Qualifying battles Spanish GP | Verstappen extends lead, Alonso loses out
Max Verstappen secured pole position for the Spanish Grand Prix in dominant fashion. In doing so, he also deals another blow in the World Championship duel with teammate Sergio Perez.
Apart from Verstappen, Lando Norris, Nico Hulkenberg and Alexander Albon are also running further ahead of their teammates. Albon is the only Formula 1 driver still yet to be beaten this season by his teammate Logan Sargeant. Nyck de Vries managed to qualify ahead of Tsunoda, slightly catching up with his AlphaTauri colleague.
Among other teams, the battle is intensifying. Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz, for instance, have almost made up ground against George Russell and Charles Leclerc respectively. Pierre Gasly performs the same against Esteban Ocon, although he will still see his teammate start ahead of him due to a grid penalty. Fernando Alonso was beaten by Lance Stroll for the first time this year after the Spaniard was unable to make a bid for the top positions due to sustained damage to his car.
F1 2023 Spanish GP qualifying duels
Red Bull Racing Verstappen/Perez 5-1
Ferrari: Leclerc/Sainz 4-3
Mercedes: Hamilton/Russell 3-4
McLaren: Norris/Piastri 6-1
Alpine: Ocon/Gasly 4-3
AlphaTauri: Tsunoda/De Vries: 5-2
Aston Martin: Alonso/Stroll 6-1
Alfa Romeo: Bottas/Zhou 4-3
Haas: Magnussen/Hulkenberg 2-5
Williams: Albon/Sargeant 7-0