George Russell bounced back from the disappointments of the past few races to take pole position for the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix.
Russell edged out Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari by just 0.064 seconds as runaway championship leader Kimi Antonelli could manage only third place in the other Mercedes.
McLaren’s Lando Norris took fourth from Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar, while Hamilton’s team-mate Charles Leclerc crashed on his first lap in the final session and will start 10th.
Norris’ team-mate Oscar Piastri was seventh, from Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson and Audi’s Nico Hulkenberg.
Russell said it was “nice to feel the groove again”, having failed to score points in the past two grands prix.
He fell 68 points behind Antonelli after a difficult race in Monaco was ruined by an unjust penalty for speeding in the pit lane but has looked the man to beat all weekend in Spain.
But Hamilton came oh so close to doing so as Ferrari’s upgrades for this race paid off, allowing him to take his first grand prix front-row start since the 2024 British Grand Prix.
Briton Russell said: “The last few races haven’t been on our side but I came into the race with a clean slate and job done.
“It’s going to be an interesting race tomorrow, Lewis did an amazing job to get up there, we thought the fight was with ourselves and McLaren and Lewis was very fast in that session.”
Hamilton had been on the back foot all weekend after missing the first practice session to allow development driver Dino Beganovic a run.
“I was easily 0.4-0.5secs off in final practice,” he said. “I was thinking: ‘Where am I going to get that pace?’ I left the track between P3 and Q1, went back to my motorhome, and then Q1 I was first.
“These guys did a great lap, congrats for George but we’re in a good position to fight for tomorrow so we have a race.”
Antonelli said: “It has been a little bit of a difficult weekend for me, didn’t really have the feeling in the car.”
Norris was 0.322secs off the pace, and only 0.02secs quicker than Verstappen, who himself was just 0.056secs ahead of Hadjar.
Norris’ session, like Hamilton’s, was compromised by losing his first run because he was on a lap on his first set of tyres when Leclerc crashed to cause a red-flag stoppage.
“Can’t expect a lot more,” Norris said. “Second lap was my only chance to put a lap time on the board and I couldn’t take as many risks. Have to be happy.”
Meanwhile, Leclerc repeatedly told Sky Sports he was “ashamed” after crashing in qualifying for the second consecutive grand prix.
He also crashed out of his home race in Monaco but blamed his Ferrari’s brakes on that occasion. In Barcelona, it was a different story.
“The car was great, the car was amazing and I didn’t deliver. And I think it’s a lot worse than that – I put it into the wall,” he said.
“No excuses. I just feel ashamed. It’s part of our job to come out after a session and speak in front of the camera but I just feel ashamed.
“The only positive I can take is the feeling that I have in the car back, and for tomorrow I feel optimistic we can have a good race. But I need to show that.
“I just need to do the perfect race. It’s the least I can do. But yeah, ashamed.”
At the back of the grid, Lance Stroll out-qualified his Aston Martin team-mate Fernando Alonso for the first time in 42 grands prix.
Canadian Stroll will start 21st with Spanish two-time world champion Alonso 22nd.
Top 10
- George Russell (Mercedes) 1:14.679
- Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) +0.064
- Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) +0.319
- Lando Norris (McLaren) +0.322
- Max Verstappen (Red Bull) +0.342
- Isack Hadjar (Red Bull) +0.398
- Oscar Piastri (McLaren) +0.411
- Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) +1.863
- Nico Hulkenberg (Audi) +1.978
- Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) No time set
(The Whistler)
