Oscar Piastri delivered a hammer blow to Lando Norris’s bid to win back-to-back races by seeing off his title rival to take a commanding pole place for the Spanish Grand Prix.
Piastri holds a three-point championship lead over Norris, and the Australian delivered in qualifying to beat the British driver by a formidable 0.209 seconds at Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya – the largest pole margin of the season up to now.
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World champion Max Verstappen took third place for Purple Bull, one spot away from Mercedes’ George Russell. Verstappen and Russell set similar occasions with the previous taking the upper grid slot after setting his time first.
Lewis Hamilton certified fifth with Kimi Antonelli sixth for Mercedes and Charles Leclerc, who accomplished only one fast lap in Q3, seventh.
McLaren have received six of the eight rounds up to now, and their rivals may need hoped {that a} clampdown on versatile entrance wings – which some imagine has contributed to the British crew’s rise – would sluggish them down. Nonetheless, the rule tweak has finished little to affect McLaren’s velocity, with Piastri and Norris embroiled in a tense battle for pole.
Norris secured prime spot in Monaco per week in the past earlier than occurring to say his first win since March’s season-opening spherical in Melbourne.
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He ended the primary runs right here in Q3 holding a slender 0.017 sec margin over his team-mate. Norris loved a tow off Piastri’s McLaren with the Australian calling his team-mate’s antics “cheeky”.
The McLaren duo returned for a closing shot at pole and though Norris improved on his first lap, it was Piastri who lit up the timesheets by taking his fourth pole of the season by two tenths.
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04:32 PM BSTFront-row lockout for McLaren04:26 PM BSTYour beginning grid for tomorrow04:25 PM BSTPiastri celebrates taking pole04:24 PM BSTNico Rosberg on Sky Sports activities
“Oscar’s [Piastri] lap was lovely, excellent. Below the very best strain he at all times delivers the utmost of his potential.
“Lando’s [Norris] lap from Flip 1 onwards, he overdid it. He went vast, went off line, obtained further snaps and that resulted in two snaps down.
“Pole place was within the head at this time. Sadly, we see again and again from Lando, when the strain is highest, we see these little errors creeping in.”
04:17 PM BSTYour prime three for tomorrow
Oscar Piastri is on pole with Lando Norris second and Max Verstappen third – Juan Medina/Reuters
04:14 PM BSTThe ideas of Max Verstappen, who will begin from third04:11 PM BSTQuotes from Lando Norris, who begins second tomorrow04:09 PM BSTThe ideas of our polesitter Oscar Piastri04:07 PM BSTTop ten
Max Verstappen (Purple Bull)
George Russell (Mercedes)
Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)
Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
04:01 PM BSTPiastri on pole for Spanish Grand Prix
Norris is purple within the first sector however so is Piastri, who’s ever so barely sooner in sector one. Norris has not had the most effective of center sectors. Did he push too arduous? Norris comes throughout the road and improves however will that be sufficient?
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Piastri has gone purple, purple, purple and goes two tenths sooner than Norris. Can anybody deny McLaren a one-two? No they can’t.
Verstappen is third, with Russell in fourth on the identical time however as Verstappen accomplished his lap first he will get third.
The McLarens have been favorite for pole they usually each delivered nice laps to lock out the entrance row.
03:59 PM BSTHere we go
Norris is the lead McLaren driver on these closing runs, with Piastri not far behind him. Verstappen might be one of many final males throughout the road.
Right here we go…
03:57 PM BSTBig cheers
The one one of many two house favourites to have made Q3, Alonso, units his one and solely time on this session and is fifth, however he’ll doubtless drop. He was pleased with that as he went over crew radio.
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In the meantime, as many of the grid head again out, Leclerc, who’s fourth, is out of his automotive and that appears like he’s finished.
03:56 PM BSTTop 5 after first runs
Now we have simply heard Piastri describe Norris getting a tiny tow as “cheeky” over the crew radio.
03:54 PM BSTNorris quickest on first runs
Piastri units a time of a 1:11.836. Norris will get a little bit of a tow from his teammate as he began his lap. Russell goes second and Verstappen can solely handle third. What about Norris? He goes purple within the first sector and is simply 0.001 sooner than Piastri by way of two sectors. Norris does go sooner than Piastri by 0.017. Nip and tuck between the McLarens, who’re a number of tenths away from the remainder.
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Leclerc is the final of the frontrunners to set a time and goes fourth, bumping Verstappen all the way down to fifth.
03:51 PM BSTFirst runs
The McLarens, Verstappen, Russell and Hamilton have two or extra new mushy tyres. Leclerc and Antonelli have only one new set. Piastri would be the first of the large hitters to set a lap in Q3.
03:48 PM BSTTime for Q3
The ultimate a part of qualifying is upon us and the battle for pole could be very shut. A take a look at the RB pit wall sees the climate radar screens however any rain which may be coming won’t have an effect on this session.
