Winners and losers from Spanish GP F1 qualifying at the Madring
Key Points:
- Lando Norris secured a surprise pole position at the Madring, delivering a near-flawless qualifying lap that edged out Kimi Antonelli by just one hundredth of a second, showcasing McLaren's strong pace.
- Oscar Piastri struggled throughout qualifying, finishing seventh and lagging significantly behind his teammate Norris, which could be costly given the difficulty of overtaking on this circuit.
- Max Verstappen recovered well from Friday's challenges to claim third on the grid, benefiting from improvements in car setup and demonstrating his typical late-stage qualifying surge.
- Lewis Hamilton outqualified Ferrari's Charles Leclerc by a narrow margin to start fourth, with Leclerc hampered by using an older-spec engine following a recent crash.
- Several drivers and teams faced setbacks: George Russell had a disappointing sixth place after tyre issues, Pierre Gasly was puzzled by a poor 14th place, and Aston Martin struggled with power unit problems, leaving Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll outside the top 15.