F1 Driver Form: Spanish Grand Prix

Hamilton won five Catalunya races in a row from 2017 to 2021, Sainz has never failed to bring home points, Alonso has won at his home Grand Prix twice and Verstappen has won in the last two years. Here’s everything you need to know about each driver’s history at the Spanish Grand Prix!

🇳🇱 Max VERSTAPPEN

Max Verstappen became Formula 1’s youngest ever race winner at the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix. He won at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for a second time in 2022, having finished on the podium in all of the four previous seasons, before scoring a second consecutive victory at the track in 2023.

Verstappen has failed to score at Catalunya only twice, with an 11^th place finish on his first visit in 2015 and a retirement on the opening lap of the 2017 Spanish Grand Prix.

Verstappen has never failed to qualify in the top six at the Spanish Grand Prix. After two front row starts in 2021 and 2022, he secured his first pole position at Catalunya in qualifying for the 2023 Spanish Grand Prix. Verstappen has not been out-qualified by a team-mate at the circuit since 2016.

MAX VERSTAPPEN’S SPANISH GRAND PRIX HISTORY

🇲🇽 Sergio PEREZ

From his 13 appearances at the Spanish Grand Prix, Sergio Perez has scored points ten times. Perez recorded his best result at Catalunya to date in 2022, finishing as runner-up to his team-mate. It was his first podium appearance at the circuit, having had a previous best finish of fourth with Force India in 2017 – the position in which he also finished here last year.

Perez has finished in the top five in all of the last four seasons at the Spanish Grand Prix, having come home fifth in both 2020 and 2021.

2012 is the only season that Perez has failed to reach the end of the race at Catalunya, while 2015 and 2019 are the only other years in which he has failed to score.

Perez recorded his best Spanish Grand Prix qualifying result in 2020 with fourth place. He qualified in the top five for the third time at the circuit in 2022, having also done so with Sauber in 2012. Perez was eliminated in Q2 at the Spanish Grand Prix in 2023, recording his first non-Q3 appearance at the track in four years.

2013 and 2020 are the only years in which Perez has lost a position from where he has started at the Spanish Grand Prix, while last year’s gain of seven places is the biggest gain he has made in a race here to date.

SERGIO PEREZ’S SPANISH GRAND PRIX HISTORY

🇬🇧 Lewis HAMILTON

For the first time since 2016, Lewis Hamilton did not win the Spanish Grand Prix in 2022. Hamilton took five consecutive wins at the track between 2017 and 2021 and has won here six times in total, having also been victorious in 2014. He has taken a further five podium finishes here, his latest podium at the track coming as a result of him finishing as runner-up in the 2023 Spanish Grand Prix.

Hamilton finished fifth in 2022 – his worst result at the circuit since his 2016 retirement, when he collided with team-mate Nico Rosberg on the opening lap. That was his second retirement at the venue, having also retired in the closing stages of the 2010 race. 2009 and 2013 are the other occasions on which Hamilton has failed to score at the Spanish Grand Prix.

Hamilton has qualified in the top ten at this circuit in every year except 2009. He took pole in 2012, but was later disqualified. That was the last time he did not start on the front row at the track until 2022, when he qualified sixth.

In the last ten seasons, Hamilton has started from pole at the Spanish Grand Prix on six occasions. 2013 is the only season that Hamilton has finished the Spanish Grand Prix in a worse position than where he started from.

LEWIS HAMILTON’S SPANISH GRAND PRIX HISTORY

🇬🇧 George RUSSELL

Before 2022, George Russell had never previously scored at the Spanish Grand Prix with a best result of 14^th place. He picked up his first points at the track in 2022 with a podium result, finishing in third place. He went on to finish third again in 2023.

2022 was also the first time Russell reached Q3 at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. After two Q1 exits in 2019 and 2020, plus a Q2 elimination in 2021, Russell qualified in fourth place in 2022. He did not reach Q3 in 2023, qualifying in 12^th place and being out-qualified by his team-mate at the Spanish Grand Prix for the first time in his career.

