F1 Spanish Grand Prix qualifying: Verstappen takes the pole, Leclerc Q1 is out, Zhou Guanyu is 13th
On June 3, Beijing time, the 2023 season of the F1 Spanish Grand Prix ended the qualifying competition, after three exciting qualifying rounds, Leclerc was upset in Q1, and Chinese driver Zhou Guanyu finished 13th. The pole position was taken away by Verstappen without suspense, followed by Sainz at home and Norris of McLaren.
Pre-match news:
1. The Spanish Grand Prix is the seventh race of the season, after the first six races, Verstappen still leads the standings with 144 points, Perez is currently second with 105 points, and Alonso is only 12 points behind Perez and is in third place. Red Bull leads the constructors' championship with 249 points, followed by Aston Martin in second place with 120 points and Mercedes with 119 points.
2. The Spanish Grand Prix Ferrari at this station has brought a new sidebox design, and each team will upgrade to different degrees on this track, and the upgrade brought by Mercedes in Monaco will also be truly tested in this race.
3. This season, race organisers reached an agreement with the FIA and F1 to restore the last two corners to the pre-2006 layout. This means that the original deceleration corner will be bypassed, the new penultimate corner will become a high-speed right-hand corner, and the car will enter the final corner much faster than before.
4. In the earlier three drills, there was precipitation on the track. In ten minutes on the soft tyres, Verstappen scored a game-high finish, with Perez trailing second by 0.25 seconds, followed by Hamilton.
Q1: The track continues to slip Zhou Guanyu successfully advanced Leclerc was eliminated only 19th in the ranking
Alonso continued racing after repairing it with duct tape
As qualifying this week took place in rainy conditions, drivers were on the track at the start of the race, hoping to use soft tyres to get their best before the rain intensified. Russell made his first lap in 1:15.735 and Gasley took first place in 1:14.618. Due to the skating of Bottas, Alben, De Vries and Alonso one after another, the race took the initiative to show the red flag, and the game was temporarily suspended. Only 7 riders have made valid results so far.
After a period of adjustment, the drivers hit the track again. The track is cloudy and uncertain at the moment, and every driver is doing their best to get the fastest possible result. Verstappen made a time of 1:13.660 to come to first, and Piastri is only 0.031 seconds behind Verstappen in second place, and Zhou Guanyu is 0.6 seconds behind Verstappen to temporarily rank fourth.
Leclerc is currently only 17th, and Leclerc had previously reported to the team that the car was difficult to drive, and then made a pit stop adjustment. Perez is also only 16th, and the rest of the drivers in the knockout zone are Yuki Tsunoda, Alben and Sargente.
On the last lap, the track was getting better and the drivers were setting their bests. In the end, Hamilton finished first in 1:12.937, followed by Norris, Russell and Sainz, and Hockenburg in fifth. The eliminated drivers were Bottas, Magnussen, Alben, Leclerc and Sargent. Chinese rider Zhou Guanyu finished 10th and successfully advanced.
Q2: Mercedes collided Zhou Guanyu unfortunately failed to advance to the next round
Verstappen took the lead in 1:12.760 to rank first, and Alonso made 13.278 seconds, temporarily second, but still a certain gap with Verstappen. Hamilton made another time of 1:13 this week, 1:12.899, surpassing Alonso for second place. Zhou Guanyu currently has a time of 1 minute 13.867 seconds, ranking tenth.
After a short adjustment, the drivers hit the track again and began the second round of the race. Perez rushed off the track at Turn Four in his own lap and plunged into gravel, only to drive back to the track. Norris set his best in the final period, 0.016 seconds behind Verstappen and finished second. Russell collided with Hamilton on the main straight, causing damage to Hamilton's car. In the end, Perez, Russell, Zhou Guanyu, De Vries and Yuki Tsunoda failed to make better results in the final stage and were unfortunately eliminated.
Q3: Verstappen takes pole position without suspense, Sainz is second, Norris is third
At Q3, Verstappen took the lead in 1:12.272, and Hamilton made 1:13.196 to temporarily rank second, but the gap with first-place Verstappen reached 0.9 seconds. Hockenburg took advantage of other car adjustments to make 1:13.229 to move to third place on the field.
At the start of the final round of the gallop lap, Alonso entered the gallop circle first, 1:13.507, and finished ninth. Sainz trailed Verstappen by 0.462 seconds to finish second, Norris third and Gasley fourth, followed by Hamilton, Stoll, Ocon, Hockenburg, Alonso and Piastry.