Max Verstappen takes pole, Lewis Hamilton fifth after collision with team-mate George Russell at Spanish Grand Prix
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Published 03/06/2023 at 16:12 GMT
After impressing through practice runs, it came as little surprise to see Max Verstappen earn pole in qualifying for the Spanish Grand Prix. Behind him, there was plenty of drama. The collision between Mercedes team-mates saw Lewis Hamilton run fifth, while Logan Sargeant was red flagged after hitting the wall. McLaren's Lando Norris picked up a surprise third in the wet conditions in Barcelona.
Verstappen wins 'typical Monaco Grand Prix', Alonso delighted with second place
Red Bull's Max Verstappen took pole in qualification for the Spanish Grand Prix on Saturday afternoon after a chaotic session that saw multiple collisions and the red flag being waved.
With the field making a short hop from last weekend's Monaco GP to the Circuit de Catalunya, it was perhaps little surprise that Verstappen reigned in Spain.
The Dutchman, the winner in Monaco last Sunday, had impressed through practice and was clearly the most comfortable in the wet and tricky conditions.
After his pole was confirmed, Verstappen spoke to the press.
He said: "The car was really good. Qualifying was really tricky with the weather but once it started to dry out, and in Q3, the car was on rails. It was really enjoyable to drive today. I love coming to Barcelona, I love the track, I love the fans - they love racing. I have a lot of great memories here and hopefully tomorrow we can have another one."
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Verstappen wins 'typical Monaco Grand Prix', Alonso delighted with second place
Two drivers who didn't enjoy their afternoon in Barcelona were Mercedes team-mates Lewis Hamilton and George Russell. As the duo prepared for a final flying lap, they collided.
Over the television broadcast, Hamilton explained: "George just backed off. That's really dangerous. I might have some damage on the car."
Six drivers - Fernando Alonso, Yuki Tsunoda, Valtteri Bottas, Alexander Albon, Nyck de Vries and Logan Sargeant - all spun off the track in a chaotic Q1 session which then saw the red flag emerge.
Spaniard Carlos Sainz, eighth last weekend in Monaco, finished second in qualifying in Barcelona and was delighted with the improved performance.
He said: "I need it [the result]. It was super tight and very, very tricky conditions out there. Even getting out of Q1, Q2 without any issues. Putting in a good lap only with one set in Q3 was probably one of the most tricky qualis I've had here in Barcelona in terms of conditions - but we did it. It was very good today. I felt like I was driving very well. I was pushing everything. I didn't leave anything on the table. I was going flat-out."
Another impressive day was had by McLaren's Lando Norris, who finished third and was even more pleased than Sainz, explaining afterwards: "I'm surprised to be here. We did an amazing job. P3, almost P2. But it's a home race for Carlos so I thought I'd give him a couple of tenths! The new track seems to be good for us. High-speed corners is one of our strengths. Yeah, I'm very happy. A difficult qualifying but the difficult ones seem to suit me."
Bottas, Albon, Sargeant, Kevin Magnussen and Charles Leclerc failed to advance from the rough Q1, while Sergio Perez, Russell, Guanyu Zhou, De Vries, and Tsunoda were eliminated in Q2.
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