George Russell has claimed pole position for the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix, finishing just over six hundredths in front of his former teammate Lewis Hamilton.
The British front row means youngster and driver’s championship leader Kimi Antonelli has to settle for third place.
Charles Leclerc crashed out in third qualifying, having to start from P10 for the race.
It was a difficult period for Russell after finishing P12 at the Monaco Grand Prix and dropping to third place in the driver’s championship, 68 points behind his teammate.
Speaking after claiming pole position, Russell said: “It’s been a great weekend so far. I feel like my old-self again where every lap I’m doing the job, always fighting in those top positions.
“The last few races for numerous reasons haven’t quite been on our side, but I came in this weekend with a clean slate, felt good, and it’s great to be on pole.
“It’s going to be an interesting race tomorrow. Lewis did an amazing job to get up there. That was a real surprise.
“We thought the fight was with ourselves and McLaren, but Lewis has been quick all this session.
George Russell is starting on pole position
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“I’m sure there will be a fight on our hands, so tomorrow won’t be easy, but I feel ready.”
Lando Norris will be starting from fourth, while the two Red Bulls are a position apart, with Max Verstappen in fifth and Isack Hadjar sixth.
Liam Lawson will be happy with his qualifying in eighth, just ahead of Nico Hulkenberg.
Hamilton shared that he is looking forward to Sunday, saying: “It feels great to be up here. Honestly, this weekend has been so difficult.
The British driver has achieved his third pole of the season
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“Normally, it’s ok to miss P1, but it had a huge offset. In P2, I was just over a second off, and I didn’t quite feel comfortable. These tyres only last one lap, so you only have two shots at it in each session.
“In P3, I was easily four or five tenths off, and I was thinking where I was going to get that pace.
“Between P3 and qualifying, I went off the track to my motorhome, came back and in Q1 I was first, so I knew I had a good balance and was comfortable.
“Q2 was a little bit harder with traffic. The Mercedes guys did a good lap, and congrats to George, but we are in a good position to be able to fight tomorrow. We have a race.
Hamilton is starting in P2
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“All weekend, we have been four tenths off these guys. Even with the upgrade, we thought that’s maybe where we were.
“For us to be that close – less than a tenth – is a real showing of the hard work everyone has done to bring these upgrades to the track.
“We’ve got to keep pushing and developing. I’m hoping tomorrow we can squeeze more out of this and keep up with these guys for once.”
