Max Verstappen (Red Bull) secured his first Spanish GP Pole today. Verstappen ran 0.5 seconds faster than Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) in Q3. Verstappen stated, “The car was really good. Qualifying started off a bit tricky with the weather, but by Q3 the car was on rails. It was very enjoyable to drive today. I love the track, I love the fans and I have some great memories here.” Lando Norris (McLaren) was able to find pace that he hasn’t had all season to secure P3 for McLaren. Teammate Oscar Piastri also made it to Q3 and finished 10th. This is the fourth time both McLarens qualified in the top 10 in 2023 which offers a glimpse of positivity for the camp. Pierre Gasly finished 4th but was handed 2 separate 3 place grid penalties for impeding Verstappen and Sainz during qualifying dropping him to P10.
Multiple drivers had issues with patches of slickness as the rain created pockets of wetness on the track. There were multiple slide outs and spins as the drivers chose to remain on slicks because the conditions did not warrant intermediates. Sergio Perez (Red Bull) once again fell victim to qualifying after running wide into the gravel at turn 5 in Q2. The mistake ended his qualifying.
Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) was able to carve out a P5 start ahead of teammate George Russell who failed to make it out of Q2. Both Aston Martins finished Q3 securing another double top 10 qualifying for the Aston Martin side this year.
Full Qualifying results are below
F1 Spanish GP Qualifying Results
| 1 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull/Honda RBPT | 1’12.272 | – | – |
| 2 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jr. | Ferrari | 1’12.734 | 0.462 | 0.639 |
| 3 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren/Mercedes | 1’12.792 | 0.520 | 0.720 |
| 4 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1’12.818 | 0.546 | 0.755 |
| 5 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin/Mercedes | 1’12.994 | 0.722 | 0.999 |
| 6 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine/Renault | 1’13.083 | 0.811 | 1.122 |
| 7 | 27 | Nico Hülkenberg | Haas/Ferrari | 1’13.229 | 0.957 | 1.324 |
| 8 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin/Mercedes | 1’13.507 | 1.235 | 1.709 |
| 9 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren/Mercedes | 1’13.682 | 1.410 | 1.951 |
| 10 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine/Renault | 1’12.816 | 0.544 | 0.753 |
| 11 | 11 | Sergio Pérez | Red Bull/Honda RBPT | 1’13.334 | 1.062 | 1.469 |
| 12 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1’13.447 | 1.175 | 1.626 |
| 13 | 24 | Zhou Guanyu | Alfa Romeo/Ferrari | 1’13.521 | 1.249 | 1.728 |
| 14 | 21 | Nyck de Vries | AlphaTauri/Honda RBPT | 1’14.083 | 1.811 | 2.506 |
| 15 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri/Honda RBPT | 1’14.477 | 2.205 | 3.051 |
| 16 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo/Ferrari | 1’13.977 | 1.705 | 2.359 |
| 17 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas/Ferrari | 1’14.042 | 1.770 | 2.449 |
| 18 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams/Mercedes | 1’14.063 | 1.791 | 2.478 |
| 19 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1’14.079 | 1.807 | 2.500 |
| 20 | 2 | Logan Sargeant | Williams/Mercedes | 1’14.699 | 2.427 | 3.358 |
Action for the Spanish GP gets started tomorrow. For more coverage on the events leading up to the race visit F1.com