Spain GP : Max Pole, Carlos P2

Max Verstappen driving in God mode bags another pole in Spain. Home boy Carlos Sainz will be starting from the front row and in a surprise Lando got P3.

Mega Max in Spain

Max continues his top form and grabs the pole in Spain without even breaking a sweat. He was doing well in the practice sessions and converted it when it mattered the most. His Q3 lap was miles ahead of the others. In fact he claims that his second Q3 lap would have been even better but he aborted it as the first lap was sufficient. If he gets a good start and stays ahead till turn 1 then expect him to easily win the race, unless there is some mechanical failure or something.

Meanwhile his team-mate had a horrible Quali session as he slipped in the wet patch caused by early rains. Sergio did not even qualify to Q3. He will be starting the race in P11 and it will be interesting to see him try to go up the grid.

Ferrari front row in Spain

In the end it was the other Spaniard that came on the front row. Everyone was expecting Fernando Alonso to do well and be on the front row, just like Monaco. But the other local hero Carlos Sainz Jr. put a great lap to place his Ferrari on the front row. No one is still sure whether the upgrades are working or not. No one expects Carlos to beat Max in the rampaging Red Bull. A podium finish would be great.

On the other hand team-mate and last year’s pole sitter Charles LeClerc had a horrible Quali session. Something in his car was not right and he struggled with left-hand corners. It was disaster extreme and LeClerc will be starting from P19. Ferrari have a long night of investigation to do and LeClerc has a lot of work in hand in case he wants to finish in the points.

Upside down for Aston Martin

Everyone had high expectations from home hero Fernando Alonso of Spain. However he slipped in Q1, causing him to go in the gravel and probably damaging his floor. There was no time to fix it and this would have reduced the car performance. Alonso struggled in the entire sessions and managed a P8 starting position. Meanwhile Stroll did a better and beat Alonso for the first time in Quali this year to start P5 in the race.

Mercedes mayhem

A bizzare collision between George and Hamilton caused front wing damage for Hamilton and George had to abandon his hot lap. Mercedes got the upgrades and this are looking good, though we have seen too many false positives from the Silver Arrows. George couldn’t get his car in the sweet spot and failed to qualify for Q3. Hamilton looked much better set for the top 3 but eventually settling for P4.

Alpine are looking very good with Gasly actually getting P4 but he was given a 6 place grid penalty for impeding others. Ocon did a decent job too and will be starting P6. McLaren looked in good touch too, especially Lando who had a great quali session and will be starting P3 in the race. Hulkenburg was handy in his HAAS to be starting P7 but it is to be seen whether they have the race pace or not.

Spain starting Grid : Max on Pole