F1: Leclerc wins pole for Spanish GP

After spinning his Ferrari on his first run, Charles Leclerc won his 4th pole of the 2022 F1 season with a lap of 1m18.750s for the Spanish GP in Barcelona.

Max Verstappen, fastest after the first runs, lost power in his Red Bull on his 2nd run and was unable to improve and had to settle for the outside of the front row, 0.323s behind.

“I feel good! It was a very, very difficult session, especially Q3 as I did a mistake and then only had one lap,” said Leclerc. “Very, very happy with pole, it was a good lap and the car was amazing. I am in a strong position, but we have been struggling with tires and if we don’t manage the tires well, we will lose the win.”

“I mean it’s always difficult to tell, but I couldn’t do my final run, but to be on the front row, looking at the whole weekend for us, it’s good, but obviously, I would have wanted to go for pole,” said Verstappen.

“It will be hot, this track will be tough to pass, but our car should be kinder to its tires.”

“It was actually a DRS issue [for Verstappen]. I don’t think we had enough today to beat that lap of Charles,” said Christian Horner.

Carlos Sainz Jr. was third, 0.416s behind his Ferrari teammate. “It’s been a tough weekend so far, conditions with the heat, with the wind. We can fight from there tomorrow. See if we can get a good start and go from there. I think everything is possible tomorrow.”

George Russell was 4th quick for Mercedes, again beating his overrated teammate Lewis Hamilton, who has nothing for his younger teammate.

Sergio Perez rounded out the top-5 for Red Bull, 0.670s behind.

Lewis Hamilton will start 7th, 0.762s behind.

If you look back at the history of this race, getting a starting slot on the front row has been absolutely crucial. And that’s exactly what the obvious two title contenders have done, despite spins, despite issues. Leclerc starts ahead of Verstappen – but will that order stay the same come tomorrow?

Those two have given us some barnstorming racing so far this season, plenty of elbows out stuff, but could tomorrow be decided by tyre wear? Leclerc sounded worried when asked yesterday – and it is something that is still clearly on his mind. The RB18 has been kinder to its tyres of late than the Ferrari, and if that is the case tomorrow… He could have a tough afternoon keeping his rival behind.

Qualifying Results