Mercedes driver George Russell raced to pole position for the Barcelona-Catalonia Grand Prix. The English World Cup bronze medalist secured the best starting position for the third time this year in qualifying for the seventh race of the season.
For Russell it was the tenth pole position of his career. At the last minute, Lewis Hamilton pushed world championship leader Kimi Antonelli into third place in the Ferrari. The young Mercedes driver missed the front row of the grid for the first time this season.
Starting positions four and five went to world champion Lando Norris in the McLaren and Max Verstappen in the Red Bull.
Hülkenberg with the best qualifying
Nico Hülkenberg celebrated his best result in the hunt for a starting position this season. The Audi driver made it to the final knockout round and finished ninth. He equalized the best qualifying result this year for Gabriel Bortoleto’s German car manufacturer in Japan.
Qualification was frustrating for local hero Fernando Alonso. The Asturian was eliminated last in his Aston Martin in the first knockout round and caused bitter disappointment among Spanish Formula 1 fans.
Leclerc slides into the gravel bed
Charles Leclerc also experienced a disaster. The Monegasse lost control of his Ferrari. He slipped into the gravel at the exit of turn four and hit the front of the track barrier. Leclerc was able to get out of his racing car on his own, and the final knockout round was interrupted while the rescue was taking place.
Mercedes has won every Grand Prix so far this season. Antonelli has recently won five in a row and leads the World Championship by some margin. Hamilton is second, 66 points behind. Russell, who hasn’t been on the podium for four race weekends, is 68 points behind.
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