Provisional starting grid Spanish GP | Verstappen lonely at the top
Max Verstappen is lonely at the top of the starting grid for the Spanish Grand Prix. The Dutchman put the rest of the field at a great distance and will see his biggest rivals start far behind him on Sunday.
Carlos Sainz was the only one who managed to stay within five-tenths of the championship leader. Behind, the gap is already widening, with Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton over five-tenths of a second behind. Pierre Gasly was two thousandths faster than Hamilton but will be moved back six places at the start due to a double grid penalty imposed on him by the stewards for obstructing Verstappen and Sainz during qualifying.
For Fernando Alonso, Saturday's home weekend ended in disappointment. The Aston Martin driver crashed into the gravel during Q1, damaging his floor. Subsequently, the Spaniard got no further than a ninth time in Q3, although he moved up one place because of Gasly's grid penalty. Sergio Perez also disappointed: the Red Bull Racing driver was stranded in Q2 after he too ended up in the gravel pit. After this, he did not manage to improve his time enough to reach Q3.