McLaren's Piastri clinches pole position in Spain, securing a front row lockout for the team, positioning them ahead of Verstappen.
Rowdy's Revised Rant:
McLaren Dominates 2025 Spanish Grand Prix Qualifying
Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris from McLaren snatched the front row in the grid for the 2025 Spanish Grand Prix, leaving the rest of the pack in the dust. Max Verstappen from Red Bull managed to sneak in third, just barely edging out teammate George Russell from Mercedes who claimed fourth.
At the kickoff of Q1, Piastri ruled the roost with a scorching lap of 1:12.551, with Norris trailing in second, 0.248s behind his teammate. Verstappen showed up late but still managed to place himself between the McLaren duo with a lap of 1:12.798, a mere thousandth of a second quicker than Norris.
Piastri and Verstappen decided to chill in the garage for the final runs, but Red Bull's Yuki Tsunoda desperately needed an improvement considering he had clattered over the kerbs in his previous run and was stuck in P19. Despite feeling he nailed a clean final flyer, Tsunoda exited qualifying in P20.
In the end, Tsunoda, Hülkenberg, Haas' Ocon, Williams' Sainz, and Alpine's Colapinto were the unfortunate souls booted out of Q1.
Williams' Alex Albon set the early pace in Q2 with a lap on used tyres. Verstappen scorched past that with one of 1:12.358. Norris moved ahead for McLaren on 1:12.056, followed by Piastri posting a lightning-fast lap of 1:11.998 to secure top spot. Russell slotted into P4, just under five hundredths of a second behind Verstappen, with Lewis Hamilton in fifth.
The top five refused to make a final run, but only Racing Bulls' Isack Hadjar made a big leap at the end of the middle segment, vaulting from the drop zone to P6.
Outside the top 10, Albon was the first man eliminated followed by Sauber's Bortoleto, the second Racing Bull of Liam Lawson, Aston Martin's Stroll, and Haas' Bearman.
The top-10 shootout began with Norris taking provisional pole on 1:11.819, closely trailed by Piastri. Russell and Leclerc took third and fourth while Verstappen could only manage a lap three hundredths of a second quicker than his Q2 time and found himself in fifth. That became sixth when Alonso made his sole run on fresh tyres.
Verstappen pulled it together on his final flyer, rocketing from 10th to P3 in the final seconds. Russell set the same time of 1:11.848, but the front row went to Red Bull's driver since he set the time first.
Piastri sealed his fourth pole of the season with a blistering lap of 1:11.546, with Norris two tenths off his teammate. Behind the top four, Hamilton, Antonelli, Leclerc, Gasly, Hadjar, and Alonso rounded out the top 10.
2025 Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix - Qualifying1. Oscar Piastri - McLaren/Mercedes - 1:11.5462. Lando Norris - McLaren/Mercedes - 1:11.755, +0.209s3. Max Verstappen - Red Bull/Honda RBPT - 1:11.848, +0.302s4. George Russell - Mercedes - 1:11.848, +0.302s5. Lewis Hamilton - Ferrari - 1:12.045, +0.499s6. Kimi Antonelli - Mercedes - 1:12.111, +0.565s7. Charles Leclerc - Ferrari - 1:12.131, +0.585s8. Pierre Gasly - Alpine/Renault - 1:12.199, +0.653s9. Isack Hadjar - Racing Bulls/Honda RBPT - 1:12.252, +0.706s10. Fernando Alonso - Aston Martin/Mercedes - 1:12.284, +0.738s
Sources: 1, 2, 4
Despite focusing on Formula 1, the excitement of sports extended to the realm of racing, with McLaren's McLaren/Mercedes dominating the 2025 Spanish Grand Prix qualifying, securing the first two spots on the starting grid.
In the midst of the Formula 1 action, the Racing Bulls/Honda RBPT team showcased impressive speed in the race, with their driver Max Verstappen claiming a commendable third place in qualifying.
