Oscar Piastri outpaces teammate Lando Norris to grab Spanish Grand Prix pole
BARCELONA: Oscar Piastri outpaced title rival and McLaren team-mate Lando Norris in the final minute of a gripping qualifying session on Saturday to clinch pole position for the Spanish Grand Prix.The championship leader clocked a near flawless final lap of one minute and 11.546 seconds to beat Norris by 0.209 seconds as McLaren claimed a dominant one-two having also topped all three practice sessions.Four-time world champion Max Verstappen was third for Red Bull ahead of Mercedes’ George Russell, seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton of Ferrari and Kimi Antonelli in the second Mercedes.Charles Leclerc was seventh in the second Ferrari ahead of Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, Racing Bulls’ impressive rookie Isack Hadjar and local hero two-time champion Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin.It was Piastri’s fourth pole of the season and career as he seeks to extend his three-point lead ahead of Norris in the drivers’ championship.“Nice work, very nicely done, everyone,” said the cool 24-year-old Australian on team radio. “That’s quite some turnaround from last year.