MONTMELO, Spain — Mercedes driver George Russell claimed pole position ahead of Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix on Saturday.
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Formula 1 leader Kimi Antonelli will start Sunday’s race from third in his Mercedes — the first time this season he is not on the front row.
Antonelli is on an incredible five-race winning streak. That has let the 19-year-old Italian already tally up 156 points after just six races. A resurgent Hamilton is second in the standings with 90 points.
Russell is third with 88. He won the season-opening Australian GP only then to see Antonelli roar past him since then.
“Nice to feel the groove again,” Russell told his team radio, with the English driver needing a strong race to show his title chances are still realistic .
It was Russell’s 10th career pole in his 100th grand prix weekend for Mercedes.
The Mercedes pair have taken all seven poles this season as the German team has emerged as the biggest benefactor of a rulebook overhaul .
Defending F1 champion Lando Norris will start next to Antonelli in fourth. Red Bull pair Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar will be next, followed by Norris’ McLaren partner, Oscar Piastri, who won here last year.
Charles Leclerc was slotted into 10th after he skidded off the track at a turn and slammed the nose of his Ferrari into the barrier, causing a red flag to unfurl. A crane lifted the mangled bright red card, one front wheel dangling, and hauled it behind the barriers.
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Leclerc also crashed in last weekend’s race in Monaco, on the heels of him signing a contract extension with the Italian outfit.
It was an extremely disappointing session for Fernando Alonso, who had the slowest time in his Aston Martin. He will start from last place in what the 44-year-old former champion said will likely be his last race in Barcelona.
The two Cadillacs, driven by Sergio Pérez and Valtteri Bottas, failed to advance from the first qualifying session that culled the slowest six cars.
This race held outside Barcelona was called the Spanish Grand Prix from 1991 until last year. The Spanish GP title will now pass to the new race to be held in Madrid starting in September.
The Barcelona-Catalunya GP will only be held every other year, taking a hiatus in 2027 and back again in 2028.
The race’s future was in doubt until a deal was announced earlier this year that it will alternate with the Belgian GP on the calendar.
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