Formula One heads back to Europe for round ten of the 2024 season as Barcelona hosts the Spanish Grand Prix this weekend.
Max Verstappen returned to winning ways last time out in Canada, victorious after an entertaining wet-dry race on the streets of Montreal. Charles Leclerc, winner in Monaco previous to that, retired from the race and the gap from the Ferrari driver to the Red Bull out in front is 56 points.
Mercedes were much improved in Canada, with George Russell picking up a podium and Lewis Hamilton finishing a season-best fourth, while McLaren’s Lando Norris came home second.
Verstappen won last year’s race at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, with Russell and Hamilton on the podium.
Follow live updates from the Spanish GP with The Independent
Max Verstappen on provisional pole!
Nobody can beat the Red Bull’s time so far! Verstappen sets a 1:11:673, 0.123 secs quicker than Lando Norris in second!
Lewis Hamilton is third, 0.143 secs off Verstappen, with Russell a bit further back in fourth.
Sainz and Leclerc in fifth and sixth, both within three-tenths of Verstappen – it’s very tight!
7-10: Gasly, Ocon, Perez, Piastri (no time)
Not too sure what’s happened with Piastri…
Kieran Jackson22 June 2024 15:56
Q3 underway!
This is the moment we’ve been waiting for! 12 minutes, 10 drivers, 1 pole position!
10 drivers involved: Verstappen, Perez, Leclerc, Sainz, Hamilton, Russell, Norris, Piastri, Ocon, Gasly
Alpine joining the front-four party!
Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen the first cars out there…
Kieran Jackson22 June 2024 15:44
Lewis Hamilton is safe!
The six-time winner here is comfortable in the end, going P2 with his final lap!
But Fernando Alonso is out! The home favourite P11!
Out of Q2 (11-15): Alonso, Bottas, Hulkenberg, Stroll, Zhou
Top-3: Verstappen, Hamilton, Russell
Kieran Jackson22 June 2024 15:41
Now or never for Hamilton!
Two minutes left and the bottom-five is currently: Ocon, Bottas, Alonso, Hamilton, Zhou
Leclerc, in P5, not coming back out for a second lap. Risky?!
Kieran Jackson22 June 2024 15:39
Lewis Hamilton down in P13!
Mercedes struggling out of nowhere!
Lewis Hamilton (on used softs) down in 13th, a second behind Max Verstappen on top.
“This tyre was bad,” says Hamilton. Time for the new tyres..
Current bottom-five (11-15): Bottas, Alonso, Hamilton, Stroll, Zhou
Kieran Jackson22 June 2024 15:35
The queue in the pit-lane starts…
10 minutes to go and it’s a 14-car queue in the pit-lane as the majority of the grid head out onto the track…
It’ll be crucial here to see who is utilising new soft tyres as opposed to used soft tyres.
Kieran Jackson22 June 2024 15:31
Q2 underway!
Second session now underway in Barcelona, with Lance Stroll the first car out on track.
Again, we’ll lose the slowest five drivers ahead of Q3 and the top-10 shootout. Work to do here for the likes of Aston Martin, Alpine and Sauber…
Kieran Jackson22 June 2024 15:27
Daniel Ricciardo out in Q1!
Really disappointing session for RB and Williams – both their cars out in Q1! Lance Stroll escapes in P15…
Bottom-five and out in Q1 (16-20): Magnussen, Tsunoda, Ricciardo, Albon, Sargeant
Tsunoda can’t believe it: “We didn’t go through? Nooooo.”
Top-3: Hamilton, Leclerc, Verstappen
Kieran Jackson22 June 2024 15:21
Alex Albon gets his car up from P16 to P12 ahead of the final three minutes!
Current bottom-five (16-20): Ricciardo, Tsunoda, Zhou, Magnussen, Sargeant
Pressure on Ricciardo then. Sergio Perez also needs to go quicker in P10…
Kieran Jackson22 June 2024 15:16