2022 F1 Spanish GP: Qualifying Predictions

The first day of the Spanish GP is done with both Free Practice sessions out of the way. We had the scarlet Ferrari of Charles Leclerc leading the way in both sessions. We had the new Aston Martin B-Spec car making an appearance and leaving everyone on the track angry. And of course, we had Mercedes showing some sort of improvement in terms of pace.

We are here now since qualifying is tomorrow and everyone wants to know what to expect and what not to. Who will be fast and who will be slow? Who will have a good day and who will have a bad one? We saw the Free Practice sessions so that you didn't have to. Now let us take you through all you could expect from the Spanish GP qualifying.

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Predictions for 2022 F1 Spanish GP Qualifying

Disappointment of the session (Team)

Amongst all the hullabaloo around Aston Martin being the new "Green Red Bull", AlphaTauri, the supposed sister team, does not look well placed for what is in store at the Spanish GP.

The team has not produced a challenger capable of pulling out results like the last few seasons. The upgrades brought to the car in Imola have not had the desired effect on its performance. With Aston Martin expected to make a jump and Alpine riding the Spanish GP wave, don't be surprised if AlphaTauri does not make an appearance in Q3.

Disappointment of the session (Driver)

Fernando Alonso is riding the Spanish wave at the moment. The Alpine driver has been in the zone ever since he did his first lap of the GP weekend. In doing so, what Alonso has done is leave teammate Esteban Ocon in the shade. More often than not, the French driver has been found wanting against Alonso in qualifying this season.

With the Frenchman once again trailing his teammate by almost half a second in FP2 for the Spanish GP, we might be looking at Ocon being one of the bigger disappointments of the session.

Surprise of the session (Team)

Keeping all talk aside of the Aston Martin B-spec car having far too much resemblance to the Red Bull, what kind of improvements should we expect from the team?

Although the single-lap run was far from indicative of the car's potential, the long run would make the team tear their hair out. Its driver Sebastian Vettel had the most competitive long-run pace of all the midfield contenders, barring Alpine's Fernando Alonso. With McLaren and Alfa Romeo on the backfoot at the Spanish GP, expect at least one Aston Martin to make it to Q3 during qualifying.

Surprise of the session (Driver)

Here comes the boldest prediction of the weekend! Fernando Alonso will outqualify the Mercedes drivers in qualifying for the Spanish GP. The Spaniard is driving on a different plane at the moment. Everything seems to be working and he has that Alpine right where he wants it to be. Alpine is nowhere near Mercedes on pace but, despite that, we are picking the double world champion to qualify in P5 for the Spanish GP.

Top 3 in qualifying

Picking up the top 3 drivers in qualifying has hardly been much of a headache this season due to Ferrari and Red Bull's dominance. With the form displayed by both Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc, it's mostly a fight between Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez for that 3rd slot. This time around, with Ferrari looking like a car capable of hooking up a lap better than Red Bull, we are picking the two Ferrari drivers and Verstappen in the top 3.

The order? On first impressions, it does appear that Ferrari has the edge in the short runs. Having said that, it does appear that Leclerc is onto something special this season, despite the home crowd pushing Sainz.

The Monegasque is driving at another level and it's going to be a challenge for Sainz to beat him. For the Spanish Grand Prix, we're picking Charles Leclerc to qualify on pole position with Carlos Sainz second and Max Verstappen in third.