Piastri Earns Pole Position at Spanish GP Ahead of McLaren Teammate Norris
Formula 1 leader Oscar Piastri grabbed pole position for the Spanish Grand Prix ahead of McLaren teammate Lando Norris on Saturday.
Piastri used one last flying lap to knock Norris off the top spot and get the edge on the starting grid.
Sunday's race promises to be a scintillating fight between the papaya-colored cars which have won six of the first eight races of the season and put Max Verstappen's grip on F1 in jeopardy. Piastri leads Norris by three points in the standings through the first third of the season, The Associated Press reported.
It was the Australian's fourth pole of the season. He leads the field with four race victories, although Verstappen and Norris have topped the last two grands prix.
Verstappen's Red Bull will start on Sunday from third. Verstappen, who is 25 points off Piastri's lead, has won at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for the past three years.
Piastri won from pole position in China and Bahrain, while he also pipped a pole-sitting Verstappen to win in Saudi Arabia and Miami. His only blemish was losing to Verstappen after taking pole in Imola two rounds ago.
The sensation of the F1 season blazed to a pace-setting lap in Spain that was two-tenths faster than Norris. Now he must make good on that by protecting his advantage on the long run from the starting grid to the first right-hand corner.
'It has been a good weekend so far. The car has been mega, and glad to put in some good laps as well,' Piastri said. 'It is going be interesting tomorrow. It is a long way to Turn 1 so I got to make sure I make a good start.'
Norris knows how difficult that can be. He took the pole last year, only for Verstappen to sweep past him at the start and hold on to win the race for a fourth time overall.
'It is normally interesting, and we have a lot of quick guys behind us," Norris.
Mercedes' George Russell and Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton start from fourth and fifth.
'Squeezing everything out of the car' When asked if he hoped to be closer to his McLaren rivals, Verstappen responded with a terse 'No.'
'We were lacking all weekend compared to them,' Verstappen said. 'I'm here, squeezing everything out of the car. We had a decent Friday, made some final changes to the car but it wasn't enough to challenge for the pole.'
Verstappen had pointed to Barcelona as another race in which he hoped to challenge the McLarens following his win in Italy two rounds ago, and Red Bull boss Christian Horner said his team needed to stay close to the front-runners to have a chance to make gains later in the season.
But the four-time world champion now has to get by both McLarens and hold them off if he wants to cut into their leads.
'It is going to be tough tomorrow,' Verstappen said. 'That doesn't mean we are not going to try.'
Yuki Tsunoda bottomed out for Red Bull and had the slowest time in the opening segment of qualifying. The Japanese driver will start from last place in a big blow for Verstappen's new teammate.
Carlos Sainz also got culled early and will start from 18th in his Williams. That was the Spaniard's worst qualifying result of the season.
Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli clocked the sixth best time, followed by Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, Alpine's Pierre Gasly, and Racing Bulls rookie Isack Hadjar.
