George Russell ends Kimi Antonelli’s pole streak with Barcelona P1

George Russell is back on pole position for the first time since Australia, ending his teammate Kimi Antonelli’s run of five successive qualifying P1s.

The Briton had a near-perfect start to the Barcelona weekend with two practice P1s, before following that up with pole position in qualifying, where his 1:14.679 put him 0.064s ahead of Lewis Hamilton. Antonelli was third.

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The Formula 1 drivers headed out onto the track for the start of Q1, all aware that tyre degradation could play a crucial role in qualifying. The track temperature fluctuated in the early 50s.

Valtteri Bottas was the first driver out of the pits, heading up a queue that didn’t include any of the heavy-hitters. Carlos Sainz set the early pace ahead of Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman.

But as the big names came out six minutes into the 18-minute session, Lewis Hamilton went quickest in the updated Ferrari with a 1:15.625. That put him a tenth up on George Russell, with Charles Leclerc third fastest.

Hamilton, on his warm-up lap, was shown a black-and-white flag for driving unnecessarily slowly.

As those in the drop zone put in their last-gasp efforts, Esteban Ocon broke into the top 16 but only in 16th place – and Carlos Sainz dropped him to P17.

Fernando Alonso, meanwhile, was outqualified by Lance Stroll for the first time in a Grand Prix qualifying session.

Eliminated: Esteban Ocon, Alex Albon, Sergio Perez, Valtteri Bottas, Lance Stroll, Fernando Alonso.

Double Alpine elimination in Q2

It was a slow start to Q2 with the drivers all waiting a few minutes before venturing out into the sunlight. The first time wasn’t posted until ten minutes into the session, Hulkenberg hitting the front with a 1:16.9.

The P1 time tumbled as more drivers crossed the line, Max Verstappen up in P1 then Leclerc and Russell. The Mercedes driver crossed the line with a 1:15.2.

The Briton was 0.053s faster than Leclerc, with Antonelli a further 0.014s down.

As those in the drop zone fought for a position in Q3, it was quickly evident that none of them had the pace to challenge the top ten.

Eliminated: Arvid Lindblad, Gabriel Bortoleto, Franco Colapinto, Pierre Gasly, Oliver Bearman, Carlos Sainz.

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George Russell back on pole!

Unlike in the previous sessions, there was a mad dash to get out in Q3 as the remaining 10 drivers fought for pole position.

Verstappen set the opening benchmark time with a 1:15.328 but lost out to Piastri by two-tenths.

Red flag!

Leclerc lost it on the approach to Turn 5, hitting the barrier nose first and stopping in the gravel. It was a heavy hit, but the driver climbed out of his car without assistance and walked away with his head bowed.

The drivers were back out on track with eight minutes on the clock, and Antonelli leading the remaining nine drivers out of the pit lane.

Russell was shown the black-and-white flag for driving unnecessarily slower.

Russell went purple in the middle sector, Piastri went fastest in the third sector, with the two crossing the line separated by just 0.031s. Both still had time for a second run.

In the pits, and out of the pits, Russell was ahead of Piastri on the track.

Antonelli went quickest, but was overhauled by Russell, Piastri fell short and was overhauled by Lando Norris, Verstappen was on a purple first sector but he too lost pace as the lap continued.

Russell claim pole position ahead of Hamilton, Antonelli, Norris, and Verstappen. Hadjar was sixth ahead of Piastri, Liam Lawson, Nico Hulkenberg and Leclerc.

Barcelona Grand Prix: Qualifying times

1 Russell 1:14.679
2 Hamilton 1:14.743
3 Antonelli 1:14.998
4 Norris 1:15.001
5 Verstappen 1:15.021
6 Hadjar 1:15.077
7 Piastri 1:15.090
8 Lawson 1:16.542
9 Hulkenberg 1:16.657
10 Leclerc no time

The full result from qualifying at the Barcelona Grand Prix

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