The first day of running in the F1 Spanish GP ended with a McLaren topping the standings. Much was made about the Woking-based team being one of the teams that struggled after the technical directives implementation. We do not have any evidence of it for now, but the next few races are going to be crucial.
At the end of the first day of running, we had Oscar Piastri with the benchmark time. For the F1 Spanish GP, pole position is pivotal in securing a strong enough result, and that’s going to be crucial. Even though Barcelona is not like Monaco, where you can’t have overtakes, as has often been the case, track position is the king. With that being said, what can we expect from the F1 Spanish GP Qualifying? Let’s take a look.
#5 Franco Colapinto doesn’t make it to Q2
Franco Colapinto’s start to life at Alpine has not been the best. What has made things worse is the fact that the driver has had results worse than Jack Doohan, who had already out-qualified Pierre Gasly in a comparable number of outings.
The Argentinian is in a precarious position, and if his performances don’t match the hype, he might struggle at the Enstone squad. For the F1 Spanish GP Qualifying, we do not expect the Argentinian to make it through to Q2.
#4 Yuki Tsunoda doesn’t make it to Q3
Just like Franco Colapinto, the other driver who would be starting to face the music is Yuki Tsunoda. What seems evident already is the fact that the Japanese driver’s honeymoon period is about to end.
There have been moments where Yuki Tsunoda has impressed, but even Max would be hoping for a scenario where his teammate is closer to him and becomes a factor in races. For the F1 Spanish GP, we do not expect the second Red Bull driver to make it to Q3.
#3 Fernando Alonso makes it to Q3
Aston Martin’s upgrade has been positive so far, and after Imola, it does appear that there has been an extra spring in the step of Fernando Alonso. The Spaniard has started the last two races in the top 6, and if he keeps up his form, he could repeat the same at the F1 Spanish GP.
#2 Mercedes is the dark horse for the F1 Spanish GP Qualifying
So, how good is Mercedes? The reality is that the answer to this question does not exist with anyone. The German team has come to a weekend in the last 18 months with no clue over how its car will perform. As it turns out, there’s still a lack of clarity about how the car would perform even now.
The laptimes and the performance from George Russell inspire confidence, but is it really as good as it appears? Qualifying is going to answer that question and to a large extent the race would as well.
#1 Max Verstappen secures pole position for the F1 Spanish GP
This one is critical because both McLaren drivers and Max Verstappen are the frontrunners for pole position, with the Mercedes duo a dark horse with a lack of clarity over what we can expect from the car.
The track characteristics and a possible deficiency experienced by McLaren mean that Max Verstappen is a contender for pole position, and we’re going with the Dutch driver who has shown an ability to nail these laps and get the job done more often than not.
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Edited by Charanjot Singh Kohli
