2024 F1 Round 10, Spanish GP Qualifying: Norris Edges Verstappen by 0.020 Seconds for Second Career Pole, Both RB Cars Exit Q1 as Tsunoda Takes 17th

Qualifying for the 2024 Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix, Round 10 of the season, took place at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. McLaren’s Lando Norris beat Max Verstappen to pole with a 1:11.383, claiming the second Grand Prix pole of his career after the 2021 Russian Grand Prix. Red Bull’s Verstappen was second, 0.020 seconds behind, while Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and George Russell locked out the second row.

The pole battle was not settled until the final moments. Verstappen had been more than a tenth clear of the field in Q2 and also led after the opening Q3 runs. On his final attempt, he benefited from a tow from team-mate Sergio Pérez and improved significantly. Even so, Norris produced a “perfect” final lap to move ahead. A margin of 0.020 seconds ended the Dutchman’s hopes of retaining pole at this circuit.

Hamilton qualified third, with Russell fourth just 0.002 seconds behind his team-mate. Charles Leclerc was fifth and Carlos Sainz sixth, with only 0.035 seconds separating third from sixth. Pierre Gasly carried his strong practice form into qualifying to beat Pérez to seventh. Esteban Ocon was ninth and Oscar Piastri tenth. Piastri’s sixth-fastest lap on his first Q3 run was deleted for exceeding track limits at Turn 10, and he then went off at Turn 12 on his final attempt, leaving him without a Q3 time.

RB endured a particularly disappointing session. Yuki Tsunoda, who had reached Q3 at the previous four rounds, used all three sets of new soft tyres but still missed the cut by 0.104 seconds to Lance Stroll, who scraped through at the last moment. Tsunoda was 17th and Daniel Ricciardo 18th, putting both RB cars out in Q1. Tsunoda struggled to understand the result, twice saying, “That was a good lap,” before asking, “We didn’t make it?” when race engineer Spini told him he was out. Before qualifying, RB had also removed the new rear wing he had tried in FP3 and refitted the old specification used at the season opener.

Alexander Albon was the other major surprise in Q1. After setting the eighth-fastest time in FP3, the Williams driver qualified only 19th, 1.010 seconds off the fastest lap. Logan Sargeant finished last and was the only driver more than three tenths behind his team-mate. In Q2, home favourite Fernando Alonso missed Q3 by 0.019 seconds in 11th. Sauber, meanwhile, had some long-awaited good news: Zhou Guanyu progressed beyond Q1 for the first time this season, joining 12th-placed Valtteri Bottas in Q2. It was the team’s first double Q2 appearance of the campaign.

Qualifying took place in dry conditions, with an air temperature of 24°C and a track temperature of 38°C. Pirelli brought its three hardest compounds: C1 hard, C2 medium and C3 soft. The race is scheduled to start at 21:00 Beijing time on 23 June, with 66 laps of the classic 4.657-kilometre circuit ahead.