George Russell secures pole at Spanish Grand Prix, Hamilton a close second, Leclerc crashes out of Q3
George Russell claimed his third pole of the season at the Spanish GP, edging Lewis Hamilton by just 64 thousandths. Charles Leclerc hit the wall in Q3 and will start tenth.
Pole position for Russell
George Russell took pole position for the 2026 Spanish Grand Prix at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya with a lap time of 1'14''679, beating Lewis Hamilton's Ferrari by 64 thousandths of a second. It is Russell's third pole of the season and the seventh consecutive pole for Mercedes, underlining the team's qualifying strength. The British driver's performance answered teammate Kimi Antonelli's recent run of success.
Hamilton close behind
Lewis Hamilton delivered a strong final sector to secure second on the grid, the closest he has been to the Mercedes in qualifying all season.
Tomorrow we are in a good position to fight. Every weekend we are at least four tenths behind the Mercedes, this time we are so close, less than a tenth, and this shows the great work at the factory. A thank you to the technicians in Maranello, we must continue to push and develop the car. I am sure we will be able to give even more potential to the car for tomorrow.
Leclerc crashes in Q3
Charles Leclerc's session ended dramatically when he lost control and hit the barriers at Turn 4 on his first flying lap in Q3. The Ferrari driver was unharmed but was taken to the medical centre for checks. He will start from tenth position, a major setback after a difficult weekend in Monaco the previous week.
Championship leader in third
Championship leader Kimi Antonelli, who has started every previous race this season from the front row, qualified third in the second Mercedes. He was pushed down to the second row for the first time in 2026, with Lando Norris fourth, Max Verstappen fifth and Isack Hadjar sixth.
Grid for Sunday's race
The Spanish Grand Prix starts at 15:00 local time on 14 June. The top ten is completed by Oscar Piastri (seventh), Liam Lawson (eighth), Nico Hulkenberg (ninth) and the recovering Leclerc. In Q2, Arvid Lindblad missed Q3 and will start 11th, while notable eliminations in Q1 included Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll, both Aston Martins failing to progress.
