F1 2025: Spanish Grand Prix Qualifying Recap | Flawless Oscar Piastri takes pole in Spain

McLaren start 1-2 again

After going quickest in the final two Free Practice sessions, Oscar Piastri put in a flawless drive at the Spanish Grand Prix 2025 qualifying session to steal pole position from his teammate, with the current world championship leader taking the advantage heading into Sunday. Piastri’s pole in Spain also sees him secure the fourth pole position of the season for the Australian whilst out-qualifying his more experienced teammate for the fifth time in the Formula One 2025 season.

Lando Norris made it another McLaren 1-2 for the race with McLaren taking their first 1-2 in Spain since 1998 while Max Verstappen kept himself in the fight as well with another strong session to see the Dutchman start P3.

Here’s a quick recap of the Spanish Grand Prix 2025 qualifying session.

Q1 – Piastri untouchable; Sainz disappoints home fans

Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll’s early run of 1:13.699s saw him sit on top of the time sheets early before it was Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli being the first front runner to get a proper lap in to go P1 with a 1:13.344s before Lando Norris went half a second quicker than the Mercedes with a 1:12.799s. Norris though was eventually displaced by his teammate, Piastri, who put in a stunning opening lap with a 1:12.551s with Max Verstappen going 0.247s slower than Piastri to put himself between the two McLarens at the top.

As the clock ticked down, the track got better with multiple cars in the bottom five getting themselves out with strong final laps and it was Carlos Sainz, Franco Colapinto, Esteban Ocon, Nico Hülkenberg and Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda unable to get out of Q1 with the Japanese driver once again having a horror Saturday showing for Red Bull.

Drivers eliminated in Q1:

Nico Hülkenberg
Esteban Ocon
Carlos Sainz
Franco Colapinto
Yuki Tsunoda

Q2 – McLarens quickest while Hadjar continues to impress

Verstappen’s 1:12.358s set the early benchmark time in Q2’s opening runs before Lando Norris’ 1:12.056s dislodged the reigning world champion at the top. The top spot kept changing with Piastri breaking into the 1:11s with a 1:11.998s. 

The final flying laps saw Kimi Antonelli and Isack Hadjar pull themselves out of the drop zone with Alex Albon, Gabriel Bortoleto, Liam Lawson, Lance Stroll and Ollie Bearman exiting in Q2 as they were unable to make the top 10 shootout. 

Drivers eliminated in Q2:

Alex Albon
Gabriel Bortoleto
Liam Lawson
Lance Stroll
Ollie Bearman

Q3 – Piastri steals pole at the last second

Piastri once again set the time to beat for the rest of the grid with a 1:11.836s and was dislodged by his teammate early on as Norris went quicker with a 1:11.819s, going 0.017 seconds quicker than the Australian. The only remaining Red Bull of Verstappen meanwhile, didn’t have a strong first run as George Russell, Charles Leclerc and Fernando Alonso, all went quicker than the quadruple world champion. 

While Norris did manage to go a bit quicker in his final lap, it was Oscar Piastri taking pole with a 1:11.546s, putting in a flawless final lap to take pole while Verstappen’s final lap saw him go P3. George Russell meanwhile stole a second row start from his former teammate, Lewis Hamilton, with a strong final lap to start P4.

Starting Grid for the Spanish Grand Prix 2025 (before any penalties)

1. Oscar Piastri
2. Lando Norris
3. Max Verstappen
4. George Russell
5. Lewis Hamilton
6. Kimi Antonelli
7. Charles Leclerc
8. Pierre Gasly
9. Isack Hadjar
10. Fernando Alonso
11. Alex Albon
12. Gabriel Bortoleto
13. Liam Lawson
14. Lance Stroll
15. Ollie Bearman
16. Nico Hülkenberg
17. Esteban Ocon
18. Carlos Sainz
19. Franco Colapinto
20. Yuki Tsunoda