F1 qualifying results: Who takes pole in Barcelona?

George Russell has taken pole position in Barcelona. Read on to see how the qualifying hour unfolded.

When the second practice hour ahead of the Formula 1 Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix came to a close, there was a different feel around the sport.

After months of dominance from Mercedes, was McLaren truly back in the fight?

Lando Norris topped the second hour of practice, nipping George Russell atop the timing sheets by just 0.009 seconds. Then his McLaren teammate, Oscar Piastri, clocked in third.

Meanwhile Drivers’ Championship leader Kimi Antonelli, who slotted in fifth, more than a half-second behind Norris’ pace, conceded after the session that it was not going to be “easy” in Barcelona.

“Definitely George looks very quick, McLaren look very quick as well so it’s not going to be easy,” said Antonelli to the official F1 channel. “We’ll try to understand from tonight’s work and we’ll try to be ready for tomorrow.”

He added: “It’s been a bit tricky, single lap. The window is so small, tyres are overheating quite a lot.

“[I’m] just trying to find the best balance, of course with only one lap it’s difficult, but I think overall there’s still work to do, quite a bit, but I’m quite confident ahead of tomorrow.”

Antonelli sat out the first hour of practice, giving way to Mercedes test driver Fred Vesti for one of the require rookie sessions.

Can Norris convert a strong Friday into pole today? Or will Mercedes fight back in Barcelona? We will find out in a few hours, as qualifying begins at 10:00 a.m. Eastern, and we will be following all the action here live!

Here is the provisional starting grid, which will be filled in throughout the qualifying session:

Here is how the qualifying hour unfolded. All updates are in Eastern time.

11:14: Russell takes pole, ahead of his former teammate Hamilton. Antonelli will start third alongside Norris in P4.

11:13: Hamilton is on a strong lap, and he jumps to P2, just 0.064 seconds behind Russell.

11:13: Antonelli goes provisional pole, but just for a moment, as Russell rockets ahead of him with a 1:14.679.

11:12: Russell goes purple through the first sector, and Antonelli then goes purple through the second sector. Antonelli is on pace for provisional pole. But Russell then goes purple in Sector 2 behind him.

11:11: Antonelli is up first, and he has a personal best in the first sector.

11:11: All nine remaining drivers are on the track. Here we go.

11:10: Antonelli heads out, as does Norris, Piastri, and Hülkenberg. Under three minutes remain in the qualifying session.

11:08: Six drivers have completed laps, and they stack as follows: Russell, Piastri, Verstappen, Antonelli, Hadjar, and Hamilton. Leclerc is out. Norris, Lawson, and Hülkenberg have yet to set times.

11:07: Antonelli’s time is behind both Piastri and Verstappen, as he slots into P3. Russell goes purple through Sector 2, and jumps to provisional pole with a 1:15.145, just 0.031 seconds ahead of Piastri.

11:06: Antonelli begins his push lap, and does a personal best through the first sector, but it behind what Piastri laid down before the red flag.

11:05: There is a green light at the end of the pit lane, and the fight for pole has resumed.

11:02: Two minutes until Q3 resumes, and when it does 8:30 will be left on the clock.

11:02: Antonelli is at the front of the queue, with Hadjar behind him.

11:00: The session will resume at 11:03 Eastern/5:03 local time. With a resumption time, cars are free to queue up at the end of pit lane.

10:59: Here’s the Leclerc incident:

Speculation in the F1TV commentary box that Leclerc may have seen. an unexpected energy push which led to the snap, but we’ll here from Leclerc himself soon enough.

10:56: This is a tough break for Norris, who was just about to cross the start/finish line on a push lap. But the red flag came out before he could, so his lap will not count. And more importantly, those C5 soft tires are now used. Piastri and Verstappen did manage to set times, and it is Piastri in P1 with a 1:15.176, and Verstappen in P2, 0.152 seconds behind.

10:55: The medical car comes out for Leclerc, as is customary given the hard contact with the barrier.

10:54: Replays show Leclerc have a hard snap at Turn 4. ‘Very unusual to see a race car crash there,” says Coulthard in the commentary box.

10:54: RED FLAG! Leclerc is into the barriers at Turn 4, and he is out.

10:52: Verstappen sets the benchmark time in Sector 1, but Piastri immediately tops that on his lap. Verstappen then sets the benchmark in Sector 2, but Norris nips that.

10:51: Hülkenberg heads out, and he’s on a used set of C5 soft tires. Antonelli comes out as well but he has a sparkling new set of soft tires bolted onto his challenger.

10:50: Norris and Piastri head out, as does Lawson and Verstappen, who takes to the track ahead of them.

10:48: There is a green light in Barcelona and 13 minutes are on the clock, but it is quiet at the track. All ten drivers waiting in their respective garage stalls.

10:42: Russell, Leclerc, Antonelli, Norris, Hamilton, Verstappen, Piastri, Lawson, Hadjar, and Hülkenberg are the ten drivers in Q3. For Hülkenberg, it is the first time he has reached Q3 in a Grand Prix qualifying session this season.

10:41: Lindblad, Bortoleto, Colapinto, Gasly, Bearman, and Sainz are the six drivers eliminated.

