Having been quickest in final practice, Oscar Piastri was also quickest in all three phases of qualifying while his team-mate Lando Norris completed a McLaren's front row lockout in the nail-biting Barcelona qualifying session. F1Technical's senior writer Balazs Szabo delivers what teams and drivers had to say after Day 2 at Barcelona.

McLaren

“I’m very happy with today. It’s been a good weekend so far. The car’s been mega today, and I feel like I’ve been able to put in some good laps. Thank you to the team for all the hard work. This was very different twelve months ago, so to have turned it around in the best way is a great result. We’ll make sure we try to get a good start tomorrow and bring home the points.”

“A decent result today. I think the pace is definitely there. We just didn’t get the most out of the car on a couple of corners, but it’s a good result for the team. A nice one-two, and a good place to start for tomorrow. We’ve got a lot of quick guys behind us, so we won’t count them out, but we’ve got the best car underneath us. We’ll do our best to bring home maximum points.”

Red Bull

“In the end, P3 was a good result for us as our first run in Q3 was a bit difficult. I couldn’t find the same grip as I had before so, going into the final lap, getting our references were a bit difficult. The positive is that the car was a lot nicer to drive and in a decent window but we couldn’t really extract any more out of it and match the McLarens’ pace.

"We were just not fast enough out there: the gap to McLaren is quite big at the moment which will make things difficult to gain places tomorrow and we will just need to do our own race. Today, I didn’t expect to be any closer and we did a good job putting it in P3. We will try our best tomorrow and see what we can do with the car and hopefully we can target a podium. It will be difficult but doesn’t mean we won’t try."

“Since FP1 this weekend something has felt off, and it’s a pretty tough result as we’ve tried everything. We’ve struggled with grip issues and the feeling of the car eating through the tyres all weekend. We tried to solve the issue as much as possible but I don’t think we were able to cure it.

"We’ve tried multiple setups this weekend and it’s strange because my lap today at the end of Q1 was pretty clean. It’s a shame that there were no results today and the pace didn’t match when I was feeling more confident in the car.

"The positive to take away is that we’ve built more consistency throughout the weekend and have made no big mistakes. I will try my best as always for tomorrow to bring back some points, and luckily Barcelona is a track that you can overtake on."

Mercedes

"It feels good to be back near the front of the grid today and it is nice to be in this groove again after a tough Monaco Grand Prix. The car felt good today and being with the same lap time as Max (Verstappen) is not surprising. Except for Monaco, we’ve been in the top five every single race since the start of the season, and we know we have the pace to challenge our competitors on a Saturday.

"We do know it is still going to be a challenging race with these hot ambient temperatures and a track temperature forecast to be in the low 50°C degrees. Just like Bahrain though, we’ve been able to manage the tyres better when they’re on the hardest end of the Pirelli spectrum. Hopefully that will be the same case tomorrow.

"The McLarens are still the dominant force this weekend and it will be a challenge to fight with them. However, a podium is what we are realistically aiming for, and I do think this is achievable tomorrow. I started P4 in this same race last year and ended up in the lead after turn one; I’ll certainly try to replicate that tomorrow!"

"After two difficult race weekends, it is good to be back in a good rhythm. It took me some time to build up my speed at the start of the session, but I started to gain a lot of confidence lap after lap.

"Unfortunately, with only one set of new Soft tyres for Q3, I was slightly limited. I wasn’t able to take quite as much risk, and I know there was a couple of tenths to grab here and there, but overall, P6 is a great come back from where I had been earlier in the weekend.

"It is going to be a difficult race tomorrow with these hot temperatures. Preserving the tyres will be a real challenge for the whole field. That is why we deliberately have focused on our long run pace this weekend as we know it is an area we need to improve in. Tomorrow will be a good test of the progress we have made, and I am hopeful that we can put in a competitive showing."

Ferrari

"I knew it would be a difficult qualifying. We only had 4 new sets of Softs for this qualifying session compared to others who had 5, but we made that choice and I think we can put up a good fight starting from P7 tomorrow. Our race pace looks good and we have a different selection of tyres available to us compared to those starting around us, so we will see if our decision pays off."

"FP3 wasn’t ideal, but P5 in quali shows the progress we’ve made since the start of the triple-header. The car felt good, so I’m going all in tomorrow, aiming for a podium finish. The field’s tight, just a few tenths between the top ten, so it’s going to be a proper fight. There’s still work to do tonight, but we’ll stay focused and make sure we’re ready for the race."

Alpine

“I am happy with the Qualifying performance. We definitely needed that after a frustrating couple of weeks and it was important for us to bounce back and be top of the midfield. The top four teams certainly have an edge so to be in that position today is good and I am happy for everyone at the team.

"We tried some things in Free Practice 3 but reverted back on our set-up ahead of Qualifying. We executed three good sessions and, in the end, reached Q3, put in a really solid lap, and line up eighth place on the grid for tomorrow. We have given ourselves a chance to fight for points now but we know it will be a different story with strategy and tyre degradation.

