Piatri gets Spain-Pole in front of Norris-Diepresse.com

WM leader Oscar Piatri is in the first place at the Grand Prix of Spain. The McLaren pilot was clearly faster in qualifying on Saturday north of Barcelona than his team-mate Lando Norris (+0.209 seconds) and thus secured the pole position for the race on Sunday (3 p.m./Live ORF 1 and Sky). Behind it were Max Verstappen and George Russell, the Formula 1 world champion in the Red Bull and the Mercedes star drove the same time (+0.302).

« We had the pace right from the start, and today the car was incredible, » said Piatri after his fourth Pole satisfied this season. Monaco winner Norris praised his colleagues and World Cup rivals. « Oscar has already driven brilliant all weekend. It will be an interesting start tomorrow, » he emphasized with a view of the long path to the first curve. Verstappen, who ended his round in front of Russell and was therefore lined up, was also satisfied. « We squeezed everything out of the car, it worked well despite the high temperatures, » said the Dutch.

McLaren dominant all weekend

Before the eyes of Barca scorer Robert Lewandowski, McLaren dominated the hunt on the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Montmelo, after Piatri had previously set up a superior best in the third free training. The Front wing regulations, which is newly defined at the beginning of the year, which limits the flexibility of the parts more and is to be considered in Barcelona for the first time, the traditional British did not slow down. On the contrary, the competition was behind the papaya duo in qualifying with respect.

While Verstappen, winner of the last three races in Barcelona, ​​wants to go back to the front again on Sunday, Yuki Tsunoda experienced a bitter disappointment in the second Red Bull. The Japanese, who had often complained about a slippery car in the free training sessions, only took the 20th and last starting place according to a clean round, according to his own statement. « It is very difficult to explain. In the first training session, it has already been shown that something doesn’t feel right. I always had grip problems, very strange, » said Tsunoda. Williams pilot Carlos Sainz also has to get started at the home of position 18 and hope for a catch-up.

Before the ninth race of the season, Piatri leads the World Cup ranking with 161 points just ahead of Norris (158), Verstappen (136) is still in striking distance. (APA)