- World champion edges out Red Bull rival to reach pole century
- Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas starts in third
Lewis Hamilton took pole for the Spanish Grand Prix reaching a unique milestone in Formula One by claiming the top spot for the 100th time. Max Verstappen was in second for Red Bull at the Circuit de Catalunya, with Hamilton’s Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas in third. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was in fourth with Alpine’s Esteban Ocon in fifth.
Hamilton’s first hot lap in Q3 was immense, with a time of 1min 16.741sec, he found time in both the second and third sectors, running right on the limit. Yet he was not alone in finding a real groove in Barcelona; Verstappen, in his wake pushed him as hard as he could flying over the line just three-hundredths behind the world champion. There was nothing in it as they headed into the final laps.