Lewis Hamilton takes F1 pole position for Spanish Grand Prix
Lewis Hamilton claimed pole position for Formula 1's Spanish Grand Prix, pipping Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas to top spot by four-hundredths of a second


Hamilton was fastest after the first runs in the Q3 top 10 shootout, and like team-mate Bottas opted for another set of supersoft Pirellis for his second run.
He banged in a lap of 1m16.173s to shave just over three-tenths off his earlier time to secure top spot.
Bottas was a shade faster than Hamilton in the first and third sectors, but Hamilton's mighty pace in the second sector meant the Finn ended up second best.
With some of Mercedes' rivals struggling to get the best out of the supersofts, Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen used softs to fill the second row for Ferrari.
That put them ahead of the Red Bulls of Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo, who were separated by just two thousandths of a second in fifth and sixth.
This was despite the Red Bull drivers splitting their tyre choice, with Verstappen setting his time on supersofts and Ricciardo on softs.
Kevin Magnussen was best of the rest for Haas, ahead of McLaren's Fernando Alonso.
Carlos Sainz Jr was ninth for Renault, ahead of Romain Grosjean in the second Haas.
Nine of the top 10 drivers used the soft Pirellis to set their Q2 times, meaning all except Alonso, who used supersofts, will start on that compound.
Stoffel Vandoorne lapped 0.223s slower than team-mate Alonso in Q2 using soft Pirellis, ending up in 11th place and fastest of the five drivers eliminated at that stage.
Toro Rosso driver Pierre Gasly was 12th, just ahead of the Force India of Esteban Ocon.
Sauber driver Charles Leclerc managed to split the Force Indias with a lap of 1m18.910s, almost two-tenths faster than 15th-placed Sergio Perez.
Nico Hulkenberg was the fastest driver to be eliminated in Q1 in 16th place after Vandoorne made a late improvement.
The Renault driver was unable to set a time on his first run owing to what the team described as a "fuel pressure issue" that held him back throughout Q1, and only had time for a single attempt on his second run - ending up 0.038 slower than Vandoorne.
Sauber driver Marcus Ericsson was 17th, over half-a-second behind Hulkenberg, with Williams driver Sergey Sirotkin, who must serve a three-place grid penalty thanks to hitting Sergio Perez on the first lap of the last race in Baku, 18th.
Lance Stroll was 19th in the second Williams , crashing exiting the Turn 12 right-hander on his final flier after running wide then losing it on the throttle at the exit as he ran into the gravel.
He spun, glancing the wall, and ended up coming to rest at the entry of Turn 13.
Brendon Hartley did not participate in qualifying after spinning at the high-speed Campsa right-hander at the end of the third free practice session and backing heavily into the barriers.
His Toro Rosso team could not get the car repaired during the two-hour gap before qualifying.
Spanish GP grid
Pos | Driver | Car | Time | Gap |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1m16.173s | - |
2 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 1m16.213s | 0.040s |
3 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1m16.305s | 0.132s |
4 | Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari | 1m16.612s | 0.439s |
5 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull/Renault | 1m16.816s | 0.643s |
6 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull/Renault | 1m16.818s | 0.645s |
7 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas/Ferrari | 1m17.676s | 1.503s |
8 | Fernando Alonso | McLaren/Renault | 1m17.721s | 1.548s |
9 | Carlos Sainz Jr. | Renault | 1m17.790s | 1.617s |
10 | Romain Grosjean | Haas/Ferrari | 1m17.835s | 1.662s |
11 | Stoffel Vandoorne | McLaren/Renault | 1m18.323s | 2.150s |
12 | Pierre Gasly | Toro Rosso/Honda | 1m18.463s | 2.290s |
13 | Esteban Ocon | Force India/Mercedes | 1m18.696s | 2.523s |
14 | Charles Leclerc | Sauber/Ferrari | 1m18.910s | 2.737s |
15 | Sergio Perez | Force India/Mercedes | 1m19.098s | 2.925s |
16 | Nico Hulkenberg | Renault | 1m18.923s | 2.750s |
17 | Marcus Ericsson | Sauber/Ferrari | 1m19.493s | 3.320s |
18 | Lance Stroll | Williams/Mercedes | 1m20.225s | 4.052s |
19 | Sergey Sirotkin | Williams/Mercedes | 1m19.695s | 3.522s |
20 | Brendon Hartley | Toro Rosso/Honda | - | - |

Dutch supermarket ordered to pay Max Verstappen €150,000 in damages
Alonso: top Formula 1 teams still in 'another league' from McLaren

Latest news
The pioneering pair who brought a new glory era to an F1 heavyweight
With the team’s founder now retired and a new boss at the helm, change was coming to Brabham – change that would shape the future of Formula 1. In the third part of our four-part history of Brabham, DAMIEN SMITH examines the effect Bernie Ecclestone had on the team
The combination behind the Silverstone racing battles Hamilton called "F1 at its best"
OPINION: The late battling in the British Grand Prix wowed Formula 1 fans and surely represents the best racing action of the season so far. And there was a cocktail of factors that created the action, from which Carlos Sainz emerged as a popular new winner
How Ferrari’s Monaco headache became its Silverstone migraine
OPINION: Ferrari won the British Grand Prix with Carlos Sainz, but it ultimately cost Charles Leclerc a chance to make a bigger dent in Max Verstappen's title lead by leaving the Monegasque out on old tyres towards the end. Like Monaco, indecision over strategy proved to be the Scuderia's biggest issue - and if the team doesn't reflect, the headache can only intensify
The five factors behind Sainz winning a British GP he’d twice lost
Formula 1 has a newest race winner, in a grand prix the victor appeared to have lost twice, only to charge back to headline a sensational and dramatic British Grand Prix. From a massive start crash to a late sprint finish, here’s how five factors saw Carlos Sainz take his maiden grand prix win
Why there was no case to answer in Aston’s latest F1 copycat saga
The appearance of a revised Aston Martin in Spain caused controversy but PAT SYMONDS explains why the FIA investigation found the Silverstone team had no case to answer
Why it's Red Bull that really leads a three-way fight so far at Silverstone
After a slow start to Friday at Silverstone, all the Formula 1 teams had to effectively cram in a day’s worth of practice into one hour. But there was still plenty to learn and while Ferrari topped the times, a three-way battle is brewing ahead of the British Grand Prix
Why the future is bright for the British GP
It wasn’t so long ago the situation looked bleak at Silverstone with the future of the British Grand Prix under threat. But a transformation has seen it restored to one of the most important races on the Formula 1 calendar, with bigger and better to come
Could mixed fortunes for F1's leading Brits turn around at Silverstone?
For the first time in many years, none of the local racers starts among the favourites for the British Grand Prix. But George Russell, Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris could have reasons for optimism