Red Bull adviser Helmut Marko has conceded that McLaren are “clear favourites” to win the Spanish Grand Prix after Lando Norris pipped Max Verstappen to pole position in Barcelona. Having started the F1 2024 season in dominant fashion, winning four of the first five races, Verstappen and Red Bull have appeared increasingly vulnerable over recent weeks. Additional reporting by Sam Cooper After struggling over bumps and kerbs at the last three races in Emilia Romagna, Monaco and Canada, the reigning World Champions had been expected to be back to their best at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, where Verstappen won from pole by 24 seconds in F1 2023.
However, Verstappen failed to top any of the three practice sessions in Spain before being beaten to pole by McLaren driver Norris. Norris’s second career pole comes almost three years after his first at the 2021 Russian Grand Prix and just weeks after the British driver secured his maiden F1 victory in Miami. 👉 Winners and losers from the Spanish Grand Prix qualifying 👉 Spanish GP data: The key factors that saw Lando Norris steal pole from Max Verstappen Speaking to Sky Germany after qualifying, Marko revealed Red Bull were concerned that they would not be in contention for pole after Verstappen could only manage fourth in the final practice session on Saturday morning.
And he admitted that Norris and McLaren are clear favourites to win the race, highlighting tyre management as a key factor in the outcome on Sunday. H.
