Live: F1 Spanish GP commentary and updates - FP3 & qualifying | Live text

By: Stephen Lickorish, Haydn Cobb, Jake Boxall-Legge

Summary

Leclerc spins on his first run but then grabs Spanish GP pole in dramatic qualifying session
Verstappen was initially quickest before having DRS problem on final run and is second from Sainz
Out in Q2: Norris, Ocon, Tsunoda, Gasly, Zhou
Out in Q1: Vettel, Alonso, Stroll, Albon, Latifi

Leaderboard

Leclerc, Ferrari
Verstappen, Red Bull
Sainz, Ferrari
Russell, Mercedes
Perez, Red Bull
Hamilton, Mercedes
Bottas, Alfa Romeo
Magnussen, Haas
Ricciardo, McLaren
Schumacher, Haas

Status: Stopped

18:26 We'll find out tomorrow, with the Spanish GP which gets underway at 2pm BST (3pm local time). Feel free to return for all the pre-race build-up ahead of an intriguing race. Until then have a lovely rest of your Saturday. Go well!

18:22 Well, that all sets up tomorrow's race rather nicely, don't you agree? Shades of Miami but given how tricky overtaking has been at the Spanish track, could it give a bigger advantage to polesitter Leclerc?

18:19 Need a quick recap on Spanish GP qualifying? Look no further:
https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/f1-spanish-gp-quali-leclerc-pole-after-spin-verstappen-power-trouble/10308271/

18:11 Red Bull team boss Christian Horner confirms to Sky Sports F1 it was a DRS problem which hampered Verstappen's final Q3 run rather than a drop in power.

18:09 Sainz: "It has been a tough weekend so far, the conditions haven't been the easiest with the heat and the wins but we managed to put in a decent lap that allows us to fight tomorrow."

18:08 Verstappen: "I couldn't do my final run, either the DRS didn't open or I lost power, it is a bit of a shame but overall to be on the front row, for us here looking at the whole weekend so far, it was a good achievement."

18:05 Leclerc on his Spanish GP pole: "I feel good, it was a very, very difficult sessions, especially in Q3 when I did a mistake in the first run. So I only had one lap but it went extremely well."

18:04 That's Leclerc's fourth pole of the season and the 13th of his F1 career.

18:04 But what happened to Verstappen's Red Bull? It appeared to lose power in the first sector on his final Q3 lap which denied him the chance to fight back against Leclerc.

18:02 Hamilton could only manage sixth in the end, but ahead of Bottas in seventh, Magnussen in eighth, Ricciardo in ninth and Schumacher in 10th.

18:01 Leclerc takes pole position for the Spanish GP! His 1m18.750s sees him dust off that earlier spin in Q3. Impressive!

18:00 Sainz moves up to third place, behind Verstappen, with Russell slotting into fourth place.

18:00 At the same time disaster for Verstappen who reports he has no power and is told to pit. That's his qualifying done.

18:00 ...he can! Leclerc goes on to provisional pole with a 1m18.750s!

17:59 Leclerc has gone fastest of all in the second sector, could he...

17:59 Leclerc, at the front of the queue, has it all to do on his sole Q3 flying lap. Pressure lap.

17:58 Time to find out as the drivers head out for the final time in qualifying, with Verstappen at the tail of the train.

17:56 All drivers are back in the pits preparing for the final Q3 runs. Verstappen has a useful 0.350s margin from the first run. Can anyone overhaul that?

17:56 Leclerc just asked for too much steering lock on the kerbs entering the chicane and spun his Ferrari 180 degrees - similar to his spin in the 2020 Spanish GP at the same spot.

17:54 During all of that Perez slotted into third behind Sainz, followed by Russell, Hamilton, Bottas, Ricciardo, Magnussen and Schumacher. Leclerc is obviously 10th having failed to set a time.

17:53 Verstappen now takes provisional pole with a 1m19.073s - that's a quick lap!

17:53 Sainz goes on to provisional pole with a 1m19.073s as Leclerc spins at Turn 15 and wrecks his first timed effort.

17:52 Hamilton sets the early marker to beat with a 1m19.664s. The rest are coming up.

17:50 Scratch that, all 10 cars are on the track for the first runs now.

17:49 The Haas pair are out on track early, quickly followed by both Mercedes, both Ferraris and Alfa's Bottas.

17:48 Right, time to decide the order of the top 10 with Q3!

17:47 That's a close one, but rules are rules. Norris appears to cross the white line track limits at Turn 12 by just millimetres which is why he lost his lap time and why he is out in Q2.

17:45

17:43 Perez also has a lap time deleted but it wasn't his best effort so he remains sixth and into Q3. Missing out are: 11th Norris, 12th Ocon, 13th Tsunoda, 14th Gasly and 15th Zhou.

17:42 Norris, who had gone into the top 10, loses his best lap time for track limits at Turn 12 which relegates him to 11th and promotes Schumacher to 10th and into Q3.

17:41 Ricciardo improves to move up to 10th place, is it enough for Q3?

17:40 Ocon improves with a 1m20.638s but only to 11th place so he's out in Q2.

17:39 Both Mercedes drivers and Ferrari's Leclerc remain in the pits, confident of their top 10 berths. We'll see about that.

17:38 Final Q2 run time. Time to decide who makes it into the top 10.

17:37 "A message given to all the drivers, we are not allowed to open the gap in the pit exit like this anymore," Gasly is told over team radio. So, all drivers have been told not to dawdle coming down pitlane. Good call.

17:36 In the Q2 drop zone after the first runs are: 11th Ricciardo, 12th Ocon, 13th Zhou, 14th Tsunoda and 15th Gasly.

17:35 In short, aside from Russell's 1m19.470s, nobody else looks safe for a Q3 spot yet with the final runs to come.

17:34 Leclerc, on used softs, slots into fourth place behind the Merc pair and Perez. Bottas takes fifth with Verstappen sixth and Sainz seventh after the first Q2 runs.

17:33 The TV director gave us a full lap look at Hamilton's Mercedes and it is worth noting there was next to no porpoising in qualifying trim.

17:32 Russell sets the early Q2 benchmark with a 1m19.470s, three-tenths faster than his team-mate Hamilton who got it sideways out of the final chicane.