Spain – Qualifications: Hamilton Disheartens Rosberg, Grosjean Surprises!

Dry and sunny weather for the qualifying session, which could prove crucial for the outcome of the race tomorrow. In the twenty-three Spanish Grand Prix held in Barcelona since 1991, the pole-sitter has won the race seventeen times. In 2013, Fernando Alonso defied the statistics by starting from fifth position on the grid.

Q1: At the green light, the Ferrari engine of Esteban Gutiérrez’s Sauber is the first to roar in the pit lane. Handling Q1 well is important for the Swiss team, who have always seen one of their drivers eliminated in this first part since the beginning of the season. First time of 1:29:257 for the Mexican, quickly beaten by Hülkenberg in 1:28:856.

Red flag! Crash for Pastor Maldonado. He lost control of his Lotus while going over the curb at turn number 3. The session is over for the Venezuelan. The session resumes after five minutes, with most drivers heading out on hard tires. Nico Rosberg sets the first benchmark time at 1:26.764, two seconds ahead of Hülkenberg!

First quick lap for Sebastian Vettel, more than a second behind Nico Rosberg. Hamilton appears at the top of the timesheet, in second place, over four-tenths behind his teammate. The Briton is visibly not satisfied with the balance of his W05. “We made the car worse,” he remarks over the radio.

Two minutes from the end, Magnussen, in sixteenth place, is in danger and forced to put on medium tires to ensure his presence in Q2, followed by his teammate Jenson Button at the checkered flag. The gap between the first eliminated, Adrian Sutil, 17th, and Daniel Ricciardo, 4th, is only half a second.

Eliminated in Q1: Sutil, Kobayashi, Bianchi, Ericsson, Chilton, and Maldonado.

Q2: Hülkenberg is the first driver to head out for the second part of the session, on medium tires. 1:27.863, he improves his Q1 time by more than three tenths. Pérez follows his teammate, in 1:28.002. Bottas takes the best time, only four tenths ahead of Hülkenberg! The Mercedes drivers get down to business. 1:26.088 for Nico Rosberg, ahead of Hamilton in 1:26.210. This Q2 definitely looks like a pitched battle between teammates. Räikkönen, third, leads Alonso at Ferrari with a time of 1:27.454.

Vettel and Ricciardo place their Red Bulls ahead of the Ferraris in third and fourth positions with an advantage of four-tenths for the Australian. The Williams follow, then the Force India. Only Romain Grosjean, in fifth, prevents a perfect team hierarchy.

« We will no longer go out during this session », it’s announced to Ricciardo, who has evidently completed an optimal lap. The Ferraris, the Williams, the Force India cars, and Grosjean will compete for the last available spots behind the Mercedes and Red Bull. Hülkenberg kicks off the hostilities with a 1:27.685 before Massa sets a remarkable 1:27.016, slotting himself between the two Red Bulls! Sixth, Romain Grosjean surprises. Tenth, Alonso, sees the cut very close…

Eliminated in Q2: Hülkenberg, Pérez, Kvyat, Gutiérrez, Magnussen, and Vergne.

Q3: One certainty at the start of this session: the pole position will go to a Mercedes. Now it’s just a matter of deciding whether it will be the 6 or the 44. Nico Rosberg and then Lewis Hamilton are the first to hit the track for this session on medium tires. Problem for Sebastian Vettel! It indeed seems to be a tough weekend for the reigning four-time world champion. Red flag, which cancels the current times of both Mercedes. While he was stopping, he evidently obstructed Hamilton in the first corner. “Sorry for Lewis but I had no light to warn me,” Vettel apologizes over the radio.

Here we go again! Grosjean stays in the pits, as do Räikkönen, Button, Massa, and Bottas. He should only have one attempt at a fast lap. 1:26.561 for Rosberg, then 1:26.288 for Hamilton! The Brit regains the lead for Mercedes. He managed to make up time in the last sector, where he was losing time in Q1 and Q2. Ricciardo is third, just three-tenths off the Silver Arrows. Fourth is Alonso, more than a second behind.

Rosberg improves, but so does Hamilton, with a time of 1:25.232! Fourth pole for the Briton. Ricciardo, Bottas, and Grosjean push the Ferraris back to the third and fourth rows on the grid.