Verstappen 'on rails' for maiden Spanish pole as Perez, Leclerc flop

The 25-year-old Dutchman, who leads Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez by 39 points in the title race, was able to ease off in the final minutes of a topsy-turvy qualifying session that saw the Mexican and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc both unexpectedly knocked out of the first session.

He was able to rely on his earlier fastest lap in one minute and 12.272 seconds to beat nearest rival Carlos Sainz of Ferrari by nearly four-tenths in changeable conditions at the Circuit de Catalunya.

"That was nice," said Verstappen. "The car was really good.

"The qualifying session started trickily with the weather, but as it started to dry out, the car was on rails!

"I love coming here in general. I have a lot of great memories here and hopefully tomorrow we can add another one."

His qualifying success brought him his first Spanish pole and the 24th of his career at a track where he claimed his maiden victory as a teenager in 2016 and won last year.

With title rivals Perez, Leclerc and Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso all suffering disappointing qualifying sessions, he will have an ideal opportunity to increase his commanding lead in Sunday's race.

- 'Super tight and very tricky' -

Sainz, who usurped two-time champion and fellow-Spaniard Alonso to be Spain's best qualifier at his home race, said: "Yes, I needed that – it was super-tight and very tricky in those tricky conditions out there today.

"Just getting out of Q1 and Q2 without issues was tricky so putting in a good lap with only one set of tyres made it so difficult here, but we did it.

"Now we are in the best position for tomorrow to focus on getting a podium finish… I pushed everything today. I didn’t leave anything on the table."

Lando Norris was third for McLaren with a thrilling late lap to go ahead of Pierre Gasly of Alpine and Mercedes' seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton.

Gasly faces a stewards' investigation into two blocking incidents and may face a grid penalty, but Norris was delighted and surprised at his success.

"I'm surprised but we did an amazing job and almost took P2, but it's a home race for Carlos so I thought I should give him a couple of tenths! The new track layout suits us with a lot of high-speed corners. I’m very happy.”

Lance Stroll was sixth for Aston Martin, the first time this year that he had out-qualified two-time champion Fernando Alonso, ahead of Esteban Ocon of Alpine and Haas’s Nico Hulkenberg.

Alonso was ninth and Oscar Piastri 10th in the second McLaren.

"That was fun," said Stroll, who has endured a difficult run of results. "It is always exciting at this track and I think it will be a tough race tomorrow."

Team-mate Alonso, who has reeled off five podiums in six races to take third place in the championship, said he was sorry "for the team and for the fans, but will do my best for them again tomorrow".

He went off-track into a gravel trap during Q1 and damaged his car. “It cost a couple of tenths, no more than that,” he said. “But we have good pace and let’s see what we can do.”