Home favorite Fernando Alonso closed out the top 10 for Aston Martin.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Asharq Al-Awsat
16 hours ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Verstappen Blames Frustration for a ‘Move That Was Not Right' After Colliding with Russell
Max Verstappen said Monday that frustration caused 'a move that was not right and shouldn't have happened', a day after he initially seemed unrepentant over his collision with George Russell at Formula 1's Spanish Grand Prix. Before the collision, Verstappen had been asked by his Red Bull team to give up a place to Russell. It followed an earlier incident between the two drivers when Russell had tried to get past Verstappen, who went off the track. The race stewards ruled Verstappen had 'suddenly accelerated' before the collision and Russell said it 'felt very deliberate'. The stewards gave Verstappen a 10-second penalty which dropped him from fifth to 10th and left him 49 points off standings leader Oscar Piastri, who won Sunday's race. 'We had an exciting strategy and good race in Barcelona, till the safety car came out. Our tire choice to the end and some moves after the safety car restart fueled my frustration, leading to a move that was not right and shouldn't have happened,' Verstappen wrote on Instagram. 'I always give everything out there for the team and emotions can run high. You win some together, you lose some together. See you (at the next race) in Montreal.' Initially in the aftermath of Sunday's race, Verstappen had said that 'next time I will bring a tissue', responding to Russell claiming he set a poor example for young drivers. Russell finished fourth. The collision followed a series of setbacks for Verstappen, who had been in third and pressuring the two McLaren drivers in front before the safety car came out. Red Bull decided to bring Verstappen into the pits for fresh tires, even though the only ones he had left were slower hard-compound tires, a type that no other driver used. At the restart, Verstappen lost grip and was overtaken by Charles Leclerc, whose Ferrari made contact with Verstappen's Red Bull. Neither driver was ruled at fault for that. Verstappen then went off the track while defending against Russell and Red Bull asked Verstappen to give up the place to Russell, apparently because the team expected Verstappen would be given a penalty. The stewards later ruled they wouldn't have taken action against the Dutch driver for that incident. Risking a suspension Verstappen needs to be careful in the next two races because the penalty for the collision with Russell also brought him penalty points on his license, taking him to 11 in the last 12 months. Drivers get a one-race suspension if they hit 12 points in a year. Two of those points expire at the end of the month, but until then Verstappen needs to get through the Canadian and Austrian Grands Prix without any further penalty points.
Arab News
18 hours ago
- Arab News
Max Verstappen blames frustration for a ‘move that was not right' after colliding with Russell
Max Verstappen said Monday that frustration caused 'a move that was not right and shouldn't have happened', a day after he initially seemed unrepentant over his collision with George Russell at Formula 1's Spanish Grand Prix. For the latest updates, follow us @ArabNewsSport
Asharq Al-Awsat
a day ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Verstappen One Point from a Race Ban After Clash with Russell
Formula One world champion Max Verstappen is one penalty point away from a race ban after being punished for driving into Mercedes rival George Russell during Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix. In addition to a 10-second time penalty, dropping the Red Bull driver from fifth to 10th, stewards handed Verstappen three penalty points on his super-license. That took his tally to 11 for a 12-month period, with 12 points triggering a one-race ban. Two of those points expire at the end of June but there are two races before that. The Red Bull driver had clashed twice with Russell at the restart following a late safety car period at the Circuit de Catalunya. The pair made contact first at Turn One when Verstappen, who was defending fourth place on hard tires against a rival on quicker softs, was pushed wide but stayed ahead. He was then told by Red Bull to hand back the place. Stewards noted Verstappen "was clearly unhappy with his team's request. "At the approach to Turn 5, Car 1 (Verstappen) significantly reduced its speed thereby appearing to allow Car 63 (Russell) to overtake," they added. "However, after Car 63 got ahead of Car 1 at the entry of Turn 5, Car 1 suddenly accelerated and collided with Car 63." 'INTENTIONAL RETALIATION'? The incident, as well as an earlier clash with Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, triggered accusations of road rage and a return to the "Mad Max" days of old, before Verstappen's four world titles. "It looked like a very intentional retaliation. Wait for the opponent, go ramming into him, just like you felt the other guy rammed into you at Turn One," said Mercedes' 2016 world champion Nico Rosberg on Sky Sports television. "That's something which is extremely unacceptable and I think the rules would be a black flag, yes. If you wait for your opponent to bang into him, that's a black flag." McLaren's Lando Norris, who finished second, watched a replay in the cool-down room and commented: "I've done that before in Mario Kart." Russell told reporters he did not know what Verstappen was thinking. "It felt very deliberate. It is something I have seen numerous times in sim (video) racing and i-racing and never have I seen it in a Formula One race so that was something new," added the Briton. "It is a shame because Max is one of the best drivers in the world but maneuvers like that are totally unnecessary. It lets him down and it is a shame for all of the young kids looking up to us, aspiring to be Formula One drivers. "It is something you see in go-karting but never in F1. It doesn't make sense to crash into somebody and risk damaging your own car and risk a penalty. And he could have come back to fight for the podium." Verstappen, who had accused Leclerc of ramming into him, accepted the two had different opinions. "I'll bring some tissues next time," the Dutch driver said when told of Russell's concerns.
