Charles Leclerc recovers after spin on his first Q3 lap to nail his second, enough to claim pole by 0.3s; Max Verstappen, who had provisional pole, not able to respond after DRS issue on final lap; George Russell and Lewis Hamilton fourth and sixth for Mercedes
By Matt Morlidge in Barcelona
Last Updated: 21/05/22 4:32pm
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Charles Leclerc will start the Spanish Grand Prix on pole after title rival Max Verstappe suffered a power issue at the end of qualifying.
Charles Leclerc salvaged his fourth F1 pole position of the season after a stunning final lap in Spanish GP qualifying, with Max Verstappen left to bemoan a late Red Bull issue to end his hopes of battling his title rival.
Leclerc spun on his first lap of Q3 but regained his composure soon after to nail an epic 1:18.750 when it mattered most, eventually beating Verstappen by three-tenths of a second.
“That was a champion’s lap,” said Sky Sports F1’s Martin Brundle about the title leader.
Verstappen had led Q3 before that Leclerc lap but didn’t get a chance to respond as, on his own final flyer, he said he “lost power” on team radio, before returning to the pits.
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Red Bull boss Christian Horner says Max Verstappen had a problem with his DRS rather than a power issue towards the end of qualifying.
Red Bull boss Christian Horner confirmed to Sky F1 after the session that Verstappen didn’t have an engine issue, but his DRS did not open to cost him speed. Either way, he said Verstappen would not have been able to edge out Leclerc.
Carlos Sainz was third in qualifying in the other Ferrari with Mercedes, while improved, not able to join the fight for pole.
George Russell did get on the second row in fourth ahead of Red Bull’s Sergio Perez, with Lewis Hamilton beaten by his team-mate in sixth, 0.8s off Leclerc.
Valtteri Bottas was best of the rest for Alfa Romeo, while Haas had both cars in the top-10 for the first time since 2019.
McLaren also looked likely to get both cars into Q3 but Lando Norris was agonisingly knocked out in 11th after his final Q2 lap, good enough to advance, was deleted for the slightest of track limits infractions.
Fernando Alonso had a home qualifying to forget, meanwhile, eliminated in Q1 along with both Aston Martin cars.
Spanish GP Qualifying: Top 10
1) Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
2) Max Verstappen, Red Bull
3) Carlos Sainz, Ferrari
4) George Russell, Mercedes
5) Sergio Perez, Red Bull
6) Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
7) Valtteri Bottas, Alfa Romeo
8) Kevin Magnussen, Haas
9) Daniel Ricciardo, McLaren
10) Mick Schumacher, haas
More to follow…
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