But Red Bull has shown strong pace in the race simulations and Verstappen's closing effort was hampered by a power loss, so it is unlikely the Ferrari driver will be able to pull away in the early stages.
Updates to a number of cars have stolen the show in the early phase of the Barcelona weekend with Ferrari, Mercedes, McLaren and Aston Martin all bringing significant developments.
George Russell and Lewis Hamilton made the most of Mercedes' latest specification W13 to qualify fourth and sixth.
But the biggest talking point of the weekend so far has been the 'green Red Bull' of Aston Martin after the team revealed a radically new rear-end design that appears to closely resemble the RB18.
But who will come out on top in the race itself? The answers are not far away!
GPFans will provide full coverage from the race including from our correspondent Sam Hall, who is at the track and Miami and will be offering live updates throughout the weekend.
SUNDAY - Grand Prix:15:00 local time [14:00 BST, 09:00 EDT]
WHERE CAN I WATCH THE 2022 F1 SPANISH GP?
Every session of the weekend will be shown live on Sky Sports' dedicated F1 channel. Customers who subscribe to Sky Sports F1 can also watch all the action on the move thanks to the Sky Go app.
Alternatively, you can purchase a NOW TV Day Pass for just £9.99 to watch all of Sky Sports' coverage on your smart TV, mobile device, tablet or computer.
On Channel 4, only the British and Abu Dhabi Grands Prix is being shown in full on free-to-air television in the UK this year. Highlights of all other races will be shown in a 'prime-time' slot on C4.
In the US, ESPN will carry live coverage of every session to subscribing fans Stateside.
Friday's practice sessions will be available on ESPNU whilst all the action from Saturday and Sunday will be broadcast on ESPN2.
Live streaming is available via the ESPN App.
ABC will show free-to-air coverage of the US and Mexico Grands Prix, although this coverage only covers the races.
In Australia, all sessions from each weekend of the year will be broadcast live on subscription service Fox Sports or through its Kayo streaming service.
Nine Network offers a free alternative, showing highlights of all 23 races as well as the Australian Grand Prix live.
In Canada, qualifying and the race will be aired live in English on subscription channel TSN, which pulls in coverage from Sky Sports in the UK. The TSN GO app allows fans in Canada to watch F1 on the move.
French-language coverage is available on RDS to subscribers, which will air qualifying and the race live. You can download RDS GO if you are out and about.
Check F1's official website to see if F1 TV Pro is available in your location. You will need to pay a fee to subscribe, rates vary depending on locations.
Charles Leclerc recovered strongly from a spin on his first run in Q3 to score pole position by over a quarter of a second from Max Verstappen.
Hometown hero Carlos Sainz positioned his Ferrari third with George Russell making the most of Mercedes' considerable upgrade package to secure fourth.
Mick Schumacher was the beneficiary of a track limits penalty for Lando Norris with the German elevated to the top 10 after the McLaren driver's time was ruled out.
With Kevin Magnussen also in the top 10, this weekend is the first time both Haas cars featured in Q3 since the 2019 Brazilian Grand Prix.
Despite its Red Bull-like upgrades, Aston Martin saw both Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll fall at the first hurdle with the pair starting 16th and 18th.
1 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:18.750
2 Max Verstappen Red Bull +0.323
3 Carlos Sainz Ferrari +0.416
4 George Russell Mercedes +0.643
5 Sergio Perez Red Bull +0.670
6 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes +0.762
7 Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo +0.858
8 Kevin Magnussen Haas +0.932
9 Daniel Ricciardo McLaren +1.547
10 Mick Schumacher Haas +1.618
11 Lando Norris McLaren 1:20.471
12 Esteban Ocon Alpine 1:20.638
13 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri 1:20.639
14 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri 1:20.861
15 Guanyu Zhou Alfa Romeo 1:21.094
16 Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin 1:20.954
17 Fernando Alonso Alpine 1:21.043
18 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 1:21.418
19 Alexander Albon Williams 1:21.645
20 Nicholas Latifi Williams 1:21.915
GPFans' F1 SPANISH GP PREDICTION
Verstappen was utterly dominant in both Imola and Miami and has a positive record in Spain, after taking his first F1 victory in the 2016 Barcelona race - his debut for Red Bull.
But a lot of the weekend will depend on the power of the Ferrari upgrades with Leclerc eager to restamp his authority on the championship and Carlos Sainz hoping to impress in front of his home fans.
On present form, it is difficult to look beyond Verstappen for the victory but all eyes will be on the faces in the Ferrari garage to discover if the developments have worked.
GP CANADA
7 - 9 Jun
GP SPAIN
21 - 23 Jun
GP AUSTRIA
28 - 30 Jun
GP GREAT BRITAIN
5 - 7 Jul
GP HUNGARY
19 - 21 Jul
GP BELGIUM
26 - 28 Jul
GP NETHERLANDS
23 - 25 Aug
GP ITALY
30 Aug - 1 Sep
GP AZERBAIJAN
13 - 15 Sep
GP SINGAPORE
20 - 22 Sep
GP USA
18 - 20 Oct
GP MEXICO
25 - 27 Oct
GP BRAZIL
1 - 3 Nov
GP QATAR
29 Nov - 1 Dec
GP ABU DHABI
6 - 8 Dec
Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2024
Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2024 
Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024 
Grand Prix of Australia 2024 
MSC Cruises Grand Prix of Japan 2024 
Grand Prix of China 2024 
Grand Prix of Monaco 2024 
Innovatieweg 20C