Spanish disaster on the first Saturday of Madring. Carlos Sainz Jr. and Fernando Alonso failed to get past Q1 of Qualifying and this Sunday they will start from 17th and 18th on the grid. Painful positions for the thousands of fans who have packed, and will pack tomorrow, the stands of the Spanish GP. The ‘pole’ went to McLaren driver Lando Norris, who beat favorite Kimi Antonelli with a ‘great lap’. The Briton will start first thanks to the 1:31.824 he set at the decisive moment, eleven thousandths better than the Italian, World Championship leader. Third was Verstappen, with Hamilton and Leclerc’s Ferraris behind in a very close Q3: only five tenths separate the top eight. Far behind, Sainz and Alonso.
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And the Spaniards had not found any feeling on the Madrid circuit since Friday. During the three free practice sessions they were at the bottom of the classification and when the moment of truth came there was no miracle. Neither Williams nor Aston Martin have found the key to a circuit that rewards engines, a pending subject for both teams, who lose all their chances in the first sector of Madring. From there on, everything is uphill.
The Aston Martin chassis improves performance in the second and third parts of the circuit, but not enough to cut time against their biggest rivals, so both Sainz and Alonso saw how the Alpines, Racing Bulls and Audis were better than them. And we are not even talking about the favorites: Mercedes, McLaren, Ferrari and Red Bull, all occupying the top eight positions. Sainz with 1:35.307 and Alonso with 1:35.388, in the same tenth as Albon, 16th, but seven tenths behind the next, Ocon. Too much distance to dream of anything at the Grand Prix at their home.
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Sainz, Alonso, Pérez, Bottas, Bearman and Stroll, the last two without setting a time, were eliminated at the first hurdle, and in Q2 they were joined by Albon (16th), Tsunoda (15th), Gasly (14th), Ocon (13th), Bortoleto (12th) and Hulkenberg (11th).
The surprise in Q3 was Argentine Franco Colapinto, who with his Alpine was able to sneak into the fight among the favorites. There, Lando Norris delivered “one of the best laps of my life” to snatch pole from Antonelli at the last moment. The Briton was eleven thousandths better than the Italian and will start first. Behind, a lot of equality, because the top eight are separated by only five tenths. Verstappen, third, beat the Ferraris of Hamilton and Leclerc, while Russell, Piastri and Lawson completed the top eight.
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