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Lando Norris Makes ‘Perfect Lap’ To Beat Max Verstappen for Pole in Spain

For just the second time in his career, Lando Norris has secured a Formula 1 pole.

There was no room for error. Norris turned a lap just two hundredths of a second faster than Max Verstappen. The defending champion had used a draft from teammate Sergio Perez down Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya’s long frontstretch on his qualifying lap, but Norris’ lap proved too good to overcome.

“It was pretty much a perfect lap,” Norris said in the podium interview. “You know you’re on good lap when you’re getting excited during it. The whole thing went perfectly in the end – close, still.”

Lewis Hamilton will start third, nipping fellow Mercedes driver George Russell by two thousandths of a second.

Q3

Oscar Piastri went off at turn 12 and into the gravel on his hot lap. The Australian was able to return to pit road, but had no banker lap to fall back on, causing him to not set a time in this round.

Perez will be serving a three place grid penalty from Canada, meaning he will be starting in 11th instead of eighth.

Pos.Driver No.DriverTeamTime from Leader
1.4Lando NorrisMcLaren Mercedes1:11:383m
2.1Max VerstappenRed Bull Racing Honda RBPT+0.020s
3.44Lewis HamiltonMercedes+0.318s
4.63George RussellMercedes+0.320s
5.16Charles LeclercFerrari+0.348s
6.55Carlos SainzFerrari+0.353s
7.10Pierre GaslyAlpine Renault+0.474s
8.11Sergio PerezRed Bull Racing Honda RBPT+0.678s
9.31Esteban OconAlpine Renault+0.742s
10.81Oscar PiastriMcLaren MercedesN/A

Q2

There were no major incidents in this or any other round of qualifying.

Pos.Driver No.DriverTeamTime from Advancing
11.14Fernando AlonsoAston Martin Aramco Mercedes+0.019s
12.77Valtteri BottasKICK Sauber Ferrari+0.118s
13.27Nico HulkenbergHaas Ferrari+0.201s
14.18Lance StrollAston Martin Aramco Mercedes+0.263s
15.24Zhou GuanyuKICK Sauber Ferrari+0.629s

Q1

After so much success the past two months, RB drivers Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo failed to advance out of Q1. It was the first time this season that both have dropped out in the opening round.

It was another rough afternoon for Logan Sargeant. In addition to qualifying last, the sophomore was also called to the stewards for impeding Lance Stroll during this round.

Pos.Driver No.DriverTeamTime from Advancing
16.20Kevin MagnussenHaas Ferrari+0.056s
17.22Yuki TsunodaRB Honda RBPT+0.104s
18.3Daniel RicciardoRB Honda RBPT+0.194s
19.23Alexander AlbonWilliams Mercedes+0.272s
20.2Logan SargeantWilliams Mercedes+0.628s

F1 Qualifying Results For Spain

With qualifying complete, it’s time once again for the Spanish Grand Prix. Lights out will come at 9 a.m. ET, with coverage provided by Sky Sports and telecasted on ESPN. A reminder that our live coverage will be on Formula Frontstretch, our Bluesky account (@formulafs.bsky.social).

Michael has watched NASCAR for 20 years and regularly covered the sport from 2013-2021, and also formerly covered the SRX series from 2021-2023. He now covers the FIA Formula 1 World Championship, the NASCAR Xfinity Series, and road course events in the NASCAR Cup Series.

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