Verstappen takes pole at Spanish GP ahead of Sainz

MONTMELO, Spain — Max Verstappen stormed his way to pole position at the Spanish Grand Prix on Saturday while his top rivals struggled on the damp track and will start well behind the two-time defending champion.

Verstappen didn’t even need to use all of his time in qualifying after he set an untouchable flying lap. Red Bull brought him back to the garage while his rivals fought for the rest of the spots.

Formula One’s points leader has four pole positions on the season and 24 in his career. He is also poised for another race win given his car’s performance and the precedent of pole-sitters winning 23 of 32 races at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

Red Bull teammate — and Verstappen’s top challenger — Sergio Pérez will start Sunday’s race from 11th place on the grid. Last weekend, Pérez crashed in qualifying for Monaco and had to start from the back.

Verstappen and Pérez have swept all six races this season. Verstappen leads Pérez by 39 points.

Fernando Alonso, third in the standings at 51 points behind Verstappen, could do no better than ninth for Aston Martin. It looks like his legions of Spanish fans may have to keep waiting for him to end his decade-long wait for a F1 win.

Carlos Sainz of Ferrari gave the home crowd something to cheer about though by producing the second-best time right ahead of a surprising Lando Norris in third in his McLaren. Pierre Gasly took the fourth-best time for Alpine, right ahead of Lewis Hamilton in his Mercedes.

“The car was really good today,” Verstappen said. “The conditions were a little tricky early on with the weather, but it was a really enjoyable drive. I have a lot of great memories here and hopefully we can have another one tomorrow.”

Verstappen showed in 2016 that he would one day become a force in F1 when he became the youngest race winner ever at age 18 in his debut for Red Bull at the Spanish GP. The Dutchman also won here last year.

Charles Leclerc took pole last year but this time he will start from 19th after his Ferrari was perplexingly slow. After saying he had a problem with the “rear” of his car, Leclerc briefly pitted before going out for one last lap in the closing minute of the first qualifying session that just was not near enough.

George Russell also had trouble and will start 12th right behind Pérez after complaining that his Mercedes was bouncing and he “had no confidence with tires.” He and teammate Hamilton, who was fifth, even touched at one point while trying to launch flying laps, causing bits of one of their cars to fly off.

Rain during the third practice earlier Saturday left some wet patches that caused several cars to spin into the gravel early in qualifying.

Alonso’s Aston Martin took some damage to the bottom after running through the gravel. Pérez also veered off course.

Tens of thousands of Spanish fans have turned out to cheer for Alonso, a two-time champion who after many years of mediocre cars and a stint away from F1 is enjoying a resurgence at age 41 with his new Aston Martin team.

After several street circuits this season, the Spanish GP’s traditional racing track is considered by many teams as a great opportunity to introduce new upgrades and see the real pecking order of the grid.

Mercedes and Ferrari are hoping to make strides on Sunday thanks to tweaks to their cars. The two traditional powerhouses have only one podium finish each.

The 4.6-kilometer (2.8-mile) Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya is well known to drivers thanks it staging Spanish GPs for three decades and, until this year, preseason testing in winter.

But the track layout has undergone a modification to its last sector after the removal of a chicane – back-to-back sharp turns that forced drivers to slow down. That leaves two high-speed turns before the final straight in a return to a layout used until 2006.

“It is a lot more enjoyable to drive,” Verstappen said. “Coming into the last corner brings a smile to me face. It really brings the car alive.”