F1 LIVE | The 2024 Spanish Grand Prix
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After three practice sessions and a tense qualifying, it's finally time to race at the iconic Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Spain. After a tense FP3 where Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris made contact, Norris secured the pole shortly after by just 0.020 seconds. Max Verstappen will chase the Brit down into turn one. Can Lando Norris hold on or will Max Verstappen's outright pace be too strong? Or, could Mercedes and Ferrari challenge from the second and third rows on the grid? 30 of the 33 races in Barcelona have been won from the front row. This could likely change to 31 in 34 races before the end of today. Here, we will update you live throughout the race with the latest from the on-track action.
F1 Live | The 2024 Spanish Grand Prix
The race gets underway at 2PM BST at the iconic Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. With the grid now set, the drivers will now battle for 66 laps to secure important points for their teams. Lando Norris secured pole position with a 1.11.383 on Saturday. This time was almost a second quicker than Max Verstappen's 1.12.272 that secured him pole last year. Behind Lando Norris and Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell make it an all-Mercedes third row. Lewis Hamilton topped the timesheets in FP2 and Mercedes' improved W15 looks quick.
Lando Norris will be looking for his second Grand Prix win of the season after securing his second pole in F1. The Brit secured his first 1,001 days ago in Sochi in 2021. He lost that race victory agonisingly in the final stages when he opted to stay out on track in changeable conditions. Ferrari has appeared to be slightly slower than their rivals this weekend, but anything can happen in the race in Barcelona. Sergio Perez had a tough qualifying in his RB20 once again. Due to his three-place grid penalty that he picked up in Canada, the Mexican will be starting the race from 11th place.
Last year, Max Verstappen dominated in Spain. The three-time world champion finished 24 seconds in front of Lewis Hamilton. The pair were joined on the podium by George Russell. Home heroes Carlos Sainz and Fernando Alonso finished in fifth and seventh place respectively. Alonso crossed the line more than a minute behind race winner Verstappen. The Formula 1 field has become a lot closer this year and Verstappen's 2023 dominance feels like a bygone era. Although the Dutchman has won three of the last five races, four different teams have taken pole in the last four.
It could be anyone's game in Barcelona. It will be fascinating to see the outright pace of each team on a circuit which is renowned for its testing qualities. Could the Spanish Grand Prix set the time for the rest of the F1 season? We'll find out here in what is set to be a dry race. The possibility of rain cannot be ruled out, however.