Prior to F1, Russell raced at this track in two categories. In GP3 in 2017, he finished fourth and fifth in the two races, while in 2018 in F2, Russell won the Feature Race and finished fourth in the Sprint Race.

GEORGE RUSSELL’S SPANISH GRAND PRIX HISTORY

🇲🇨 Charles LECLERC

Charles Leclerc has scored points on three of his five Spanish Grand Prix appearances. He recorded his best result to date here in 2021, with fourth place – but has not scored at the track since then. Mechanical issues sidelined him in 2020 and turbo issues put him out of the race, while he was leading, in 2022, while he finished only 11^th in 2023.

2023 marked Leclerc’s second retirement at the Spanish Grand Prix, having also failed to finish the race in 2020.

Until 2023, Leclerc’s maiden season was the only one in which he did not reach Q3 at the track. Last year, he exited in Q1 after qualifying on the back row. He subsequently started from the pit lane.

Leclerc recorded his first pole position at the track in 2022, qualifying on the front row here for the first time. 2019 and 2023 are the only times that Leclerc has been out-qualified by a team-mate at the Catalunya track.

CHARLES LECLERC’S SPANISH GRAND PRIX HISTORY

🇪🇸 Carlos SAINZ

Carlos Sainz has never failed to score in all nine of his appearances at his home event. His best result so far is fourth place, recorded in 2022. He finished in the top five again last year.

Sainz has reached Q3 at the track seven times and qualified on the front row at his home race for the first time in 2023. Until 2022, his best qualifying result at the circuit was recorded on his first appearance, in 2015, when he qualified an impressive fifth with Toro Rosso.

Sainz has been out-qualified by a team-mate at the Spanish Grand Prix in two of the last five seasons, having never been out-qualified at Catalunya before then.

CARLOS SAINZ’S SPANISH GRAND PRIX HISTORY

🇬🇧 Lando NORRIS

Lando Norris scored his first point at the Spanish Grand Prix in 2020 with a tenth place finish. He bettered that in 2021 with eighth place and finished eighth again in 2022. Norris failed to finish the 2019 Spanish Grand Prix following a collision with Lance Stroll and failed to pick up any points in 2023, finishing in a lowly 17^th place.

Norris’ 17^th place in 2023 came despite him recording his best qualifying result to date at the track by far. He lined up third on the grid, marking his first top seven qualification at the Spanish Grand Prix. Norris reached Q3 at the circuit in both 2020 and 2021, but was eliminated on his other two appearances at the track in 2019 and 2022. He qualified 11^th in both of those seasons. 2022 is the only time he has not started in the top ten to date at the Spanish Grand Prix.

In F2 in 2018, Norris secured two podium finishes at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, finishing third in both the Feature and Sprint races.

LANDO NORRIS’ SPANISH GRAND PRIX HISTORY

🇦🇺 Oscar PIASTRI

Oscar Piastri reached Q3 at the 2023 Spanish Grand Prix and lined up ninth on the grid. He lost four positions from where he started to finish the race in 13^th – four places ahead of his team-mate.

Piastri previously raced at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Formula Renault Eurocup in 2019 and, more recently, in Formula 3 in 2020. He has previously won at the track, having taken victory from fifth on the grid in the 2020 F3 Sprint Race.

OSCAR PIASTRI’S SPANISH GRAND PRIX HISTORY

🇪🇸 Fernando ALONSO

Fernando Alonso has won the Spanish Grand Prix twice, in 2006 and 2013. The 2013 Spanish Grand Prix remains Alonso’s most recent victory in Formula 1.

Alonso has taken a further five podium finishes in front of his home crowd. The Spaniard has scored only three times in his last seven home race appearances. He has recorded three retirements in total – his most recent being in 2015 and 2016.

2006 is the only season in which Alonso has taken pole here, though he has qualified on the front row on a further three occasions. In his last 19 appearances, since 2003, 2015 and 2022 are the only times that Alonso has failed to qualify in the top ten.

He recorded his first Q1 exit at the track in 2022, with 17^th place. It was his worst qualifying appearance at his home event since qualifying 18^th on his first appearance in 2001.