Who’s going to take pole? A McLaren or can somebody trigger a shock?
03:42 PM BSTFive out in Q2
11. Alex Albon
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12. Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber)
13. Liam Lawson (RB)
14. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
15. Oliver Bearman (Haas)
03:41 PM BSTAlbon out
Albon will get himself out of the underside 5 now however will that be sufficient. Bortoleto can not knock him out. Can Hadjar make it out of the underside 5? Sure he can as he places himself into sixth place. What about his RB teammate Lawson? Solely ok for thirteenth. Bearman can also be out and can begin fifteenth.
03:39 PM BSTAntonelli on the cusp
Antonelli’s first sector just isn’t nice and his center sector is okay at finest. He strikes up one place to eighth however continues to be in danger. Stroll can not get out of the underside 5.
Can Kimi Antonelli attain Q3? – Joan Monfort/AP
03:38 PM BSTFinal runs in Q2
How lots of the lead runners will really feel the necessity to go on the market? Most likely not the highest 5. Gasly in eighth is the very best runner to exit. Will Alonso fill the necessity to go for one more run? Sure he does. Leclerc in sixth can also be heading out. Regardless of providing to offer his teammate Antonelli a tow, Russell continues to be in his storage.
03:35 PM BSTBottom 5 with 5 minutes left
11. Bortoleto
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12. Lawson
13. Albon
14. Stroll
15. Bearman
Over crew radio, Russell has informed his crew there are darkish clouds within the distance close to flip 13. Russell additionally tells his crew he’s pleased to offer Antonelli, who’s ninth, a tow if wanted.
03:33 PM BSTPiastri quickest
The Australian comes throughout the road and is into the 1:11’s as he goes quickest. Russell is fourth, with the Ferrari duo of Hamilton and Leclerc in fifth and sixth respectively.
Oscar Piastri leads the drivers championship – Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Pictures
03:31 PM BSTBig hitters set occasions
Verstappen is the primary of the large hitters to set a flying lap in Q2. His first lap on this session is a 1:12.358. Norris is subsequent up. He goes purple within the first sector earlier than going purple once more within the center sector. He finally ends up three tenths forward of Verstappen.
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Piastri, Leclerc, Russell and Hamilton nonetheless to set a lap.
03:25 PM BSTQ2
The inexperienced gentle is on and we’re prepared for motion within the second a part of qualifying. Albon and Alonso out immediately.
Alonso goes round as soon as after which comes straight again into the pits.
03:24 PM BSTNico Rosberg on Sky Sports activities
“[Max] Verstappen is on the combat for a prime two place, whereas [Yuki] Tsunoda is lifeless final with the Purple Bull automotive.
“Are you able to imagine it? Who can clarify that to me? Nobody can take care of this second Purple Bull automotive.”
03:22 PM BSTFive out in Q1
16. Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber)
17. Esteban Ocon (Haas)
18. Carlos Sainz (Williams)
19. Franco Colapinto (Alpine)
20. Yuki Tsunoda (Purple Bull)
03:19 PM BSTSainz and Tsunoda dumped out
Not the qualifying session the Spaniard wished at his house monitor. It is usually a disastrous session for the Purple Bull of Tsunoda, who’s plum final. The Japanese driver changed Liam Lawson at Purple Bull after simply two races however you are feeling the strain is growing on him, particularly after a dreadful session like that.
03:18 PM BSTColapinto out
Sainz goes thirteenth however there are nonetheless loads of drivers left who may push him down. Colapinto has stopped on the pit exit and can exit anyway as he’s within the backside 5. Hamilton has finished a greater lap and might be protected.
03:17 PM BSTFinal runs incoming
Verstappen and Russell are the one two to have remained within the storage however Piastri has now returned to the pits.
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Antonelli has gone fifth quickest. One man in danger is Hamilton; he’ll want an excellent closing lap. The likes of Tsunoda and Sainz in massive hassle.
03:15 PM BSTProblem within the pit lane
There’s a lengthy queue within the pits and now we all know why as Colapinto, on the entrance, stories over his crew radio that he has a problem. A yellow flag is waved within the pits permitting these behind to go previous him.
03:13 PM BSTTop 5
Piastri and Norris are each coming again out on a used set of softs.
03:12 PM BSTBottom 5 with 5 minutes left
16. Hulkenberg
17. Ocon
18. Sainz
19. Tsunoda
20. Bortoleto
Not the begin to this session that one of many house favourites Sainz would have wished. Additionally a fairly woeful first effort from Tsunoda within the second Purple Bull.
03:11 PM BSTVerstappen into second
Hamilton can solely go P8 while his teammate Leclerc is fourth. Verstappen then comes throughout the road and slots in between the McLarens.
