F1 Spanish Grand Prix qualifying results, starting grid: McLaren top, Sainz a dud

Upgrades and rule changes in Spain seemed to have put no damper on McLaren's clear run to both titles in 2025.

Oscar Piastri put together an incredible lap for pole at the Barcelona circuit ahead of his teammate.

Q1 results: Duds from Carlos Sainz and Yuki Tsunoda

The margins in the first session of the day were incredibly close.

Franco Colapinto was in position to advance as he prepared for his second run, but he suffered from a mechanical issue as he tried to exit the pits, ending his day.

Carlos Sainz and Yuki Tsunoda were the surprise exits. Sainz's teammate Alex Albon was in the top ten, but the home driver said "not good" after his early departure.

Meanwhile, Tsunoda put in another poor effort -- dead last in a session where Max Verstappen didn't even do a second run because he was safely on to Q2. Tsunoda has only qualified better than 10th one time since joining Red Bull.

Q2 results: Isack Hadjar extends his advantage

Although they were the first runs of the session, Gabriel Bortoleto, Pierre Gasly and Fernando Alonso deserve props for their strong tries, just a few tenths off Max Verstappen. Bortoleto was the only of the three to be eliminated in Q2, but he can be happy with a P12 spot.

Isack Hadjar continued his incredibly qualifying form, putting himself between two Ferraris in Q2. Liam Lawson did not advance, and Hadjar now owns a 6-1 quali advantage over his teammate.

Williams qualifying form has fallen to the wayside a bit of late, with Albon missing out on Q3 by 30 milliseconds.

McLaren had a three-tenth advantage over anyone else.

Q3 results: McLaren are still kings

McLaren's dominance seems unchanged (if not strengthened) by the technical directive in Spain this weekend.

Piastri put in a time two tenths ahead of Norris, a huge gap in modern F1, but the fight for P3-7 was an interesting one, with Verstappen on top of it, running a time exactly the same as George Russell, but because he ran it first, he gets the spot.

Gasly was best of the rest, with Hadjar close behind, his third-straight top-9 grid position.

Spanish Grand Prix qualifying results/starting grid