Alonso has been out-qualified by his team-mate only five times at Catalunya – including in all of the last three seasons.

FERNANDO ALONSO’S SPANISH GRAND PRIX HISTORY

🇨🇦 Lance STROLL

Lance Stroll scored at the Spanish Grand Prix for the first time in 2020 with a fourth place finish. He picked up points for the second time at the track in 2023, finishing sixth. Stroll finished outside of the points on four of his other five appearances, and retired from the race in 2019 after a collision with Lando Norris.

His fifth place in qualifying in 2020 was the first time that Stroll has made it out of Q1 at the circuit. He reached Q2 in 2021 but recorded his fourth Q1 exit at the track in 2022. Stroll reached Q3 for the second time at the track in 2023, qualifying sixth. 2021 and 2023 are the only times that the Canadian has out-qualified a team-mate at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

LANCE STROLL’S SPANISH GRAND PRIX HISTORY

🇫🇷 Esteban OCON

From his six previous appearances at the Spanish Grand Prix, Esteban Ocon has scored four times. He recorded what was then a career-best result of fifth at the event in 2017. He has scored here in each of the last three years, with ninth place in 2021, seventh in 2022 and eighth last year.

Ocon does not have a 100% finish rate at the circuit, having retired with an oil leak in 2018.

Ocon recorded his best qualifying result at the circuit so far in 2021, with fifth place. It was the first time he reached Q3 here since 2017. He also reached Q3 last year. He exited in Q2 in 2018, 2020 and 2022.

ESTEBAN OCON’S SPANISH GRAND PRIX HISTORY

🇫🇷 Pierre GASLY

Pierre Gasly has scored on his four of his six appearances at the Spanish Grand Prix, with a best result of sixth in 2019. He failed to finish the race on his first appearance in 2018 and finished outside of the points, in 13^th, in 2022.

Gasly reached Q3 in 2019 and 2020 and, after failing to reach Q3 in both 2021 and 2022, recorded his best qualifying result to date at the track in 2023 with fourth place – though he was demoted to tenth on the final grid. His best starting position to date here is sixth, which is where he started in 2019.

Gasly is yet to gain more than two positions from where he has started at the Spanish Grand Prix.

PIERRE GASLY’S SPANISH GRAND PRIX HISTORY

🇹🇭 Alex ALBON

Alex Albon has made four appearances at the Spanish Grand Prix and has scored once, with an eighth place finish for Red Bull in 2020. On his other three appearances, he finished 11^th with Toro Rosso in 2019 and 18^th and 16^th with Williams in 2022 and 2023 respectively.

2020 is also the only time that Albon has reached Q3 here, having been out in Q2 in 2019 and exiting in Q1 in the last two seasons. He qualified on the back row in 2022. Despite that, it was the first time Albon out-qualified his team-mate at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

ALEX ALBON’S SPANISH GRAND PRIX HISTORY

🇺🇸 Logan SARGEANT

All 20 cars finished the 2023 Spanish Grand Prix and Logan Sargeant was the last one to cross the finish line. The American driver finished where he started, having set the slowest lap time in qualifying.

Sargeant has plenty of racing experience at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. In 2022, he finished in the top four in both Formula 2 races at the circuit, including with a podium in the Sprint Race.

LOGAN SARGEANT’S SPANISH GRAND PRIX HISTORY

🇯🇵 Yuki TSUNODA

Yuki Tsunoda retired on his first appearance at the Spanish Grand Prix in 2021. He failed to make it out of Q1, qualifying in 16^th place. In 2022, Tsunoda picked up a point with a tenth place finish. He out-qualified team-mate Pierre Gasly, reaching Q2 and qualifying in 13^th place. He finished 12^th in 2023, gaining three positions from where he started.

Tsunoda previously competed at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Formula 3 and Formula 2. In F2 in 2020, Tsunoda finished fourth in both the Feature Race and the Sprint Race.

YUKI TSUNODA’S SPANISH GRAND PRIX HISTORY

🇦🇺 Daniel RICCIARDO

Daniel Ricciardo’s sixth place at the 2021 Spanish Grand Prix is the only time that the Australian has scored at the Catalunya track since 2018. Ricciardo has a 100% finish rate at the track and has finished outside the points only four times in 11 Catalunya appearances. He’s yet to finish the race below 13^th place.

Ricciardo’s best qualifying result here is third, recorded in 2014 and 2016. He has failed to reach Q3 on only three occasions – in 2012, 2013 and 2020.

From his 11 appearances, 2016, when he suffered a puncture in the closing stages, and 2022, when he lost three places over the course of the race, are the only occasions that Ricciardo has finished the Spanish Grand Prix in a worse position than where he started from. Ironically, 2016 is the only year that Ricciardo has led at the track.

DANIEL RICCIARDO’S SPANISH GRAND PRIX HISTORY

🇫🇮 Valtteri BOTTAS

Valtteri Bottas is yet to win the Spanish Grand Prix, but finished on the podium in all four seasons between 2018 and 2021. From his 11 appearances, 2013, 2017 and 2023 are the only seasons in which Bottas has not scored at Catalunya.

He finished 16^th in 2013 and recorded his only retirement at the track in 2017 due to an engine failure. He finished only 19^th in last year’s Spanish Grand Prix when all 20 starters reached the chequered flag. Other than that, 2022’s sixth place is his only other non-top five finish at the venue.

After qualifying third in 2017 and second in 2018, Bottas took his first pole position at the circuit in 2019. He qualified on the front row for a third consecutive season in 2020. 2023 marked the first time since his maiden season that Bottas failed to reach Q3 at Catalunya. Both times he has failed to reach Q3, he has exited in Q1.

Bottas has only ever led three laps at the track. He led for three laps in 2017 before he retired from the race. The Finn has never gained more than two positions from where he has started at the track.

VALTTERI BOTTAS’ SPANISH GRAND PRIX HISTORY

🇨🇳 ZHOU Guanyu

After failing to finish on his Spanish Grand Prix debut in 2022, Zhou Guanyu scored points at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for the first time in 2023 with a ninth place finish. He has reached Q2 on both Spanish Grand Prix appearances to date, qualifying 15^th in 2022 and 13^th in 2023. He out-qualified his team-mate here last year.

Zhou made four appearances in Formula 2 at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. He finished in the top four on three of those four appearances, recording podiums in both the 2019 and 2020 Feature Races.

ZHOU GUANYU’S SPANISH GRAND PRIX HISTORY

🇩🇰 Kevin MAGNUSSEN

From eight previous appearances at the Spanish Grand Prix, Kevin Magnussen has scored twice. Both of his points-scoring appearances here came with Haas, with a best result of sixth in 2018. He finished seventh in the following season.

Magnussen has a 100% finish rate at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya and recorded his worst result to date at the track in 2023, finishing 18^th.

Magnussen has made three Q3 appearances in Spain, in 2018, 2019 and 2022. He has out-qualified his team-mate on five of his eight appearances. The Dane has never gained more than two positions from where he has started in races at this track.

KEVIN MAGNUSSEN’S SPANISH GRAND PRIX HISTORY

🇩🇪 Nico HULKENBERG

Nico Hulkenberg has made ten previous appearances at the Spanish Grand Prix. From those ten appearances, he has picked up points three times, with a best result of sixth. His other two points-scoring races here were both tenth places in 2012 and 2014. Hulkenberg has failed to reach the chequered flag twice – in 2016 and 2018.

2023 marked the first time that Hulkenberg ever reached Q3 at the Spanish Grand Prix. In doing so, he recorded his best qualifying result to date at the track with eighth place. Hulkenberg has qualified 11^th here twice, in 2014 and 2016. He was eliminated in Q1 on each of his last two appearances at the circuit prior to last year.

Of the races he has finished here, 2010 and 2023 are the only times that the German has finished in a worse position than where he started.

NICO HULKENBERG’S SPANISH GRAND PRIX HISTORY