"Let’s see how it goes and I am pleased to be in the mix. Now I am going to enjoy the Champions League Final tonight and aim to come back tomorrow morning with a smile and ready to race.”

“After how the car was feeling during the first runs in Q1, it is a pity we did not have a chance to attempt a final push lap and give ourselves a chance to progress. It felt like something broke on the car, which meant I could not pull away in the queue in the Pit Lane.

"Overall, the pace of the car felt good in that session and was the best it has felt all weekend, which is testament to the work the team has done to turn it around from where we were yesterday. From where we are starting, we need to look at what is possible with the strategy as it is quite difficult to overtake here at this track.

"Today was a tough one to take given how the car felt. But it sometimes happens, and we go through those highs and lows as a team and will look to bounce back tomorrow.”

Racing Bulls

"I’m really happy with today’s result. It feels great to make it into Q3 again, that was almost the best we could have hoped for. At one point, we were worried we might not even make it out of Q1, so we can be proud of the job we did. The car felt good and kept improving with every lap.

"We made the right changes at the right time, and everything came together perfectly. Things are looking promising for tomorrow. I’m confident heading into the race, it will come down to true pace and managing either a one or two-stop strategy. If we nail the start, we’ll be in the fight for points.”

"It was a good start to Quali. We were always chasing balance throughout the session, but the speed was strong. The car felt really good and I thought we had a great final lap in Q2, so we'll be reviewing it as a team ahead of tomorrow, particularly given this was the first time the car lacked speed during the weekend. There are opportunities for overtaking here, so as always we'll be pushing for points.”

Aston Martin

"It's been a good weekend so far, and getting into Q3 shows we are in the fight for points. It's the third consecutive Q3 for us so I'm pleased with that.

"We've made some progress since Miami where we were fighting at the back and Barcelona is always a true test. It shows our update package has given us a step forward. Hopefully we can finish the job tomorrow, especially here at home in front of this amazing support."

"It's been a tough weekend for us so far – the car hasn't been easy to handle all weekend and it's been challenging to put clean laps together. Nevertheless, we made it through to Q2 and we take any small wins we can get at the moment.

"We have lots of areas of the car that we need to look into and improve, but we'll see what we can do tomorrow starting from P14."

Williams

"The margins are so small but Q3 was there for the taking today. I had very limited low-fuel running due to missing FP1, and after having an issue in FP3, we went into this session compromised.

"Barcelona exposes some of the weaknesses in the DNA of this car, so all things considered, I think this is a good result at a track that’s challenging for us."

"Very disappointing day. After our struggles yesterday we made some good changes overnight that put us in contention for a good result. Unfortunately, the delay in the pit lane due to an issue of the Alpine meant I was out of position for my second push in Q1 and had to overtake five or six cars during my lap.

"With such a tight field, having that amount of dirty air made me lose valuable tenths and that put a premature ending to my session in Q1, which is not good.

"I’ll do my best to fight through the field tomorrow and give my home crowd something to cheer for. Let’s see what we can do."

Kick Sauber

“We definitely had the potential to progress today, but unfortunately, my final lap wasn’t as clean as it could’ve been. I picked up quite a bit of understeer in the last sector, which cost me around two tenths—and in such a tight Q1, that made all the difference.

“That said, the upgrades we brought this weekend have clearly delivered a step forward. Right from the first lap, I had a much better feeling in the car. The handling felt more consistent, and the overall balance has improved—that’s definitely encouraging.

"Looking ahead to tomorrow, starting from P16 means we’ll have to deal with traffic, which is always a challenge on a fast, flowing circuit like this. It won’t be easy, but we’ll regroup tonight and explore all strategic options to move forward.”

“I’m very happy with how qualifying went today—this has been the best result so far for me this season, and a very solid day overall. The upgrades we brought this weekend seem to be working, which is definitely encouraging: the team deserves it, as everyone has been working very hard.

"I’m glad that we are moving towards the right direction now, and that we have been able to show our potential today, but I’m also well aware that this is just Saturday: the main job is done tomorrow. I think tomorrow’s race is going to be a lot about tyre management, so it’ll be crucial to make the right calls and hopefully make a further step forward.”

Haas

“It was close out there, just a tenth would’ve got me into Q2. It’s far from over this weekend though, it’s a long race, you need to look after your tyres, and there’s going to be a lot of pit stop strategies. There’s a long way to go and hopefully, we can optimize things and move forward.”

“We used all of our new tyres to get into Q2, and we managed that which is positive. We were probably faster than we expected, so I think if I had a new set in Q2 we would’ve been challenging to get into Q3 potentially.

"That’s a shame, but prior to the session I think we were quite clearly lacking performance to be where we just qualified, so I think we can be positive about that. It’s so hot here, I think it’s definitely going to change the way that we do things and I don’t know how the strategy will go, but we’ll try and have a good one tomorrow.”