Lando Norris has taken pole for the 2024 Spanish Grand Prix, beating Max Verstappen to the number 1 starting position on the grid for Sunday’s race.
In a stunning last-lap push on his second and final run in Q3, Lando Norris clinched his second-ever Formula 1 pole position. In a session where Max Verstappen had looked like the man to beat, it wasn’t until the closing moments when Lando’s finally got his Papaya McLaren to the top of the timing board right when it matter.
Lando beat Max by a mere 0.020 seconds. Norris delivered what he described as the best lap of his career, saying it was “the perfect lap”. He put it all together, improved on a couple of areas and found four tenths in his final run compared to his first quick lap in Q3. Verstappen, who had dominated earlier sessions, improved by two tenths but that wasn’t enough to pip Lando.
This pole marks McLaren’s and Lando’s first since the 2021 Russian GP, showcasing their recent resurgence in pace.
Norris’ teammate Oscar Piastri faced challenges during Q3. He initially had a lap deleted for track limits and then ran wide in to the gravel on his second and final attempt. That means he starts in 10th place.
Mercedes had a mixed session, with Lewis Hamilton narrowly beating teammate George Russell by 0.002 seconds, despite internal disagreements over strategy. The Ferraris, led by Charles Leclerc and closely followed by Carlos Sainz, secured the third row, though they failed to challenge the front runners despite having shown strong pace earlier in the weekend’s practice sessions.
Pierre Gasly was the standout performer for Alpine, taking seventh and outqualifying his teammate Esteban Ocon for the third consecutive weekend. Sergio Perez of Red Bull struggled, ending up six tenths slower than Verstappen and taking a grid penalty that relegated him to 11th.
Meanwhile, home favorite Fernando Alonso just missed out on Q3, starting 10th due to Perez’s penalty.
Valtteri Bottas delivered a strong performance for Sauber, making it out of Q1 for the first time since China, while teammate Zhou Guanyu lagged behind. The Haas and Aston Martin drivers, including Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg, also had mixed results, with Magnussen narrowly missing Q2.
LANDO ON POLE!!! 🤩
— McLaren (@McLarenF1) June 22, 2024
STUNNING LAP IN SPAIN! @LandoNorris takes P1 in quali! 👏#SpanishGP 🇪🇸 pic.twitter.com/ZoOSb2akX8
AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda led his teammate Daniel Ricciardo but could only manage 17th, expressing disbelief at missing the cut. Williams continued to struggle, with Alex Albon and Logan Sargeant finishing at the back, highlighting a difficult weekend for the team.
Norris’ pole position is a significant milestone, demonstrating McLaren’s recent progress and Lando’s ability to mix it with, and beat, the best. We’ve now had 4 different pole sitters in the last 4 races. Let’s see if Lando can convert this to his second win.
Here’s the full qualifying results:
