Carlos Sainz remains hopeful for another Spanish home Grand Prix win after achieving second place in the classification of the circuit at Montmelo, which he has always dominated Max Verstappenwho once again conquered pole.

Fernando Alonso’s 33rd win seems to have faded, at least for the moment, after a difficult qualifying session where he posted the ninth fastest time. A mistake during the first qualifying took the Spaniard to the gravel, where he damaged the flat bottom of his Aston Martin. In addition, Alonso in his last attempt missed in the 10th turn, so he lost time compared to his rivals.

Despite the difficulties, Alonso managed to sneak his car into the top ten on his worst day of the season, ahead of Leclerc’s Ferrari (19th), Russell’s Mercedes (12th) and the almighty Red Bull Sergio Pérez (11th) .

Verstappen’s dominance was blatant both in the deciding round this Saturday and in Friday’s free practice; however, the threat of rain in the race leaves some tension around the Dutchman’s new victory.

In dry weather and without any factors changing the natural order of the starting grid, everything points to Verstappen’s outing on Sunday. Sainz, who grew up at home and clearly outperforms his weekend teammate, will fight to be there in case two-time world champion Max Verstappen falls short.