A small slip in the rain and young Australian F1 star Oscar Piastri found himself lamenting a lower grid position than he had originally expected.
Or hoped.
With just over 100,000 spectators, Max Verstappen piloted his fastest Red Bull flying machine on the circuit and will start from pole position, with Piastri starting from 9th place.
But the Australian in his McLaren was on pace to start 7th.
However, an error in the slippery final sector meant he couldn’t do better than 1:13.682s – which was still five seconds quicker than last year. This is because the circuit has changed a bit for this year’s renewal.
Australian Formula 1 star Oscar Piastri (pictured) was frustrated after dropping 7th place on the grid for the upcoming Spanish Grand Prix when he hit a wet spot during qualifying
“Honestly, I was on a good ride up to that point,” he told Speedcafe.
“I broke a bit too late for turn 10, missed the apex a bit, then hit a wet part of the track and it was over from there.”
‘Quite frustrated with myself. In all honesty, it was a good session so far, just ruined when it counted.
“I think we should have had both cars forward, so too bad, but that’s where it went wrong.”
Despite this, he still shows huge improvement every time he drives.
Defending and current world champion Max Verstappen (pictured) will lead the field off the grid at this year’s Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya
Verstappen is all smiles after setting the fastest lap in qualifying
Last year’s winner Verstappen looks like the one to beat again, although the locals are quietly confident that their duo of Carlos Sainz (2nd on the grid) and Fernando Alonso (8th) look very quick on the new track from Barcelona.
Pierre Gasly (Alpine) is fourth today, although he will be penalized for interfering with Sainz’s lap and should be downgraded to 10th.
Lewis Hamilton will be fifth, with Lance Stroll on the same grid line as him. Esteban Ocon (Alpine) and Nico Hulkenberg (Haas) will be Alonso’s rivals ahead of him, seventh and eighth respectively.
After qualifying, Alonso and Sainz were asked about their preferences for tomorrow’s race.
Alonso, the Aston Martin driver said he preferred the rain to fall, to have more chances; while Sainz in his Ferrari wants a dry track.
The weather is fickle right now, so no one really knows what’s going to happen.
The new layout of the track has been the talk of the town with fast times showing up everywhere.
The focus is on the shortened track which has gone from 4,675 to 4,657 meters, and from 16 turns to 14. This explains the remarkable improvement in lap times, led today by defending champion Verstappen.
The Dutchman won Free Practice 1 and Free Practice 2, at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, which has already started to deliver surprises and thrills, proving once again that Red Bull is one step ahead of the others.
The World Championship leader clocked a time of 1:13.907 in the afternoon which, compared to Leclerc’s pole time last year (1:18.750), suggests a much faster and more more exciting.
‘Communication’ confusion has been blamed on the British pair and team-mates Lewis Hamilton and George Russell colliding during training
Former Mercedes team-mates Lewis Hamilton and George Russell argued on the straight which scared everyone.
Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff said, as he tried to calm the sea of questions, that there had been a “misunderstanding” between the British pair at the end of the second qualifying period.
A high-speed overtaking attempt by Hamilton on the start-finish straight culminated in the wheel-slamming duo, the seven-time F1 champion being forced onto the grass and parts of the car visibly flying off .
He later claimed driving from Russell was “dangerous”, but the couple were seen shaking hands a little later.
