F1 Spanish GP qualifying - Start time, how to watch & more

Following his victory in Monaco last weekend, Verstappen carried on where he left off by clocking the fastest times in both free practice sessions at the Circuit de Catalunya-Barcelona on Friday.

After gapping the field by 0.768s in FP1, Verstappen improved his best effort to a 1m13.907s in the afternoon as the only driver to dip under the 1m14s bracket.

Laptimes have improved significantly this year thanks to the unpopular final chicane being removed from the layout, making the last corner significantly faster than it has been since 2006.

Verstappen remarked that he was "positively surprised" by how he was able to follow cars through the fast final sector, amid hopes of improving overtaking opportunities.

His closest challenger was Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso, who has urged his team to “speed up” its flow of updates to have any prospect of keep pace with its rivals amid significant upgrades from Ferrari and Mercedes in recent rounds.

The Scuderia has introduced Red Bull-inspired sidepods in Spain after Mercedes did likewise at Monaco, although it wouldn’t be correct to call Ferrari’s new parts a direct copy.

But neither of those squads were in the same ballpark as Alonso in FP2, with Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton predicting he may struggle to reach Q3 in qualifying unless the Brackley team makes significant improvements overnight.

Instead it was Nico Hulkenberg for Haas who set the third-fastest time, slotting in ahead of Sergio Perez in the second Red Bull and Alpine’s Esteban Ocon, flying high after his Monaco podium.

Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin AMR23 (Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images)

What time does qualifying start for the F1 Spanish Grand Prix?

Qualifying for the Spanish GP starts at 4pm local time (3pm BST), using the regular Q1, Q2 and Q3 knockout session format.

Date: Saturday 3 June 2023

Start time: 4pm local time – 3pm BST

How can I watch Formula 1?

In the United Kingdom Formula 1 is broadcast live on Sky Sports, with highlights shown on Channel 4 several hours after the race has finished. Live streaming through NOW is also available in the UK.

Sky Sports F1, which broadcasts the F1 races, can be added as part of the Sky Sports channels which costs £24 a month for new customers. Sky Sports can also be accessed through NOW with a one-off day payment of £11.98p or a month membership of £34.99p per month.

How can I watch F1 Spanish GP qualifying?

In the United Kingdom every F1 practice, qualifying and race is broadcast live on Sky Sports F1, with Spanish GP qualifying coverage starting at 2:15pm BST on Sky Sports F1.

• Channel: Sky Sports F1
• Start time: 2:15pm BST 3 June 2023

Autosport will be running a live text coverage of qualifying here.

Carlos Sainz, Ferrari SF-23 (Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images)

When can I watch the highlights of F1 Spanish GP qualifying?

In the United Kingdom Channel 4 is broadcasting highlights of qualifying for the Spanish GP at 7:40pm BST. The full programme will run for 90 minutes, covering both qualifying and wrapping up the major talking points of the race weekend so far.

For the entire 2023 F1 season, Channel 4 will broadcast highlights of every qualifying and race of each event. The highlights will also be available on Channel 4’s on demand catch up services.

• Channel: Channel 4
• Start time: 7:40pm BST 3 June 2023

What's the weather forecast for qualifying in Barcelona?

Warm and sunny weather conditions but with a chance of showers before qualifying are forecast for Saturday in Barcelona. The temperature is set to be 21 degrees Celsius at the start of qualifying.

F1 Spanish GP FP2 results

Cla	Driver		Chassis	Engine	Time	Gap	Interval
1	Max Verstappen		Red Bull	Red Bull	1'13.907
2	Fernando Alonso		Aston Martin	Mercedes	1'14.077	0.170	0.170
3	Nico Hulkenberg		Haas	Ferrari	1'14.177	0.270	0.100
4	Sergio Perez		Red Bull	Red Bull	1'14.219	0.312	0.042
5	Esteban Ocon		Alpine	Renault	1'14.242	0.335	0.023
6	Charles Leclerc		Ferrari	Ferrari	1'14.246	0.339	0.004
7	Carlos Sainz		Ferrari	Ferrari	1'14.274	0.367	0.028
8	George Russell		Mercedes	Mercedes	1'14.392	0.485	0.118
9	Valtteri Bottas		Alfa Romeo	Ferrari	1'14.448	0.541	0.056
10	Pierre Gasly		Alpine	Renault	1'14.457	0.550	0.009
11	Lewis Hamilton		Mercedes	Mercedes	1'14.549	0.642	0.092
12	Oscar Piastri		McLaren	Mercedes	1'14.583	0.676	0.034
13	Zhou Guanyu		Alfa Romeo	Ferrari	1'14.585	0.678	0.002
14	Lando Norris		McLaren	Mercedes	1'14.694	0.787	0.109
15	Kevin Magnussen		Haas	Ferrari	1'14.713	0.806	0.019
16	Nyck de Vries		AlphaTauri	Red Bull	1'14.785	0.878	0.072
17	Yuki Tsunoda		AlphaTauri	Red Bull	1'14.840	0.933	0.055
18	Lance Stroll		Aston Martin	Mercedes	1'15.010	1.103	0.170
19	Alex Albon		Williams	Mercedes	1'15.056	1.149	0.046
20	Logan Sargeant		Williams	Mercedes	1'15.415	1.508	0.359
View full results

F1 Spanish GP FP1 results

Cla	Driver		Chassis	Engine	Time	Gap	Interval
1	Max Verstappen		Red Bull	Red Bull	1'14.606
2	Sergio Perez		Red Bull	Red Bull	1'15.374	0.768	0.768
3	Esteban Ocon		Alpine	Renault	1'15.418	0.812	0.044
4	Nyck de Vries		AlphaTauri	Red Bull	1'15.504	0.898	0.086
5	Pierre Gasly		Alpine	Renault	1'15.545	0.939	0.041
6	Fernando Alonso		Aston Martin	Mercedes	1'15.547	0.941	0.002
7	Kevin Magnussen		Haas	Ferrari	1'15.689	1.083	0.142
8	Charles Leclerc		Ferrari	Ferrari	1'15.694	1.088	0.005
9	Carlos Sainz		Ferrari	Ferrari	1'15.726	1.120	0.032
10	George Russell		Mercedes	Mercedes	1'15.753	1.147	0.027
11	Lando Norris		McLaren	Mercedes	1'15.783	1.177	0.030
12	Lewis Hamilton		Mercedes	Mercedes	1'15.845	1.239	0.062
13	Zhou Guanyu		Alfa Romeo	Ferrari	1'15.906	1.300	0.061
14	Yuki Tsunoda		AlphaTauri	Red Bull	1'15.915	1.309	0.009
15	Lance Stroll		Aston Martin	Mercedes	1'15.939	1.333	0.024
16	Valtteri Bottas		Alfa Romeo	Ferrari	1'15.978	1.372	0.039
17	Oscar Piastri		McLaren	Mercedes	1'16.353	1.747	0.375
18	Nico Hulkenberg		Haas	Ferrari	1'16.461	1.855	0.108
19	Logan Sargeant		Williams	Mercedes	1'16.506	1.900	0.045
20	Alex Albon		Williams	Mercedes	1'16.630	2.024	0.124
View full results