Piastri beats Norris to pole position in thrilling Spanish GP Qualifying as McLaren lock out front row

Oscar Piastri secured his fourth pole position of the season at the Spanish Grand Prix, outperforming McLaren teammate Lando Norris in a thrilling qualifying session. Piastri, who dominated Q1 and Q2, snatched pole from Norris on his final flying lap in Q3, recording a 1m 11.546s – a significant 0.209s faster than the Briton. This marks a strong turnaround for McLaren at a track where they struggled last year. Max Verstappen delivered a solid performance for Red Bull, securing third place, narrowly ahead of George Russell of Mercedes, who set an identical lap time but qualified fourth. Lewis Hamilton put his Ferrari in a strong fifth position, followed by Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli in sixth and Charles Leclerc in the other Ferrari in seventh. Pierre Gasly impressed for Alpine in eighth, with Isack Hadjar and home favourite Fernando Alonso completing the top ten. The session saw notable exits, including Carlos Sainz in Q1, much to the disappointment of local fans, and Yuki Tsunoda, who struggled in 20th. Alex Albon narrowly missed Q3, while rookies Gabriel Bortoleto and Ollie Bearman also exited in Q2. The competitive session sets the stage for an exciting Spanish Grand Prix.