Max Verstappen took pole in a chaotic qualifying session for the Spanish Grand Prix, blowing away the field with a stunning lap in Q3 to seal his fourth pole position of the season.
Charles Leclerc was knocked out in the first session and will start from 19th on the grid after a disastrous afternoon – but arguably more shocking was Sergio Perez's elimination in Q2.
Lingering rain affected the start of the session, with a brief red flag period following a rash of spins in the opening minutes of the session.
The track looked to be improving quickly when the cars were sent back out, but both Sergio Perez and Leclerc struggled with their tyres – the Mexican driver sitting in the drop zone for much of the first session and only just sneaking through in 15th.
He struggled yet further in Q2, and took a trip into the gravel to ruin one hot lap before failing to hook up his final run – finishing the session 11th.
F1 Qualifying Results: Spanish Grand Prix 2023
1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) – 1:12.272
2. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) – +0.462
3. Lando Norris (McLaren) – +0.520
4. Pierre Gasly (Alpine) – +0.544
5. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) – +0.546
6. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) – +0.722
7. Esteban Ocon (Alpine) – +0.811
8. Nico Hulkenberg (Haas) – +0.957
9. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) – +1.235
10. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) – +1.410
Eliminated from Q2:
11. Sergio Perez (Red Bull)
12. George Russell (Mercedes)
13. Zhou Guanyu (Alfa Romeo)
14. Nyck de Vries (AlphaTauri)
15. Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri)
Eliminated from Q1:
16. Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo)
17. Kevin Magnussen (Haas)
18. Alex Albon (Williams)
19. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
20. Logan Sergeant (Williams)
How does F1 Qualifying work?
The 60-minute qualifying session is split into three finite windows which provides a dramatic prelude to Sunday's big race.
The bottom five drivers are eliminated at the end of Q1, with a further five eliminated after Q2.
Then Q3 gives us a shootout between the remaining 10 drivers in the battle for positions at the front of the grid.
READ MORE: Verstappen completes Spanish practice HAT-TRICK in rain-affected session
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