McLaren’s Oscar Piastri delivered an impressive performance at the Spanish Grand Prix qualifying, securing pole position ahead of his teammate Lando Norris. The Australian edged out Norris by 0.209 seconds, despite Norris having been quicker during the earlier runs in the final qualifying session.
Norris ultimately made mistakes on his last lap that cost him the top spot. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen took third place, just 0.302 seconds behind Piastri, with Mercedes driver George Russell matching Verstappen’s time but starting fourth due to setting it later.
This qualifying result suggested that the recent FIA rule change, which aimed to limit the flexing of front wings for aerodynamic advantages, had little impact on McLaren’s performance. The rule was introduced following pressure from Red Bull and Ferrari to curb McLaren’s competitive edge.
Despite this, McLaren maintained a strong pace at the circuit known for its long, medium, and high-speed corners, outperforming rivals by a larger margin than seen in previous races this season. Piastri commented that the regulation had minimal effect on their car setup, describing the weekend as “strong” and praising the car’s performance.
Norris was slightly faster than Piastri in the first runs thanks to a brief slipstream from his teammate, which Piastri humorously acknowledged on the team radio. However, Norris’s final attempt was marred by minor errors in critical corners, including Turn One, which affected his tyre performance and overall lap time.
Verstappen, who had struggled on his initial run due to an unsuccessful tyre preparation strategy, improved on his second attempt but still couldn’t match Piastri’s pace. Verstappen noted that Turn One remained a challenge despite trying different approaches, though he was satisfied with the rest of the lap.
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