“A session shaped by precision under pressure rather than dominant lap gaps”
George Russell took pole position for the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix after a tight qualifying battle, bouncing back strongly from recent poor results.
Russell edged Lewis Hamilton by just 0.064 seconds, with Hamilton putting in a strong lap to secure second place and a front-row start in his Ferrari. Championship leader Kimi Antonelli finished third in the other Mercedes after another solid qualifying performance.
Lando Norris took fourth for McLaren, narrowly ahead of Max Verstappen in fifth. Isack Hadjar impressed once again with sixth place, while Oscar Piastri finished seventh after losing time on his final run.
Liam Lawson and Nico Hülkenberg completed the top nine, while Charles Leclerc crashed in Q3, bringing out a red flag and forcing him to settle for tenth on the grid.
Russell said it was good to “feel the groove again” after a difficult run of races, while Hamilton credited Ferrari’s upgrades for his improved pace and first front-row start in a long time. Antonelli admitted he struggled for feeling in the car, and Leclerc said he felt “ashamed” after his crash but remains confident he can recover in the race.