2024 Spanish GP Qualifying: Lando Takes His Second Pole

Lando Norris delivered an outstanding final lap to claim his second Formula 1 pole position in an intensely competitive qualifying session at the Spanish Grand Prix.

Ben

By Ben Bush
Updated on October 10, 2024

Lando Norris Mclaren Qualifying 2024 Spanish Grand Prix
Lando Norris for Mclaren (Car No. 4) takes pole during qualifying for the 2024 Spanish Grand Prix.

McLaren’s Lando Norris clinched his second career Formula 1 pole position, outpacing Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in a thrilling qualifying session for the 2024 Spanish Grand Prix.

Norris, whose previous pole was at Sochi in 2021, initially trailed Verstappen after their first runs in Q3. However, he delivered a brilliant final lap of 1m 11.383s, edging out Verstappen by a mere two-hundredths of a second.

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Mercedes translated their strong practice performance into a solid qualifying result, with Lewis Hamilton surpassing teammate George Russell to secure third and fourth positions on the grid for Sunday’s race.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and local favourite Carlos Sainz finished closely behind in fifth and sixth positions in another closely contested session at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Pierre Gasly put in an impressive performance to take seventh for Alpine.

Sergio Perez, who placed eighth, took a three-place grid penalty from the previous race in Canada, which will elevate Esteban Ocon in the other Alpine and McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, who struggled in Q3 and did not record a time.

Fernando Alonso narrowly missed the Q3 cut on his home turf, edged out by just a few hundredths of a second by his former teammate Ocon, placing him in the Q2 elimination zone.

He was joined by Kick Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu, along with Haas’s Nico Hulkenberg and Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll in the drop zone. Kevin Magnussen was eliminated in the first round of qualifying, just missing Q2 to Stroll, who had his own difficulties caused by Logan Sargeant during Q1.

Despite updates intended to bolster their performance, RB’s struggles continued into qualifying, leaving Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo in disappointing 17th and 18th positions, respectively.

Williams faced one of their most challenging sessions this season, with Alex Albon and Sargeant finishing at the bottom of the standings, presenting a formidable challenge for the team to score points in the upcoming race.

Spanish GP Qualifying Results

2024 Spanish Grand Prix Qualifying, 22 June 2024

PosNoDriverCarQ1Q2Q3Laps
14Lando NorrisMcLaren Mercedes1:12.3861:11.8721:11.38312
21Max VerstappenRed Bull Racing Honda RBPT1:12.3061:11.6531:11.40312
344Lewis HamiltonMercedes1:12.1431:11.7921:11.70118
463George RussellMercedes1:12.4561:11.8121:11.70316
516Charles LeclercFerrari1:12.2571:12.0381:11.73112
655Carlos SainzFerrari1:12.4031:11.8741:11.73612
710Pierre GaslyAlpine Renault1:12.6511:12.0791:11.85718
811Sergio Perez1Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT1:12.4771:12.0541:12.06118
931Esteban OconAlpine Renault1:12.6911:12.1091:12.12518
1081Oscar PiastriMcLaren Mercedes1:12.4601:12.011DNF16
1114Fernando AlonsoAston Martin Aramco Mercedes1:12.5051:12.12812
1277Valtteri BottasKick Sauber Ferrari1:12.7581:12.22712
1327Nico HulkenbergHaas Ferrari1:12.7081:12.31012
1418Lance StrollAston Martin Aramco Mercedes1:12.8811:12.37215
1524Zhou GuanyuKick Sauber Ferrari1:12.8801:12.73815
1620Kevin MagnussenHaas Ferrari1:12.9376
1722Yuki TsunodaRB Honda RBPT1:12.9859
183Daniel RicciardoRB Honda RBPT1:13.0759
1923Alexander AlbonWilliams Mercedes1:13.1536
202Logan Sargeant2Williams Mercedes1:13.5099
1 Perez penalised 3 grid places for failing to leave the track with serious mechanical difficulties at the previous round.
2Sargeant penalised 3 grid places for impeding another driver during qualifying.

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About The Author

Staff Writer

Ben Bush
Ben

Ben is a staff writer specialising in F1 from the 1990s to the modern era. Ben has been following Formula 1 since 1986 and is an avid researcher who loves understanding the technology that makes it one of the most exciting motorsport on the planet. He listens to podcasts about F1 on a daily basis, and enjoys reading books from the inspirational Adrian Newey to former F1 drivers.

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