Max Verstappen romped to pole position for the Spanish Grand Prix in a session which took several scalps and saw Lewis Hamilton and George Russell collide with each other.
The home fans were hoping Fernando Alonso would end his pole drought on Saturday, but it was the other Spaniard who came closest to pole with Carlos Sainz second quickest. And Lando Norris put aside a poor start to the season for McLaren to put his car third on the grid.
Hamilton managed fifth behind Pierre Gasly after the collision with Russell in Q2. It damaged his front wing which needed replacing before the final part of the session and left the seven-time world champion very unimpressed with his team-mate.
Still, could be worse. Russell did not even make it to Q3 and nor did Sergio Perez, who sounded almost tearful over the radio as his title dreams continue to fade. But at least they fared better than Charles Leclerc, who dropped out in the first part of the session and will be 19th on the grid.
The rainclouds stayed away for the start of the session but it was clear there were still some damp patches on the track. Q1 was red flagged just a couple of minutes in as no fewer than six cars either span or went onto the gravel after losing grip.
That included a scary moment for Fernando Alonso coming out of the final corner as he took a trip across the gravel trap, but managed to keep the Aston Martin out of the wall – much to the relief of those in the stands. The others who lost grip in those opening minutes were also able to keep their engines running and avoid becoming beached.
The track ramped up as the cars got going again but, having not been out in the first place, the Ferraris were at a disadvantage. That came back to bite Charles Leclerc, who was only able to go 19th fastest to drop out of the session in Q1, only Logan Sargeant slower than him.
Alex Albon, Kevin Magnussen and Valtteri Bottas also fell at the first hurdle. And there was more drama to come in Q2 as two more big names failed to make it through. Perez needed a smooth weekend after his Monaco shocker but could only qualify 11th in another blow to his title ambitions.
He was one place ahead of Russell, who angered his team-mate Hamilton with their collision. "That's really dangerous," said the seven-time world champion over the radio while Russell was very apologetic for causing the contact and damaging his team-mate's front wing.
Oscar Piastri had looked strong throughout the session but could only manage 10th once through to Q3. Alonso was surprisingly only ninth with Lance Stroll out-qualifying his Aston Martin team-mate for the first time.
Full 2023 Spanish Grand Prix qualifying result
- Max Verstappen – Red Bull
- Carlos Sainz – Ferrari
- Lando Norris – McLaren
- Pierre Gasly – Alpine
- Lewis Hamilton – Mercedes
- Lance Stroll – Aston Martin
- Esteban Ocon– Alpine
- Nico Hulkenberg – Haas
- Fernando Alonso – Aston Martin
- Oscar Piastri – McLaren
- Sergio Perez – Red Bull
- George Russell – Mercedes
- Zhou Guanyu – Alfa Romeo
- Nyck de Vries – AlphaTauri
- Yuki Tsunoda – AlphaTauri
- Valtteri Bottas – Alfa Romeo
- Kevin Magnussen – Haas
- Alex Albon – Williams
- Charles Leclerc – Ferrari
- Logan Sargeant – Williams
