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

By: James Newbold, Megan White, Sam Hall

Summary

Verstappen claims pole in qualifying for F1's Spanish GP, 0.462s clear of home hero Sainz's Ferrari
Six different cars in the top six with Norris, Gasly, Hamilton and Stroll on rows two and three
Gasly under investigation for two separate impeding incidents in Q1 involving Sainz and Verstappen, while Russell to be investigated for impeding Hamilton with resulting contact on the pit straight in Q2
After trip to Turn 5 gravel Perez misses out on Q3 by 0.051s to Hulkenberg as Russell, Zhou, de Vries and Tsunoda also drop out in Q2
Bottas, Magnussen, Albon, Leclerc and Sargeant eliminated in incident-packed Q1 red-flagged for gravel brought onto the track by multiple incidents

Leaderboard

1. Verstappen, Red Bull
2. Sainz, Ferrari
3. Norris, McLaren
4. Gasly, Alpine
5. Hamilton, Mercedes
6. Stroll, Aston Martin
7. Ocon, Alpine
8. Hulkenberg, Haas
9. Alonso, Aston Martin
10. Piastri, McLaren

Status: Stopped

18:26 And that's all she wrote for qualifying at the Spanish Grand Prix. If you missed anything, you can catch up on all the action here.

Until tomorrow and the race itself, thank you for your company today!

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/f1-spanish-gp-verstappen-claims-pole-over-sainz-leclerc-falls-in-q1/10477932/

18:21 But it was a day to forget yet again for Perez. After a dreadful Monaco GP weekend, it was imperative that he bounced back strong to eat into Verstappen's 39-point championship lead.
A penny for his thoughts leaving the track this evening!

18:20 Red Bull, Ferrari, McLaren, Alpine, Mercedes and Aston Martin all feature at the front.

18:19 Things are set up for an incredible race on Sunday, with the top six drivers all representing different teams.

18:16

18:15

18:14

18:13

18:12 Pierre Gasly may enjoy his P4 for the moment, but is likely to suffer a grid drop for a pair of impeding incidents in the early stages of qualifying.

18:11 And a word for Norris. The Briton will start third with team-mate Piastri in P10 - both McLarens making rare Q3 appearances.

18:11 Sainz will start his home race on pole position. In the garage, Leclerc must be wondering what could have been.

18:10 Verstappen will start the Spanish Grand Prix from pole position!

18:10 Hamilton improves but only goes P5.

18:09 Sainz jumps onto the front row.

18:09 P7 for Alonso. That's not what he had hoped for, as he begins to drop back.

18:08 Verstappen is not improving through sector one.

18:08 It all comes down to this, as Alonso begins his only Q3 effort.

18:05 On fresh tyres and with his single run of the session, Hulkenberg goes third. He now faces a long wait in the garage to see just where he will end up.

18:04 A crumb of confidence for the nine drivers not called Verstappen, the Dutchman was the only man to run fresh soft tyres on his run.

That said, nine-tenths is a significant margin to hope to recover.

18:03 Hulkenberg is the only driver running in the gap between the traditional windows, with Alonso waiting until the close to lap.

18:02 Of the eight drivers setting early times, Hamilton is Verstappen's closest rival - where have we heard that one before? - but remains nine-tenths behind.

18:01 Ocon betters Piastri but then Verstappen smashes the target time with a 1:12.272s! That's comfortably the fastest time of the day!

18:00 Piastri sets the opening benchmark with a 1:13.772s, but Verstappen is going purple almost everywhere.

17:59 With a new front wing on his car, Hamilton leaves the garage. 10 minutes remain in the session.

Alonso is still undergoing repairs for his Q1 off.

17:58 Q3 is underway. Can anyone stop Verstappen?

17:56 One minute remain before Q3 gets underway. Russell is now under investigation for impeding Hamilton. The complication is that the pair were both starting their hot laps.

17:55

17:54 Flying under the radar in all the chaos, Hulkenberg has made it to Q3 for the first time in Spain. That Friday pace wasn't a fluke, it would appear!

17:53

17:52 Hamilton and Russell made contact lat in Q2, an incident only seen on the replays, with Russell pulling across on his team-mate.
Hamilton has significant front wing damage.

17:51 Russell, Perez, Zhou, De Vries and Tsunoda are all out in Q2.

17:50 Perez and Russell are OUT! P11 and P12! Wow!

One Red Bull, one Ferrari and one Mercedes only in Q3!

17:50 De Vries is out, as are Hulkenberg and Tsunoda. Russell is struggling.

17:49 Piastri goes P6 and puts Russell into the drop zone!

17:49 The two McLaren drivers are in a last-chance saloon right now, as Norris goes P2 and makes it count. Piastri os now on his way.

17:48 Sainz leaps up from P10 to P2.

17:48 Into the final minute of Q2.

17:48 Perez is off! Turn five, the Red Bull driver falls off the track on his first flying lap on fresh tyres. He has the fuel and the time to get back around, but in P8, that will be a huge concern.

17:46 Got that drink? Good. The drivers are back on the track for the final runs of Q2!

17:45 We're now in the lull as the cars are refuelled and have fresh tyres fitted. A good time to go and grab a drink!