Oscar Piastri delivered a blistering late lap to claim pole position for Sunday’s Spanish Grand Prix, leading a McLaren one-two that left title rival Lando Norris just 0.071 seconds adrift and denied Max Verstappen a front-row berth in Barcelona. It is McLaren’s first front-row lock-out at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya since Mika Häkkinen and David Coulthard in 1998.
The Australian’s 1 min 11.204 sec effort came on his final run in a session that swung repeatedly between the two orange cars. Verstappen’s Red Bull will start third, ahead of George Russell’s Mercedes, while Lewis Hamilton put his Ferrari fifth, out-qualifying team-mate Charles Leclerc, who managed only seventh behind rookie Mercedes protégé Kimi Antonelli.
Top ten grid
- Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
- Lando Norris (McLaren)
- Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
- George Russell (Mercedes)
- Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)
- Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)
- Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
- Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
- Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls)
- Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
How the session unfolded
- Q1 shock: Local favourite Carlos Sainz, driving a one-off appearance for Williams, was dumped out in 19th after locking up at Turn 10, prompting groans from the grandstands.
- Traffic drama: Williams’ Alex Albon accused Haas drivers of “dirty, dirty” blocking in Q2 after missing the top-ten shoot-out by 0.12 seconds.
- Final swing: Verstappen briefly held provisional pole, but a cooling track and fresh soft tyres allowed both McLarens to find another tenth, Piastri stringing together purple first and second sectors to snatch P1.
What they said
“I knew there was a little more in the car, but you still have to hook it up,” Piastri told Formula 1 TV. “The lap felt mega.”
Norris called the result “bittersweet” but praised the team’s upgrades: “We’re in a great place for tomorrow.” Verstappen admitted McLaren had the edge on corner exit: “We just lacked traction off the slow turns.”
Strategic picture
Warm, blustery conditions pushed track temperatures past 46 °C in qualifying; Pirelli expects a two-stop race with soft–medium–medium or soft–hard–hard permutations. McLaren, owning both grid slots on the racing line, aim to control tyre wear at a circuit where the long Turn 3 is notorious for punishing the left-front. Red Bull’s higher straight-line speed could become decisive if Verstappen clears one McLaren at the launch.
Sunday’s forecast calls for identical heat but a 20 percent chance of late-race showers—an added variable that may yet disturb McLaren’s best shot at a first victory of 2025. For now, Piastri heads the grid and the championship by three points; the battle resumes when the lights go out at 15:00 local time.