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First Spanish Grand Prix Pole Position For Max Verstappen As Carlos Sainz Takes Second

By Robert Haile

The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya has a new Pole sitter as Max Verstappen claimed his fourth pole position but first at the Spanish circuit.

The Dutch two times World Champion has stamped his authority on the championship since the Miami Grand Prix where he was ninth in qualifying.

Verstappen said: “The weekend has been enjoyable so far. The car has been really performing well but of course we always try to find improvements here and there.

“Qualifying started off tricky, you needed to be on the track at the right time, not making any mistakes. Going into Q3 I knew there was good potential left in the car so I could finally push it to the limit.

“The first run was really quick, then of course we went out again for the second run, that would have been even better, but I was told to abort the lap to save the tyres.

“Looking ahead to tomorrow, we’ll need to watch out for the tyre wear but going into that last corner brings a smile to my face because that’s where an F1 car really comes to life.”

Pole position qualifier Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing (C), Second placed qualifier Carlos Sainz of Spain and Ferrari (R) and Third placed qualifier Lando Norris of Great Britain and McLaren (L) pose for a photo in parc ferme during qualifying ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Spain at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on June 03, 2023 in Barcelona, Spain – (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)

A Ferrari is on the front row with Carlos Sainz and completing the top three is McLaren’s Lando Norris.

Alpine’s Pierre Gasly was set to start on the second row after finishing in fourth just 0.002 in front of Mercedes Lewis Hamilton but was called in by the stewards and handed two three place penalties for impeding Verstappen and Sainz.

Lance Stroll out qualified his Aston Martin teammate with a sixth place with Esteban Ocon’s Alpine in seventh, Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg took eighth with Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin in ninth and Oscar Piastri’s McLaren completed the top ten.

The second session of qualifying had Red Bull’s Sergio Perez going out in eleventh as his Championship challenge stutters with Mercedes George Russell in twelfth.

Zhou Guanyu’s Alfa Romeo beat both AlphaTauri drivers with Nyck de Vries ahead of Yuki Tsunoda in fifteenth.

The first five drivers eliminated in the first qualifying session included a surprise addition.

Valtteri Bottas’ Alfa Romeo missed out by 0.1 on a visit to the second session in sixteenth, Kevin Magnussen’s Haas starts seventeenth with Alex Albon’s Williams eighteenth.

Shock elimination was Charles Leclerc’ Ferrari who will be on the back row with Logan Sargeant’s Williams.

The Spanish Grand Prix race starts at 2pm (14:00) in the UK.

Spanish Grand Prix Qualifying

  1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
  2. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)
  3. Lando Norris (McLaren)
  4. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)*
  5. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
  6. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
  7. Esteban Ocon (Alpine)
  8. Nico Hulkenberg (Haas)
  9. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
  10. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
  11. Sergio Perez (Red Bull)
  12. George Russell (Mercedes)
  13. Zhou Guanyu (Alfa Romeo)
  14. Nyck de Vries (AlphaTauri)
  15. Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri)
  16. Vallteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo)
  17. Kevin Magnussen (Haas)
  18. Alex Albon (Williams)
  19. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
  20. Logan Sargeant (Williams)

* Pierre Gasly will start tenth after being handed two three place penalties for impeding Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz