesn’t suit him. When he arrives at the interviews, Charles is incredulous: “I’d be very surprised if the car turned out to be in order, we have to look at the data to understand what was wrong: I took the right turn and it went well, something didn’t feel right on the left, I almost lost and I was going to the wall at 60 km/h. Tomorrow we have to go back to having a good feeling”. But down there, it will be hell.
And for Charles, the nightmare seems endless. Last week in Monaco, his home, penalized by three positions after qualifying where he finished 3rd: his garage did not warn him in time of the arrival of Norris behind, punished for impediment. And now this very tough Barcelona, where the rain of the last free practice of the morning left a few drops and a lot of uncertainty on the ground. In the first turn, as soon as they go out, a lot of cars skid sending gravel debris on the track. Red flag while neither Charles nor Sainz have yet put in the safe a time. Leclerc has repeatedly complained of problems with the rear. Not even 5 minutes left when the Monegasque returns to the pits and is called to the weigh-in by the FIA. He goes out and runs for an 11th time which will be beaten by the others later. Sad eyes, but not given up, are Leclerc, who also visits the anti-doping medical center: “It will be difficult in the race, but I don’t want to lower my head, there will be a lot of degradation and if I manage well, we can go back to the front”.