F1 Barcelona GP: Russell beats Hamilton to pole as Leclerc crashes

George Russell finally struck back in the 2026 Formula 1 world title fight as he ended Kimi Antonelli’s dominant streak to take pole for the Barcelona Grand Prix.

Russell set a 1m14.679s for his third pole of 2026, 0.064s quicker than second-placed Lewis Hamilton with Antonelli in third and three tenths behind his Mercedes team-mate.

The Briton’s pole this weekend is no surprise after topping two of the three practice sessions, while also going quickest in Q2 following second in the opening qualifying outing.

In Q3, meanwhile, drivers had to overcome an early red flag as Charles Leclerc crashed at the Turn 4 exit after drifting onto the dustier line which suddenly caused him to lose the back end.

By that point only two laps were completed, Oscar Piastri’s 1m15.176s to Max Verstappen’s 1m15.328s, both of which were subsequently beaten to provisional pole by Russell.

Lando Norris is the lead McLaren

Photo by: Simon Galloway / LAT Images via Getty Images

The Mercedes driver set a 1m15.145s, 0.031s quicker than Piastri, while Antonelli could only achieve a provisional fourth after going 0.269s slower than the Briton.

Antonelli improved to a 1m14.998s on his second run though, initially jumping ahead of his team-mate, before Russell took pole back moments later by 0.319s.

The championship leader dropped again after Hamilton’s late time, a 1m14.743s, meaning he will share the second row with Lando Norris who set a 1m15.001s at the end for McLaren.

Verstappen ultimately qualified fifth, improving to a 1m15.021s late on, with his Red Bull team-mate Isack Hadjar 0.056s behind in sixth to complete the third row.

It was a scrappy end for Piastri who slipped to seventh, having only improved to a 1m15.090s, and his McLaren will be joined on the fourth row by in-form Racing Bulls man Liam Lawson.

The Kiwi set a 1m16.542s, still some way off the top four teams, but more crucially a tenth ahead of ninth-placed Nico Hulkenberg for Audi with 10th going to Leclerc.

Charles Leclerc ended Q3 in the wall

Photo by: Andy Hone/ LAT Images via Getty Images

It could have been worse for McLaren though, as both of its cars were at risk at the end of Q2 with Norris eighth and Piastri only 10th, but the pair improved late on to survive the scare.

So 11th went to Racing Bulls rookie Arvid Lindblad, 0.161s ahead of 12th-placed Gabriel Bortoleto for Audi with 13th going to Alpine’s Franco Colapinto.

It means the Argentine has now outqualified team-mate Pierre Gasly in five of the last six sessions - including sprints - as 14th went to the Frenchman, a day after his Monaco podium was reinstated.

Oliver Bearman ultimately took 15th for Haas with 16th going to Carlos Sainz in a Q2 session topped by Russell, who was second to former Mercedes team-mate Hamilton in Q1.

Q1 saw Esteban Ocon qualify 17th for the third consecutive race after being pushed into the elimination zone late on by Sainz, whose Williams team-mate Alex Albon took 18th.

It’ll be an all-Cadillac 10th row with Sergio Perez in 19th, again outqualifying Valtteri Bottas in 20th, while Aston Martin was a second behind the American outfit at the back.

For the first time in 2026, Lance Stroll qualified ahead of stablemate Fernando Alonso by taking 21st, whereas 22nd went to the world champion.

Fernando Alonso finished in 22nd in Spain

Photo by: Andy Hone/ LAT Images via Getty Images

F1 Barcelona GP: Qualifying result

All Stats

 

Cla	Driver	#		Chassis	Engine	Laps	Time	Interval	Tyres	km/h
1	G. Russell Mercedes	63		Mercedes	Mercedes	13	1'14.679		S	224.496
2	L. Hamilton Ferrari	44		Ferrari	Ferrari	14	+0.064 1'14.743	0.064	S	224.304
3	A. Antonelli Mercedes	12		Mercedes	Mercedes	14	+0.319 1'14.998	0.255	S	223.541
4	L. Norris McLaren	1		McLaren	Mercedes	14	+0.322 1'15.001	0.003	S	223.533
5	M. Verstappen Red Bull Racing	3		Red Bull	Red Bull	12	+0.342 1'15.021	0.020	S	223.473
6	I. Hadjar Red Bull Racing	6		Red Bull	Red Bull	14	+0.398 1'15.077	0.056	S	223.306
7	O. Piastri McLaren	81		McLaren	Mercedes	15	+0.411 1'15.090	0.013	S	223.268
8	L. Lawson Racing Bulls	30		RB	Red Bull	14	+1.863 1'16.542	1.452	S	219.032
9	N. Hulkenberg Audi	27		Audi	Audi	17	+1.978 1'16.657	0.115	S	218.704
10	C. Leclerc Ferrari	16		Ferrari	Ferrari	8			S
View full results

F1 Barcelona GP: Qualifying result