2025 Spanish Grand Prix qualifying report
Lando Norris was quickest after the first runs in Q3 but his team mate hit back to claim pole position for the Spanish Grand Prix.
Oscar Piastri led a McLaren one-two while Max Verstappen and George Russell set identical times and will share the second row of the grid.
It was a miserable and short session for Verstappen’s team mate, however. Yuki Tsunoda will start from last place.
Q1
Piastri signalled McLaren’s pace with his first run in qualifying. He produced a 1’12.551, just over a tenth of a second slower than he went in final practice.
Max Verstappen was the last driver to set their first time in Q1, and he took advantage of the track grip improving to nick second place off Lando Norris by one thousandth of a second. George Russell was another seven-thousandths behind in fourth.
Franco Colapinto looked on course to grab a place in Q2, sitting in 11th place after his first run, two places ahead of team mate Pierre Gasly. However while queueing to leave the pits his car slowed and refused to pull away. Those waiting behind him started to pick their way past the Alpine, which the driver eventually pulled over to one side at the pit lane exit.
Despite that disruption, the remaining drivers were still able to join the track and, in some cases, take advantage of the steadily improving conditions to secure passage into Q2. Colapinto’s name steadily dropped down the timing sheets into the drop zone – but he didn’t quite hit the bottom.
That was because Yuki Tsunoda was still having a tough time in the Red Bull. On Friday he’d been mystified by his inability to get closer to Verstappen’s times. From his first lap in qualifying he was off the pace, and afterwards told his team he suspected his floor was damaged. He improved his time on his final run but it wasn’t good enough to lift him up from last place.
A delighted Oliver Bearman reached Q2 while his team mate went no further. Nico Hulkenberg fell narrowly short of beating Isack Hadjar to the last place in Q2. Carlos Sainz Jnr suffered a disappointing qualifying session at home, dropping out in Q1.
Q2
Piastri remained on top after the first runs in Q2, but his team mate ran him closer. Norris produced a 1’12.056 but Piastri became the first driver to break into the 1’11s, pipping him by less than a tenth of a second.
Verstappen remained their closest threat, albeit three tenths of a second off Piastri. The next four cars were threateningly close behind, however: just two tenths covered Vertappen, Russell, Hamilton, Leclerc and Alonso.
Russell offered to assist Antonelli with a slipstream in order to help him reach Q3. Both Mercedes drivers duly made it through, joining the McLarens, Ferraris and Verstappen. Alonso ensured the home crowd had one representative in the top 10 on the grid but his team mate went no further.
An unimpressed Alexander Albon accused Haas of “dirty” tactics after encountering Oliver Bearman in the final sector. He was 11th after his final run, missing the cut by three-hundredths of a second, as Pierre Gasly claimed the final place in Q3.
A strong lap from Gabriel Bortoleto put him 12th on the grid behind the Williams. However Liam Lawson was unable to match Isack Hadjar, who was the only Racing Bulls driver to reach the final 10.
Q3
As Russell observed in Q2, the advantage of gaining a slipstream down the straight was significant. Norris positioned himself to take advantage of it, leaving the pits after Piastri and waiting for him on the outside of turn 12.
While Piastri accelerated to the line to finish his lap, Norris tucked in behind him to pick up a slipstream. “Cheeky,” remarked Piastri. The tactic appeared to pay off: Norris beat Piastri’s time in the first sector and despite losing time in the second pinched provisional pole position off him by a hundredth of a second.
Russell and Leclerc relegated Verstappen to fifth with their first runs. However the Mercedes driver was unhappy with the team’s tactics, saying they had needlessly thrown two tenths of a second away.
Before the final runs, Alonso took advantage of the opportunity to set a clear lap and went fifth-fastest. Verstappen therefore began his final run having slipped to sixth place.
Piastri and Verstappen had the last laughs after their final runs, however. Norris was first of the McLaren drivers to set a time, and chipped a few hundredths off his mark, but Piastri lopped two tenths of a second off that to capture pole position.
Verstappen rebounded on his last run as well, claiming third place with a 1’11.848. Russell then matched that to within a thousandth of a second, putting him fourth.
Those improvements relegated Hamilton to fifth place ahead of Antonelli. Leclerc took seventh, while Alonso saw his initial fifth place translate to 10th on the grid after Gasly and Hadjar also beat it.
- Keith Collantine
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