British driver Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) takes pole position in qualifying for the Spanish Grand Prix at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, setting a track record of 1:16.173. He was followed by his teammate Valtteri Bottas and Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari), with Fernando Alonso (McLaren) in eighth place, his first time in Q3, and Carlos Sainz (Renault) in ninth.
The Mercedes were flying in Montmeló, with almost identical times, but it was Hamilton who set the track record to secure another pole position for Mercedes in Barcelona, their sixth consecutive one-two finish, establishing them as favorites for the race despite the strong pace of Ferrari and Red Bull.
In addition, after three consecutive poles for Sebastian Vettel in Bahrain, China, and Azerbaijan, Mercedes took back the initiative on Saturday and did it in style. Comfortable in Q1 and Q2, setting quick times from the start, they also had some margin of comfort in the fight for pole position despite Vettel's attempt to extend his pole streak to four races, but he lacked the necessary speed to achieve it.
On the other hand, Fernando Alonso achieved for the first time this season, at the fifth round of the championship, a place in Q3, placing his McLaren in eighth position with a time of 1:17.721, just ahead of Carlos Sainz who finished ninth and was pleased with his progress over the weekend.
Alonso, who has had impressive performances in races so far, had failed to make it into the top ten in Australia, Bahrain, China, and Azerbaijan, so this Q3 in Spain is a significant achievement for him and fulfills his set challenge. For the race, he will start from eighth place on the grid with the use of super-soft tires, although his fastest lap was set on soft tires.
Alonso was not the only one who used the soft compound, which is generally slower than the super-soft, but in certain cars, in the conditions of low temperature at the circuit on a cloudy day without sun, it proved to be better. This was the case for Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull), who finished sixth behind his teammate Max Verstappen in fifth.
The Ferraris also performed well, with Sebastian Vettel in third place, less than two-tenths behind Hamilton's amazing time, and Kimi Raikkonen in fourth place, despite encountering problems with a lap in Q3. They, along with Mercedes and Red Bull, were able to achieve a lap time below 1:17 on a circuit that has seen its record lowered by around three seconds due to new asphalt and car improvements this year.
Carlos Sainz managed to leave behind the mechanical issues his Renault had on Friday, when he was at the bottom of the timesheets in both free practice sessions. On Saturday, he made it into Q3 again and secured the ninth position on the grid, just like in Azerbaijan, China, and Australia, confirming a perfect record of being in the top ten and starting tenth in Bahrain.
Despite improvements from the majority of teams, it was surprising to see the Force India cars of Esteban Ocon and Sergio Perez in thirteenth and fifteenth positions, with Perez far behind and not making it into Q3. Stoffel Vandoorne (McLaren), Pierre Gasly (Toro Rosso), and Charles LeClerc (Sauber) also failed to make it into Q3.
Renault's issues from Friday carried over to Saturday, with German driver Nico Hulkenberg being eliminated in Q1 due to a problem that sent him back to the pits. There was enough time to attempt a solution and go back out on track, but his time was too slow to progress to the second part of qualifying, where Sainz was present.
Bad news also confirmed for Williams, with Sergey Sirotkin and Lance Stroll being the slowest, with Stroll making a mistake that sent him off track on his final attempt at a quick lap, and ending up only ahead of Brendon Hartley (Toro Rosso) who did not even make it out on track and will start from the back of the grid in Montmeló.