10:41: Hülkenberg delivers a lap to get into P10 and advance for the moment. Lindblad, Bortoleto, and Bearman are out, as is Gasly. Colapinto and Sainz still have laps to come in.

10:40: Under a minute to go in Q2. Russell, Leclerc, Antonelli, Hamilton, Verstappen, and Hadjar are waiting this out.

10:39: Piastri slots into P7. Norris jumps into P4, powered by a purple third sector.

10:38: Piastri with another personal best in Sector 2, but is fading when compared to Russell’s lap. Norris has a pair of personal bests as well.

10:38: Piastri has begun his latest push lap. He delivers a personal best in the first sector, just 0.098 seconds behind what Russell did over that sector.

10:36: Under five minutes to go in Q2. The McLarens are the only two on the track right now, warming up with out laps.

10:33: Disappointing opening gambits from Norris and Piastri here in Q2. Norris slots in P8, with Piastri down in P10. Bortoleto, Colapinto, Bearman, Gasly, Sainz, and Hülkenberg are the drivers in the drop zone, with Hülkenberg still without a time as his initial effort was deleted for exceeding track limits.

10:33: Russell cuts the beam with a 1:15.228, good for P1.

10:32: The Red Bull party is short-lived, as Leclerc jumps to P1 with a 1:15.281.

10:31: Times are coming in, and it is a Red Bull party for the moment. Verstappen in P1 right now with a 1:15.484, ahead of Hadjar, Lindblad, and Lawson.

10:30: Norris leaves, and all 16 of the drivers in Q2 are rolling.

10:29: 15 of the 16 drivers have left the garage. Only Norris remains parked for now.

10:28: Finally some action on pit lane as the Alpines head out, followed by Hülkenberg. Piastri joins the fray as well, as does Bearman.

10:26: We have a green light in Barcelona but things are quiet right now. Clock ticking down under 14 minutes remaining.

10:20: Hamilton, Russell, Leclerc, Antonelli, Hülkenberg, Piastri, Norris, Verstappen, Lindblad, Hadjar, Bearman, Colapinto, Gasly, Bortoleto, Lawson, and Sainz are the 16 drivers that advanced, in that order.

There is a yellow flag in Barcelona as we wait for the start of Q2.

10:18: Sainz escapes and is through to Q2. Ocon, Albon, Pérez, Bottas, Stroll, and Alonso are the six drivers eliminated.

10:17: Nervy times for Williams, as laps from Ocon and Bearman drop the Williams pair into the drop zone.

10:16: “This is Formula One, not Formula Fun.” Wise words from David Coulthard.

10:15: Under three minutes left, and the final push laps are underway.

10:13: As the entire field returns to pit lane, we can reset the bottom of the table as well.

Sainz is in P16, the driver “at risk” of elimination. The six drivers in the drop zone are Pérez, Ocon, Bottas, Albon, Alonso, and Stroll. Pérez is just 0.023 seconds behind Sainz. Could we see a Cadillac in Q2 for the first time?

10:11: Yellow flag out momentarily as Stroll slides into the gravel at Turn 10.

10:11: Piastri goes fifth, and Norris sixth. The top ten at the moment are: Hamilton, Russell, Leclerc, Antonelli, Piastri, Norris, Verstappen, Lindblad, Hadjar, and Bortoleto.

10:10: Quite the first effort from Hamilton, who goes to the top of the pile with a 1:15.625. Only Piastri and Norris have yet to set a time.

10:09: Leclerc slots into P1 with a strong lap, 1:15.964. Antonelli slides into P2, just 0.013 seconds behind him. But then Russell goes fastest, with a 1:15.717.

10:08: Verstappen pumps in a 1:16.352 to move into P2, with Hülkenberg in P2 and Gasly in P3 for the moment.

10:06: Pit lane comes alive as more of the pole contenders roar out, including the Mercedes duo.

10:05: Sainz leads the way after the first initial times come in, with a 1:18.07. Ocon and Bearman are P2 and P3, and interestingly enough, they posted those times on the medium tires. Albon, Bottas, Alonso, and Stroll round out the seven drivers with a posted time.

10:04: As we wait for times to come in, Alex Jacques and David Coulthard on F1TV are having a fascinating discussion about the impact of wind in Barcelona, at the various corners of this track.

10:00: Green light in Barcelona, with 18 minutes on the clock. The six slowest drivers will be eliminated at the end of this segment, with 16 drivers advancing to Q2.

9:59: Bottas, Ocon, and Bearman are the three drivers at the front of the field waiting for the green light.

9:59: Hometown favorite Sainz is one of the first drivers to leave his garage. He is lined up at the end of pit lane as we wait for a green light.

9:57: A reminder that Pirelli went a step softer with the tires this year, wth the C5 as the soft, the C4 as the medium, and the C3 as the hard. That has brought strategy into play for the Grand Prix, and degradation into play for the qualifying hour. Plus, the track temperature is 51 degrees Celsius, which is also leading to some degradation issues.

9:50: About ten minutes until qualifying gets underway.

What happened in FP3?

Mercedes, specifically Russell, responded.

The veteran driver topped the timing sheets ahead of Piastri and Leclerc, setting the stage for what could be an epic qualifying session. As for Antonelli, the Drivers’ Championship leader was seventh, and even received a reprimand for erratic driving after the session.

Here are the full results from FP3: