Winners and losers from the 2025 Spanish Grand Prix qualifying
It was differing days out on track for Fernando Alonso and Liam Lawson.
Oscar Piastri continued his Barcelona weekend dominance as he took pole, making quali the third out of four sessions he has been quickest in.
Any talk of a game-changing TD was blown out of the water with McLaren going P1 and P2 meanwhile there was a Red Bull at the very back of the grid.
Winners and losers from the 2025 Spanish Grand Prix qualifying
Winner: Oscar Piastri
A well-timed tow looked to have given Lando Norris the edge over his McLaren team-mate but once again, when push came to shove Piastri came out on top.
Their final flying lap was the duo in microcosm. Norris’ was scruffy, pushing too hard and paying the price while Piastri’s was clinical.
In the end, Piastri took pole, the fourth of his career, and is strong favourite to be P1 in the race on Sunday.
Loser: Red Bull
There is a reason this particular entry says Red Bull and not Yuki Tsunoda.
The Japanese driver is no mug and did not forget everything he ever learnt the moment he stepped into the RB21, which poses a far more existential question for Red Bull than what to do with the latest driver in the second seat.
The Red Bull car is beyond difficult to drive with Tsunoda commenting that he thought he did a good lap. Only that lap was worthy of P20 and well off the pace of the top setters.
Right now, Max Verstappen is the glue holding everything together as it seems the Dutchman is the only one able to get performance out of the car but when the day comes that he leaves the team, Red Bull have an almighty problem to fix.
Winner: Gabriel Bortoleto
Sauber brought upgrades to their car this weekend and you could have been forgiven for thinking that Nico Hulkenberg would have been the one to maximise them and yet it was Bortoleto who was consistently quicker.
An excellent lap in Q1 signalled it would not be the normal routine of an early exit and he can even count himself a little unlucky to miss out on the top 10.
P12 with a Williams and Red Bull behind means points will be a struggle but it is a step in the right direction at last.
Loser: Carlos Sainz
Speaking of Wiliams, Carlos Sainz’s good from came to a screeching halt with his first Q1 exit of the year.
Having overcome early troubles with the Williams car, Sainz looked to be in the groove from Saudi onwards but his P18 start makes it hard to see how his run of four consecutive points scores will continue.
Winner: Fernando Alonso
A third consecutive Q3 appearance suggests Aston Martin may have finally given Fernando Alonso some speed to work with.
The two-time World Champion remains one of four drivers yet to get off the mark but while Imola and Monaco did not yield points, him doing so in front of his home crowd seems a likely possibility on Sunday.
Loser: Franco Colapinto
Given this race represents the middle point of Franco Colapinto’s five-race deal, being stranded in the pit lane was not the ideal way to start it.
While Colapinto has made errors in his F1 return, he actually looked on course for a good showing before a problem saw him stop in the fast lane and succumb to a Q1 exit.
Flavio Briatore told him to avoid crashes and score points and he is struggling to do either of those right now.
More reaction from qualifying in Barcelona
Spanish GP: Piastri beats ‘cheeky’ Norris to pole position in McLaren qualy battle
‘Unlucky’ Lando Norris reveals plan behind ‘cheeky’ Spanish GP qualifying move
Winner: Isack Hadjar
Another F1 weekend and another impressive one for Isack Hadjar. The second quickest Red Bull driver on the grid, behind only Verstappen, the Frenchman made it three Q3 appearances in a row as he qualified ninth.
There are quick cars behind him but he looks likely to add to his points tally on Sunday.
Loser: Liam Lawson
Speaking of Racing Bulls, it is not looking good for Liam Lawson. Being in the second team means no one is expecting consistent Q3s from the Kiwi but he is being routinely shown up by his rookie team-mate.
The qualifying battle is 6-1 in Hadjar’s favour and Lawson has made it to Q3 just once this season, three times fewer than his team-mate.
P13 is not a disaster but he needs to start beating his team-mate if he has any hope of staying on next year.