Chaos conquered in Spanish GP qualifying

All of the indications were that qualifying for the Spanish Grand Prix could be a long session.

There had been interruptions in every support category, and even with the drivers being largely well-behaved on Friday, the Formula 1 practice sessions had still seen Arvid Lindblad crash in FP2, and then both Lewis Hamilton and Oliver Bearman – the latter far more spectacularly – do the same in FP3.

In the end, it was the final practice session that was the one that saw delays, with the FIA keen to give teams as much running as possible and taking the unusual step of pausing the clock to allow for barrier repairs.

Qualifying came and went without incident, but that is far from a negative, as it contained plenty of brilliance.

The margins were tiny as the cut-off between Alex Albon advancing from Q1 and Williams teammate Carlos Sainz being eliminated was 0.005s, and then the gap between the fastest driver to miss out in Q2 – Nico Hulkenberg – with a top-10 spot was 0.019s.

And it didn’t get any less close in the shootout for pole position, as Lando Norris delivered his “masterpiece” – to quote McLaren team principal Andrea Stella – to beat championship leader Kimi Antonelli by 0.011s.

Under 0.2s covered the entire top five, with the top four positions occupied by drivers from four different teams. In Q2, it looked like Red Bull might be on for a first pole position of the new era, with Max Verstappen topping the times. But the Dutchman felt that was a false position. “I think I was also one of the only ones that used two sets [of new tires], so it’s not really a fair comparison,” he explained.

Still, the Red Bull looked a threat, and was only losing out in the final sector due to the deployment approach it took. Through the second sector of his final lap, Verstappen was up on the provisional pole position time before having to settle for third.

That provisional pole time had been set by Hamilton, who was showing no hangover from his FP3 excursion in which he went head-on into the barrier on the outside of the final corner. Ultimately, he would end up fourth, as he couldn’t find the extra step his main rivals did.

“I felt pretty awesome in Q3 run one, and then just didn't have any more grip or power in the last one,” Hamilton said. “I think there was good execution from the team – I think they did a really great job today. Unfortunately, we just didn't have the pace right at the end.”

Antonelli had been favorite heading into qualifying given Mercedes’ pace in practice, but the margins had been small. And while he rued the moments where the 0.011s slipped away from him, those showed how close to the limit all of the drivers were.

“A little bit at the first chicane and then Turn 13 after the banking,” Antonelli highlighted. “I had a big moment on lap 1 in Q3 and I just didn’t really have the confidence to push the entry as much again. But overall, it was a clean lap.

“It’s a track that is not easy to put things together, and of course Lando did a great job, especially catching up after missing FP2 and putting things together. So obviously it’s a shame to miss out on pole when it was so close, but we’ll try to do a good race tomorrow.”

If you think it was all hyperbole in the build-up to the F1 running and that the track isn’t actually that challenging for the drivers, it wasn’t just us mere observers on the outside who were surprised at the lack of major incidents during the highest-pressure session of the weekend to date. But as Norris reflected on how qualifying panned out, he admitted he very nearly was the cause of the most dramatic moment, at the worst possible time.

Norris notes that the high-grip Madring circuit inspires confidence, but “you’re pushing on the limit; you have some moments for sure. My last corner on my last lap, I thought I was in the wall...” Clive Rose/Getty Images

“I think there’s probably been fewer crashes altogether than maybe I think people would expect,” Norris said. “It’s quite a high-grip track, which makes up for it in a lot of ways. And certain things that make crashes happen in other street circuits – exit curbs and things – you don’t have too many problems with them here.

“You’re pushing on the limit; you have some moments for sure. My last corner on my last lap, I thought I was in the wall, so it was just from over-pushing the entry and getting a bit keen on the brake point. But tomorrow, I don’t know. It’s going to be a long race. It’s going to be hot and there’s just going to be a lot of learning for me, and I guess for everyone, to do.”

Verstappen also was prepared for a longer afternoon on Saturday, especially given the examples set by all of the other sessions.

“It’s always tough when you’re on the limit,” Verstappen added. "And with your concentration, I think on any street circuit it’s always a bit more difficult. It’s easy to make a mistake and then the mistake ends up with you hitting a wall or crashing, so you just need to be aware of that. But I think what helps is what [Norris] said – the grip is high. That’s nice, at least.”

While the grip level has helped over one lap, degradation has still been a factor so far on a hot weekend in Madrid. Many of the drivers have suggested overtaking will be difficult, and that tends to result in a premium on both qualifying and the opening lap, with the start providing opportunities to make positions.

In F3, the Saturday morning Sprint race showed passing to be a challenge, and so the elbows came out more for the evening feature, resulting in a red flag after a major crash on the first lap. While Antonelli is hoping for a smooth afternoon as he looks to protect his championship lead, the Italian acknowledges the racing could well be fierce off the line.

“I hope no chaos for us!” the Italian said. “The start is very important, and the run into Turn 1 is going to be important. But then after that if you have a similar pace, unless they make a mistake or you’re able to have better deg and do something different strategy, then you can create opportunities.

“But when the gaps are so close, it’s really hard to create overtaking opportunities. So that’s why the start is going to be very important tomorrow.”

Whatever happens when the lights go out, it’s fair to say qualifying was spectacular for all the right reasons. Just how crucial those final runs prove to be will only be truly known come the checkered flag on Sunday.