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F1 Qualifying | Spanish GP 2024 | Norris takes pole, just 0.002s ahead of Verstappen

Jamie Cooper Avatar
Jamie Cooper
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The green flag dropped, signalling the start of qualifying at the Spanish GP. Sargeant was the first to hit the track, followed by Zhou – both drivers anticipated to struggle in Q1.

Leclerc received a reprimand for his driving at the end of FP3 after a collision with Norris. His driving was considered “erratic” but not hazardous.

Q1

With sixteen minutes left, the RB team joined the track, along with five other drivers.

The drivers were cautiously exiting the pits, aiming to create space for themselves. Both Ferraris emerged, with Sainz receiving enthusiastic applause. Russell and Hülkenberg were the last to leave the pits.

Ricciardo initially led, ahead of Stroll, Tsunoda, Sargeant, and Zhou. However, these times were significantly slower than the fastest times in FP3, with Ricciardo being seven-tenths slower than Sainz’s top time.

Verstappen, on fresh soft tyres, took the lead with a time of 1m 12.306s. Norris was just eight-hundredths of a second behind in P2, with Hamilton trailing significantly in third.

Ferrari looked strong. With nine minutes remaining, Leclerc went fastest with a time of 1m 12.257s, edging out Verstappen by half a tenth. Sainz, having worn out his tyres early in the lap, faded late and settled into fourth.

Russell took fifth, Gasly sixth, and Hulkenberg seventh.

With seven minutes left, Albon, Tsunoda, Zhou, Magnussen, and Sargeant were in the drop zone. Most had already pitted for fresh tyres, except Magnussen, who had yet to return to the track.

Ricciardo could only manage 15th, while Ocon, in P14, needed another set of soft tyres, and Stroll in 13th might require a third set.

Piastri and Hamilton, in ninth and eighth respectively, had to switch to a second set of fresh soft tyres as they felt their positions were unsafe. Pérez, in P10, was also uneasy.

Pérez improved to sixth. In the final minute, Bottas moved up to eighth and Zhou to P10. Ocon improved to eighth, right behind Pérez, while Hamilton went fastest.

As the chequered flag waved, Alonso, in P16, required a strong lap. He moved up to ninth, pushing Ricciardo into the drop zone. Ricciardo, not on a lap, was out.

Gasly improved to P14, and then Stroll moved up, relegating Tsunoda to P16. Hülkenberg lifted himself out of the drop zone, knocking his teammate, who wasn’t on a lap, into it.

Out in Q1: Magnussen, Tsunoda, Ricciardo, Albon, Sargeant

Q2

Q2 began as the green flag waved, signalling the start. Most drivers were in their cockpits, ready to hit the track. Stroll was the only one out initially, taking to the track on used soft tyres. His Q1 impeding incident with Sargeant was set to be investigated after the session.

With thirteen minutes remaining, Stroll posted a time of 1m 13.630s, nearly nine-tenths off the pace from Q1. As he completed his lap, the rest of the field began to emerge from the pits, with Ocon leading the way, followed by Pérez, Gasly, and Hülkenberg.

Gasly managed to edge out Pérez, setting a time of 1m 12.182s to go nearly a tenth ahead of him. With seven minutes to go, Leclerc managed to beat them by a tenth and a half. Sainz then set a 1m 11.874s, but Piastri couldn’t match that. Norris, however, displaced his former teammate by a mere 0.002s, making it a very close contest.

Verstappen came in and went two-tenths quicker, putting himself at the top. Bottas, Alonso, Hamilton, Stroll, and Zhou found themselves in the drop zone, with the latter three having runs on used tyres.

Ocon, sitting in P10, and Hülkenberg in ninth, didn’t feel safe. Hamilton improved in the first sector, and another personal best in the second sector put him in a strong position. His scintillating final sector moved him up to second place, showcasing excellent tyre management.

The chequered flag waved with Pérez in the drop zone. Ocon moved up to seventh, but it was tight. Hulkenberg finished in 12th, failing to make the cut. Gasly went ahead of his teammate, while Pérez’s lap put him in P7. Alonso improved from P14 to P11, but it wasn’t enough as Russell secured third place.

Out in Q2: Alonso, Bottas, Hülkenberg, Stroll, Zhou

Q3

Q3 began with Pérez being the first to hit the track, running on used compound tyres. These tyres could be a significant disadvantage, not just in terms of speed, but also potentially disrupting the driver’s rhythm and making the transition back to new tyres challenging.

As Pérez entered the third sector, Verstappen joined the track, followed by Ocon, Sainz, and Piastri. Pérez would soon encounter some of this traffic on his flying lap, which wasn’t ideal. Gasly, Norris, and Leclerc followed Pérez, and finally, the Mercedes duo emerged last.

The track temperature had dropped to 35 degrees Celsius, which could affect tyre performance. High temperatures the previous day had caused grip issues, but now, tyre warm-up could become a factor.

Can Sainz take pole at the Spanish GP?

Pérez set a time of 1m 13.061s on used tyres. Ocon, Gasly, and Piastri were also on used tyres for their initial runs. Verstappen then crossed the line, beating Pérez with a 1m 11.673s, setting the time to beat. Sainz couldn’t match it, going three-tenths slower. Leclerc was half a tenth behind Sainz. Norris placed second, just a tenth behind Verstappen.

Piastri’s lap was deleted for track limits, and all eyes were on the Mercedes drivers. Hamilton secured third, with Russell in fourth, ahead of the Ferraris but not close to Verstappen.

With five minutes remaining, an intra-team squabble emerged at Mercedes. Russell, frustrated, questioned Hamilton’s preparation for his lap. His race engineer calmed him, suggesting they discuss it after the session. With four minutes left, Alpine drivers Gasly and Ocon both beat Pérez’s time, all three on used tyres for their first run. Pérez had made his first Q3 since Miami, but wasn’t at the sharp end of the grid.

Pérez’s next lap was much better, but Piastri made a mistake, running wide into the gravel. This didn’t cause yellow flags, but he might have dragged some gravel onto the track.

Sainz improved but couldn’t beat Verstappen, though he did outpace Leclerc. Verstappen then improved significantly.

Lando Norris takes pole at the Spanish GP

However, Norris was on a fast lap, going purple in the middle sector. He crossed the line and snatched pole position, just 0.020s ahead of Verstappen!

Norris celebrated enthusiastically, with a triumphant “Let’s go baby. Let’s * go.”

Red Bull had sacrificed Pérez’s last lap to tow Verstappen, but it wasn’t enough. Pérez qualified eighth but would start P11 due to a grid penalty. Hamilton out-qualified Russell for third by just 0.002s. Leclerc edged out Sainz by 0.005s, with Gasly seventh, Ocon ninth, and Piastri in tenth without a time.

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