Fernando Alonso has had problems after damaging his Aston Martin in a run off the track in Q1.
Max Verstappen has had no rival in qualifying for the 2023 F1 Spanish Grand Prix, where he has achieved pole position, on a circuit where in 2016 he achieved his first victory in the premier class. After him will start Carlos Sainz, who has completed a magnificent classification, in front of a surprising Lando Norris.
Things have gone worse for Fernando Alonso, who this time will have to start a step behind, from ninth place, after having a run off the track in Q1 and damaging the flat bottom.
| Position | Pilot | Equipment | time/difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | max verstappen | Red Bull | 1:12.272 |
| 2nd | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | +0.462 |
| 3rd | Lando Norris | McLaren | +0.520 |
| 4th | Pierre Gasley | McLaren | +0.544 |
| 5th | lewis hamilton | Mercedes | +0.546 |
| 6th | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | +0.722 |
| 7th | Esteban Ocon | Alpine | +0.811 |
| 8th | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas | +0.957 |
| 9th | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | +1,235 |
| 10th | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | +1,410 |
| 11th | Sergio Perez | Red Bull | 1:13.334 |
| 12th | George Russell | Mercedes | 1:13.447 |
| 13th | guanyu zhou | alfa romeo | 1:13.521 |
| 14th | nyck devries | AlphaTauri | 1:14.083 |
| 15th | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri | 1:14.477 |
| 16th | Valtteri Bottas | alfa romeo | 1:13.977 |
| 17th | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | 1:14,042 |
| 18th | Alex Albón | williams | 1:14.063 |
| 19th | charles leclerc | Ferrari | 1:14.079 |
| 20º | logan sergeant | williams | 1:14,699 |
Q1: An eliminated Ferrari!
Qualifying started in a hurry, as the track (still wet) was ready for dry tyres, and a few drops of water were still falling, making the asphalt a real challenge. Nyck de Vries suffered a spectacular exit from the track, and Fernando Alonso also had a scare in the last corner, although both were able to continue.
Pierre Gasly set the fastest time (after the FIA stripped Hülkenberg of the best time for exceeding the track limits), while the FIA surprisingly decided to wave the red flag after an off-track run by Bottas and Albon, which left stones on the asphalt. After four minutes, Alonso was eighth, but neither Sainz nor Verstappen had set the time.
Fernando Alonso’s miraculous save on the gravel 😱 Tremendous how he manages to control the car by counter-steering to avoid the wall#SpainDAZNF1 🇪🇸 pic.twitter.com/YAXt1nXKlN
— DAZN Spain (@DAZN_ES) June 3, 2023
Once the action resumed, it didn’t take long for Max Verstappen to take first place, with a time of 1:13.660, which he managed to drop a few minutes later to 1:13.615. Sainz was placed in fifth place after his first attempt, and Alonso in sixth, although the Spaniard was rolling on used tyre.
The track did not finish improving, and there were riders who suffered until the end, such as Pérez or Leclerc, who started the last minutes in the elimination zone. ‘Checo’ quickly got out of there (4th), after putting on a new set of tires. Leclerc also improved, but only managed to get to fourteenth, which did not allow him to escape elimination.
Hamilton led the time sheets, with a time of 1:12.937, followed by Lando Norris and George Russell. Sainz made the cut in fourth position, and Alonso twelfth. Valtteri Bottas, Kevin Magnussen, Alex Albon, Charles Leclerc and Logan Sargeant were eliminated.
Q2: A Red Bull and a Mercedes fall!
With the weather conditions stabilized and the track dry, Verstappen once again set the best times with no apparent rivalry. The Dutch pilot, with a 1: 12.760, was placed in the first position, followed by eight tenths of his teammate, Sergio Pérez. Sainz was third after his first attempt, on a used tyre.
Alonso, with a flat bottom damaged by his run off the track in Q1, set the second fastest time, half a second behind Verstappen. Lewis Hamilton snatched second position from the Spaniard, with a spectacular lap of 1: 12.999, with which he endorsed Fernando by three tenths and stayed two behind Verstappen.
The activity in the last few seconds was frenetic. Nobody could with the leadership of Verstappen, but after him there were many changes. Lando Norris was placed in second position, followed by Carlos Sainz. Alonso could only be eighth, but the surprise was behind, with the fall of Sergio Pérez, George Russell, Guanyu Zhou, Nyck de Vries and Yuki Tusnoda.
Inexplicably, the two Mercedes touched in the middle of the finish line at the end of Q2, after not understanding each other when Russell caught Sainz’s slipstream.
TOUCH MORE THAN 300KM/H BETWEEN THE TWO MERCEDES! 😱😱😱 The one that could have gotten involved between Hamilton and Russell 🔥#SpainDAZNF1 🇪🇸 pic.twitter.com/2ZkjcPIgCb
— DAZN Spain (@DAZN_ES) June 3, 2023
Q3: Sainz shines, problems for Alonso
Again, Verstappen took to the track and set the fastest time on his first lap. The Dutchman did a 1:12.272 on his first lap, beating Lewis Hamilton by almost a second, who moved into second place with his first lap. On the other hand, Sainz was fifth after his first attempt.
In Fernando Alonso’s box, the Aston Martin F1 mechanics worked to try to repair as much as possible the flat bottom of car 14 and gain a few thousandths ahead of a single qualifying attempt. Fernando’s lap was not brilliant, since he also went wide in a corner, probably caused by the damage, and could only be ninth.
Max was unable to improve his time, but a spectacular Carlos Sainz did, who moved up to second place, staying four tenths behind Verstappen, who secured pole position. A surprising Lando Norris moved into third, while Pierre Gasly – under investigation for disturbing two drivers – stopped the clock in fourth, followed by Lewis Hamilton and Lance Stroll.
Esteban Ocon, seventh, will start ahead of Nico Hülkenberg, Fernando Alonso and Oscar Piastri to close the top ten positions. The Spanish Grand Prix will start on Sunday at 3:00 p.m. in the afternoon.
