Winners and Losers from 2023 F1 Spanish Grand Prix Qualifying

If Max Verstappen got one hand on the 2023 Formula 1 title in Monaco, after Qualifying for the Spanish Grand Prix, he's preparing his other to reach out and touch it.

He has a 39 point advantage in the standings over Sergio Perez and stormed to the pole position that was widely expected as soon as the #1 RB19 rolled out the garage on Friday morning.

His race pace is comfortably the best in the field, and only a reliability failure can surely deny him a fifth win of the season and third on the trot.

But behind the Verstappen show, it was a fascinating session in Barcelona with plenty of storylines developing.

We start our rundown of the Winners and Losers from Qualifying, unusually with the big loser instead of a winner.

Loser - Sergio Perez

When Verstappen has a bad day, he is second on the grid and second in the race.

When Perez's afternoon goes slightly wrong, he is out of the top 10, and left scratching his head about what happened.

That is a major difference between the two Red Bull drivers: one can rescue the bad days when the car might not be quite there and the other struggles badly.

Perez clumsily ran wide at Turn 5 on his second push lap in Q2, skating through the gravel and was unable to prepare for another push lap.

It left him 11th once all the laps had been complete as Verstappen barely broke sweat on his way to topping the segment.

This championship is beginning to get away from Perez as is the second place that is the minimum he needs to deliver this season.

He needs to arrest this slide immediately.

What did Perez say?

"Once we lost it, the tyres were too warm, and I couldn't get them back to a good temperature window, and I just didn't have the grip on my final lap, which was a shame."

Winner - Carlos Sainz

As soon as Perez was knocked out in Q2, there was a front-row slot up for grabs for someone to ride shotgun alongside Verstappen.

It was a chance Sainz took to bag himself his best qualifying position of the season, which was much needed given what happened to Charles Leclerc (see below).

It's been a solid weekend for Sainz thus far who needs a strong result just for his own confidence more than anything.

A podium at home would be a just reward, and he could not be in a better position to covert given both Perez, Leclerc and George Russell are all behind him on the grid.

Second place is the absolute minimum he should be walking away with when the dust settles.

What did Sainz say?

"It was probably the most tricky qualifying I have had here in Barcelona in terms of conditions, but we did it. We are in the best possible position for tomorrow and now we can focus on trying to get that podium."

Loser - Charles Leclerc

When it rains, it pours.

For the third straight weekend, Leclerc has suffered some sort of calamity in Qualifying to leave him out of position on the grid after crashing in Miami and the Monaco impeding penalty.

This time though, it was firmly a car problem as to why he was knocked out in Q1 and not a driver or team issue, with the Monegasque reporting the strange feeling of the car feeling great through the right-handers, but hopeless through the lefts.

He tentatively identified the left-hand side of the car as being the cause of the problem - but what he can do from 19th on the grid is limited.

A points run would be a good result with perhaps his best chance of scoring big being going long in the first stint and goal-hanging for a Safety Car.

What did Leclerc say?

"I don't have the answers, we'll have to check the data, but most of all, check the car because there was definitely something strange. I nearly lost it during the red flag when I was at 70kph, and there was just no warning."

Winner - Lando Norris

McLaren have struggled with the car in hot conditions, and so a run to third on the grid for Lando Norris in the damp, greasy conditions on Saturday is an excellent result.

It's been a stop/start for the team on-track this season, but they did score double points in Monaco last time out, and in further better news, Oscar Piastri also made it through to Q3 to back-up his team-leader.

Whether Norris can stay there in the race is a different matter, but he looks a good bet if conditions are similar to Qualifying.

What did Norris say?

"I don't know why, just into qualifying things started to come alive a bit more, low fuel, a bit more confidence on the rears and to lean on the car. Where we are going to be is a tough one, on average we have been fifth or sixth best team, so I am not expecting a huge amount better."

Loser - Fernando Alonso

El plan did not quite come together in Qualifying as an uncharacteristic mistake from Fernando Alonso in Q1 blunted his challenge.

A trip through the gravel at the final corner damaged the floor of the car and he could only manage ninth fastest, but will start eighth after a penalty for Pierre Gasly.

To make matters worse, he was out-qualified by Lance Stroll for the first time as teammates, on home soil as well.

Aston's AMR23 is not the best car in a straight line owing to the draggy nature of the machine, and so one has to wonder if the track changes have blunted the challenge somewhat.

The flat-out blast suits the Red Bull - the old chicane might have been Alonso's best chance of a win here given the strength of his car in the slow speed corners.

What did Alonso say?

"I did a mistake, I went on the damp part of the circuit, I lost the car and then it was very costly because that gravel completely destroys the floor. It hurts even more because it was the out lap, I was not even pushing, so disappointed with my performance today. Hopefully, I can do a better Sunday."

Winner - Lance Stroll

Earlier this week, this author wrote a piece criticising Lance Stroll for his lack of performance in the last two races, and that he could cost Aston the chance of second in the Constructors'.

He had been out-qualified 0-6 by Alonso in the opening rounds by a comfortable margin as well, but on the day the lead car failed to deliver, Stroll stepped up and so deserves the credit.

He got the better of Alonso by three places and nearly half-a-second in lap-time - and did not run through the gravel to harm his efforts.

Now Stroll needs to finish ahead of Alonso in the race - and if that is somewhere near a podium, that is a stunning weekend's work given the noise around Alonso in his home race.

What did Stroll say?

"The field was incredibly tight though and there are a few cars that are out of position across the grid which will make for an interesting race. I think tomorrow is a big opportunity, so we'll be working through the data and strategy plans tonight to ensure we're ready to make the most of it."

Winner and Loser - Pierre Gasly

Gasly qualified fourth on merit after some strong laps throughout the hour in Barcelona, holding about a two-tenth advantage over Esteban Ocon in the sister Alpine.

But crucially, Ocon did not block cars twice on fast laps, whereas Gasly did.

The first instance was against Carlos Sainz at the final two corners, leading to a sketchy moment for the Ferrari.

In Gasly's defence, Leclerc was also passing through seconds before and he did get out the way of that Ferrari. Unfortunately for him, there was another.

He would later impede Verstappen at Turn 4, handing him a pair of three place grid penalties, meaning he drops to 10th and everyone from Hamilton to Piastri is shuffled forward a space.

It's harsh given the turn of speed he showed, but rules are rules, although it is promising for Alpine that they are good in the high-speed blast of Barcelona following Monaco last time out.

What did Gasly say?

"We built up our session well, kept finding improvements and then we finished with a very good lap in Q3, which was really enjoyable. It’s a real pity we will not start from the second row tomorrow after the penalty for impeding. I think it was very unfortunate with the traffic, cars so close together and the high-speed final corners. We have to accept it and move on."