F1 Spanish GP live commentary and updates - Qualifying

I swear FP3 only finished five minutes ago but nevertheless, hello everyone, we're back for updates of qualifying in Barcelona! 

It's been a weekend dominated by McLaren thus far, who topped all three practice sessions.

Read Fil's report of FP3 from earlier today:

Who is the best bet for pole? The three practice sessions suggests it's McLaren, but Red Bull's Max Verstappen is tied with Oscar Piastri for the most poles (three) in 2025...

Having just quickly gathered predictions from some of the editorial team, here are the most popular bets for pole:

Verstappen - 4

Piastri - 3

Norris - 2

Verstappen with the most votes - I, for one, am quite shocked...

Just five lap times thus far and it is Lance Stroll - yes, Lance - at the top ahead of Alex Albon, Franco Colapinto, Esteban Ocon and then Oliver Bearman.

But, the big hitters are now leaving the pitlane...

And as expected, the big hitters now hold the top positions. It is Piastri on top, 0.248s ahead of Norris in second with Russell just 0.007s behind his fellow Briton.

No time from Verstappen yet.

It's worth noting the hot conditions at play today:

Track temp: 47.9C

Air temp: 29C

No doubt the bars in sunny Barcelona are packed. Only question is: Sangria or Estrella?

Every driver has now set a lap and as it stands, the elimination zone is:

16. Nico Hulkenberg

17. Esteban Ocon

18. Carlos Sainz

19. Yuki Tsunoda

20. Gabriel Bortoleto

Five minutes left...

With three minutes left, there's a queue at the end of the pitlane as Colapinto at the front has a problem on his Alpine car

Cars are now overtaking the Argentine at pit exit. Not ideal for all involved.

Colapinto finally left the pitlane, but then stopped his Alpine in sector three during his outlap.

That's the end of his day.

Meanwhile, it was the usual suspects at the front as Piastri led Verstappen by two-tenths, with Norris rounding out the top three. 

We're four minutes into the session and only two drivers have set a lap time, as Albon leads Bearman by 0.537s.

And here comes Verstappen, who goes fastest by seven tenths. 

Everybody has now set a lap and as things stand, Piastri leads a McLaren 1-2 by just 0.058s. But, most importantly, the current elimination zone is:

11. Gabriel Bortoleto

12. Liam Lawson

13. Alex Albon

14. Lance Stroll

15. Oliver Bearman

Russell with some good teamwork having said, "I'm happy to give a Kimi a tow if needed".

Antonelli is eighth, just a couple tenths above the elimination zone, while Russell is up in fourth and most likely safe. 

Cars are out for their final run now. But the top five - Piastri, Norris, Verstappen, Russell and Hamilton - have remained in their garage. 

Piastri topped the session, meanwhile, after doing the same in Q1.

Verstappen received the most votes for pole amongst the editorial team, but it's Piastri who looks the best bet now. 

Where did that come from?

Norris is on provisional pole, just 0.017s ahead of Piastri, with Russell completing the top three.

Conditions have gotten cooler as qualifying has progressed. Track temp was 47.9C when it started, but it is now just 42.3C in Q3.

Here we go, this is it.

Cars starting their final runs of Q3 now. 

He's done it! Piastri has overcome a poor opening lap to steal provisional pole from Norris, who failed to improve enough on his final run.

Kudos to Hadjar, the rookie once again impressing after putting his Racing Bulls car in ninth. 

That's now the fourth of the 24-year-old's career...

That's us now done! Come back tomorrow for the grand prix, which starts at 2pm BST.