03:09 PM BSTPiastri quickest
Norris goes purple, purple within the first two sectors to go prime of the timesheets. Russell comes throughout the road and is simply 0.007 off Norris’ time.
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Piastri was quickest within the center sector and goes practically two and a half tenths sooner than his teammate Norris.
Verstappen, Leclerc and Hamilton but to set a time.
03:07 PM BSTTrundling round
With a need to maintain the tyres as cool as attainable with the recent air and monitor temperatures, the drivers are going very slowly on their out laps.
03:05 PM BSTStroll quickest
Simply the 5 occasions set up to now however it’s the Aston Martin of Stroll who’s quickest, simply forward of the Williams of Albon. It is rather quiet out on the monitor however that’s about to vary because the drivers are beginning to head out. It’s as if most of groups have been watching one another and ready for the primary to maneuver, aside from the primary 5 out.
03:02 PM BSTQuiet
Solely 5 automobiles out on monitor at the moment; Stroll, Colapinto, Ocon, Bearman and Albon.
03:00 PM BSTGo, go, go!
The inexperienced gentle is exhibiting on the finish of the pit lane and qualifying is formally beneath method. Who will take pole? Can anybody cease the McLarens?
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It isn’t significantly busy on the finish of the pit lane because the inexperienced gentle reveals as groups are being affected person, feeling they don’t have to rush out.
02:55 PM BSTFive-minute klaxon
Not lengthy to go till qualifying will get going. Ferrari have confirmed that they haven’t needed to change Lewis Hamilton’s gearbox. In the meantime within the Purple Bull storage Max Verstappen is catching a phrase with Barcelona and Poland striker Robert Lewandowski.
Lewandowski meets Verstappen – Mark Thompson/Getty Pictures
02:51 PM BSTHamilton rubbishes claims of rift with Ferrari race engineer
Lewis Hamilton has described hypothesis that he has an issue with Riccardo Adami, his new race engineer at , as “bull—-”, describing their relationship as “nice”.
Hamilton, 40, has had a lot of spiky radio exchanges with the Italian, 11 years older than him at 51, throughout their quick time working collectively.
However talking forward of this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona, the seven-time world champion dismissed hypothesis that their relationship was an issue, describing Adami as “a fantastic man” and “wonderful to work with”.
“We’re each in it collectively,” Hamilton mentioned. “We each wish to win a world championship collectively and we’re each working in direction of lifting the crew up. So it [the speculation] is all simply noise and we’re not listening to it. It doesn’t make a distinction to the job we try to do.”
02:50 PM BSTChristian Horner talking to Sky Sports activities
“Based mostly on what we noticed in FP3, McLaren have fairly a bonus. It could possibly be a battle for the second row.
“However as the remainder of the season has informed us, you by no means actually know. However it seems to be fairly ominous.”
02:48 PM BST‘You drive like an Englishman!’ – my chastening day on the Ferrari take a look at monitor
A morning spent grappling with the three.0L V6 Italian stallion has nonetheless been a hoot. It’s a privilege to have super-smooth Zani sat alongside me to cross on his nuggets of expertise from years racing within the GT3 European Championships.
The automotive itself, in glistening pink after all, is an absolute magnificence however any useless hope that I would look the half at are dashed instantly as I bang my helmet on the door whereas awkwardly making an attempt to stoop into the tightly-fitting driver’s cockpit. Zani seems to be at me and shoots a wry smile as I try and work out the place the gear stick is. There isn’t one. He will get the water sprinklers out for half an hour so we will check out some drifting. I fare higher at that, largely drawing on my uncle Blake’s classes in handbrake turns in empty carparks within the Nineties.
02:46 PM BSTBernie Collins on Sky Sports activities
“McLaren seemed stronger than ever in that FP3 session. The proof might be within the pudding now in qualifying, however they do look sturdy.
“McLaren possibly obtained a little bit of a head begin, we knew this rule was coming in, they ran the wing earlier within the 12 months as effectively, so they’re prepared for it.”
02:42 PM BSTSky Sports activities’ Nico Rosberg on Lewis Hamilton
“It has been a troublesome begin up to now, a continuation of the shape he had final 12 months which was the primary time in his profession he had a dip in kind for the entire season.
“George Russell beat him final 12 months and [Charles] Leclerc has taken over from Russell, at all times a bit forward of Lewis, who has not discovered his method but. There’s something lacking. He isn’t connecting with the automotive but and nonetheless a bit on the again foot however the automotive is a handful.
“Lewis’ strengths on this stage of his profession is his race tempo, which we noticed in Imola when he began twelfth and completed fourth with blistering tempo. It was wonderful to look at.
“However, he’s 40 and in some unspecified time in the future, it’s all in regards to the velocity of processing in our brains, the response time in qualifying, as a result of we’re within the ragged age. Sooner or later you’re going to get ever so barely slower and it’ll occur to Lewis sooner reasonably than later.”
