2023 F1 Spanish GP: Qualifying predictions

The first day of running in the 2023 F1 Spanish GP is done and dusted and once again we have a familiar name in Max Verstappen at the top of the sheets. Red Bull look ominous but the soft tire runs at the end of FP2 might have given the fans a false hope of the Dutch driver being within striking range of everybody else.

Having said that, the two 1-hour sessions gave quite a few interesting insights and helped give a much clear idea of how the rest of the weekend could pan out. So, how do we expect the qualifying session to unfold?

Well, let's take a look as we share our predictions for the 2023 F1 Spanish GP qualifying.

#1 Max Verstappen secures pole position for the 2023 F1 Spanish GP

Let's not kid ourselves when it comes to making a prediction on who secures pole position. More often than not, when you place the best driver in the best car, he tends to come out on top. This is what we've seen this season already and if the running on Friday is any indication, we will see it in the 2023 F1 Spanish GP as well.

Max Verstappen is in a class of his own right now and when he's aided by that beautifully fast Red Bull, there's no holding him back. When it comes to picking the pole-sitter for the 2023 F1 Spanish GP, even if it rains, it's hard to look beyond Max right now.

#2 An Alpine qualifies inside top 5

Esteban Ocon in action at the F1 Grand Prix of Spain - Practice

With Mercedes struggling to hook things up over a lap and Lance Stroll facing some serious issues keeping up with Fernando Alonso, there is a window of opportunity for Alpine.

To make things better, the car appears to have found the extra few tenths that has helped it be a bit more competitive with Ferrari and Mercedes.

This season, what we've seen is an ability from Ferrari to be very impressive in qualifying and then take a step back in races. Mercedes has tended to do the inverse of this. Somewhere in between lies Alpine and the French squad will be hoping to continue its giant-killing spree that began in Monaco.

#3 Mercedes could risk a Q2 exit

Mercedes is in a precarious situation when it comes to its one-lap pace. The car is losing far too much time in the final sector and truly falling away from contention when compared to a lot of cars.

Both Mercedes and Red Bull ran comparative fuels (according to Sam Collins in the live broadcast). Most of the time was lost in the third sector for Lewis Hamilton when compared to Max Verstappen.

You compare this with Haas, and even Alfa Romeo of Valtteri Bottas. Neither of those cars struggled as much and put together a far more competitive time on the board.

By the looks of it, either of the two Mercedes drivers could be looking at a Q2 exit in the 2023 F1 Spanish GP qualifying as the team continues to struggle for performance.

#4 The gaps in qualifying could be very small

If we keep Max Verstappen out of the equation, we could see the gaps from P2 to P8 being very small. While Ferrari will ramp things up on Saturday, it's hard to see it challenging Max. Similarly, Aston Martin in the hands of Lance Stroll looked brilliant.

Except for Max Verstappen, who seems to have figured out how he can truly extract the potential of the car under him, every other driver in the top 4/5 teams will be in contention. We could be looking at gaps of less than a tenth or so separating the drivers in the top 10 once again.

#5 Williams will be at the bottom of the timesheets

Williams is having a weekend from hell at the 2023 F1 Spanish GP. The car is a marvel on the straights and has a low downforce configuration. The layout for Barcelona demands the opposite of it and hence Williams has been struggling to keep up.

Unfortunately for Alex Albon and Logan Sargeant, this might not get better as the two drivers could struggle to even make it past Q1 at the 2023 F1 Spanish GP.