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Charles Leclerc bagged himself the pole position for the Spanish GP. His title rival Max Verstappen was able to secure a front-row start for himself as well. However, not everyone had a great qualifying session in Barcelona.
Let's take a look at the winners and losers of the Spanish GP Qualifying.
Spanish GP Qualifying: Winners and Losers
Winner
Charles Leclerc
It's not easy for a driver who has ruined his first fast lap in Q3 to regain his confidence and bag a pole. Charles Leclerc is someone who did exactly that. He might have messed up his first fast lap by spinning on the track, but he did not let that deter him.
The Ferrari driver was not only on the backfoot, but he also knew that if he made an error on his second lap as well, he would be starting further down the grid than he would like to. The pressure to perform was definitely present. Yet, when Leclerc finished the first sector on his second lap, he was less than a tenth slower than Verstappen's benchmark. Seeing how Ferrari is superior in the second sector, he was expected to grab pole position. And he did!
The Monegasque did not succumb to stress and won his fifth pole position of the season instead.
Loser
Alpine and Fernando Alonso
Alpine got exposed today. Despite having a car that should ideally place fourth in the standings, the team is yet to have a straightforward weekend since the Bahrain GP. In every race since, there has been one issue or another impeding one or both of its drivers.
Both the team and the driver were responsible for Alonso getting eliminated in Q1. While the team messed up the timing of when it needed to send Alonso out on to the track, the Spaniard was unable to put together a lap that was good enough to reach Q2 in the first place.
Alpine has its work cut out if it wants to challenge for the title some day and today was a good example of that.
Winner
Mercedes
Toto Wolff should be happy with the progress Mercedes has made at the Spanish GP. Sure, at the end of the day, the gap to the front is still there, but its porpoising issue has been cured. Now, the team can focus on bringing in development parts to improve the car's performance.
Overall, it has been a positive weekend for Mercedes and a podium for either of its drivers would not be beyond the realms of possibility.
Loser
Red Bull
Max Verstappen lost a chance to bag the pole position. According to reports, the issue was with the DRS, however, the Dutch driver had complained about a loss of power and his onboards showed that there was something wrong with the drive.
This was just another one of Red Bull's reliability issues this season as the reigning champion has had to endure multiple DNFs at previous races. The RB18's reliability leaves much to be desired. The 24-year-old driver will surely be hoping that the car is able to pull through the Spanish GP tomorrow.
Winner
Alfa Romeo
Alfa Romeo has to be anointed as the fastest car in the midfield. The team has benefited greatly from the upgrades they brought to Barcelona this week.
This is the third consecutive race wherein Valtteri Bottas' pace has displayed the team's pace as the fourth fastest on the grid this season. The team might be looking at its second driver's pace but overall, it was a rather positive outcome for the Swiss team.
Losers
McLaren and Aston Martin
Throughout the weekend, much attention was given to the rather overhyped upgrades that McLaren and Aston Martin brought to Spain. Neither team seemed to have improved.
Aston Martin said that it is still learning about its new car, which bears an uncanny resemblance to the RB18. Whereas McLaren has to be disappointed with its performance in qualifying. The Woking-based team brought as many as 10 different upgrades and despite that, it was unable to ascend to a higher position on the grid. After all the hype around these two teams' upgrades, the 2022 Spanish GP Qualifying was certainly a disappointment to their fans.
The teams will be looking to maximize their performances in tomorrow's race.