Lewis Hamilton had some gear shift points in third observe however that appears to have been fastened – Clive Rose/Getty Pictures
02:35 PM BSTResults up to now this season
Australia: 1. Lando Norris 2. Max Verstappen 3. George Russell
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China: 1. Oscar Piastri 2. Lando Norris 3. George Russell
Japan: 1. Max Verstappen 2. Lando Norris 3. Oscar Piastri
Bahrain: 1. Oscar Piastri 2. George Russell 3. Lando Norris
Saudi Arabia: 1. Oscar Piastri 2. Max Verstappen 3. Charles Leclerc
Miami: 1. Oscar Piastri 2. Lando Norris 3. George Russell
Imola: 1. Max Verstappen 2. Lando Norris 3. Oscar Piastri
Monaco: 1. Lando Norris 2. Charles Leclerc 3. Oscar Piastri
02:30 PM BSTLast 5 Spanish GP polesitters
2024 – Lando Norris (McLaren)
2023 – Max Verstappen (Purple Bull)
2022 – Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
2021 – Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
2020 – Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
02:24 PM BSTInvestigation
Sky Sports activities are reporting that two Ferrari entrance wings have made their option to the stewards. We may have extra on that after we get it. Right here is Sky Sports activities’ Bernie Collins on Lewis Hamilton’s points in third observe earlier:
02:20 PM BSTNico Rosberg on Sky Sports02:16 PM BSTResults from FP3
Oscar Piastri (McLaren) 1:12.387
Lando Norris (McLaren) +0.526
Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +0.743
George Russell (Mercedes) +0.752
Max Verstappen (Purple Bull) +0.988
Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls) +0.995
Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) +1.018
Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) +1.027
Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) +1.140
Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) +1.250
Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber) +1.335
Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber) +1.346
Carlos Sainz (Williams) +1.371
Yuki Tsunoda (Purple Bull) +1.505
Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) +1.517
Pierre Gasly (Alpine) +1.567
Franco Colapinto (Alpine) +1.698
Esteban Ocon (Haas) +1.751
Alex Albon (Williams) +1.902
Oliver Bearman (Haas) +2.073
02:11 PM BSTConstructors’ standings02:05 PM BSTTop 5 within the drivers’ standings
Oscar Piastri (McLaren)- 161 factors
Lando Norris (McLaren)- 158 factors
Max Verstappen (Purple Bull)- 136 factors
George Russell (Mercedes)- 99 factors
Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)- 79 factors
02:01 PM BSTBattle for pole in Barcelona
We’re in Catalunya for spherical 9 of the 2025 F1 World Championship as Barcelona hosts the Spanish Grand Prix for the ultimate time earlier than it switches to Madrid in 2026. The primary race right here in Barcelona was again in 1991 however at this time seems to be set to be the ultimate qualifying in Catalunya. As we speak it’s time for qualifying, which is essential round this circuit with the polesitter taking the victory round 70% of the time.
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The season has been dominated by McLaren up to now, prime of the constructors standings on 319 factors, greater than double the variety of factors as second-placed Mercedes who’ve 147 factors, and McLaren’s dominance has continued this weekend so far. Lando Norris topped the timesheets in first observe earlier than his teammate Oscar Piastri, who leads the drivers championship on 161 factors, was quickest in second and third observe. Piastri’s set a time of a 1:12.387 in third observe, greater than half a second away from Norris, who did complain in third observe about porpoising, a problem we now have not heard a lot about for a few years. The Ferrari of Charles Leclerc was third quickest, greater than seven tenths down on Piastri. George Russell was fourth with Max Verstappen in fifth.
Can Lando Norris again up his pole final week in Monaco with one other pole at this time? – Mark Thompson/Getty Pictures
Simply three factors separate Piastri and Norris within the drivers’ standings, with Verstappen an additional 22 factors again from Norris, who closed the hole on his McLaren teammate by profitable in Monaco final day out, his first win because the opening race in Australia. Norris has two wins to his identify this seaosn while Piastri has received 4 occasions and Verstappen received the opposite two races.
There have been considerations on the finish of third observe earlier down at Ferrari as Lewis Hamilton, who was ninth quickest within the session, had points together with his gear shift, a day after he claimed his Ferrari was “undriveable”. This has been a contented looking floor for Hamilton, with six wins round this circuit, the joint-most alongside Michael Schumacher. For the house favourites, Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso was eighth while Carlos Sainz within the Williams was thirteenth. There have been reliability issues for the opposite Williams of Alex Albon, who completed nineteenth in closing observe having spent the second half of the session in his storage.
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The McLarens are favourites for pole this afternoon however Verstappen can’t be counted out having received 4 occasions round this circuit, together with the final three in succession and his maiden victory in F1 in 2016. Who will take pole in Catalunya? Qualifying will get beneath method at 3pm BST.
