Share

Hamilton on pole in Barcelona

Barcelona - Briton Lewis Hamilton took his third pole position of the season and the 150th of McLaren's Formula One history with a dazzling lap in the final minute of Saturday's qualifying for the Spanish Grand Prix.

The 27-year-old Hamilton, the 2008 world champion, clocked a best lap of 1min 21.707sec to finish half a second clear of nearest rival, Venezuelan Pastor Maldonado of Williams, at the end of a closely-contested and highly-tactical session.

Spaniard Fernando Alonso delighted his home fans when he claimed third place for Ferrari ahead of Frenchman Romain Grosjean and his Lotus team-mate Finn Kimi Raikkonen.

Defending world champion Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull will line up eighth.

Hamilton's third pole of the season was the 22nd of his career and stretched his run of front row starts to five in succession. For Williams, it was a great present for team founder Frank Williams, who was celebrating his 70th birthday in the team garage.

Hamilton said: "It was one of the best qualifyings I've ever had -- I stopped out on the track afterwards because I was told to stop. I have no idea why!"

Despite teammate Jenson Button finishing 11th and failing to make the cut into the top-ten shootout session, he added: "But it's a great day for the team. Jenson (Button) has great strength in the race so I have no doubt he will make his way up."

Mexican Sergio Perez of Sauber was sixth ahead of German Nico Rosberg of Mercedes and, unexpectedly, Vettel, who will line up eighth.

Seven-time champion German Michael Schumacher of Mercedes was ninth and Japanese Kamui Kobayashi was 10th in the second Sauber.

Both Vettel and Schumacher chose not to clock a competitive time in Q3 on a day when it was clear that many teams and drivers were more interested in preserving as many sets of tyres as possible in preference to claiming a strong grid position.

"There is nothing is wrong," said Vettel. "We decided to abort the lap to have a free choice of tyres for the race. If I had set a lap, we would have to start the race on soft tyres.

"In Q2, the first run was crucial. I didn't manage to pull a lap out so I had to use my final set of tyres to get into Q3. We simply weren't quick enough.

"We'll see how it goes for tomorrow. We were a bit surprised how much of a step the others could do, but I'm quite confident for race. We always have a good race car. We have a couple of new sets which has proved successful for others in previous races this year."

Maldonado said: "We have worked so hard to understand these tyres and develop our car around them and this is a great step forward for the team. We have such a good spirit and the car feels fantastic."

Alonso said he drive could not have gone any better.

"This is a step forward for us - it was impossible to dream of the top three in the first four races," said the Spaniard.

"We have made a big step and I was really happy with the lap. I could fit 100 more sets of tyres and not do better. It was perfect."

The starting grid for Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix following the final qualifying sessions on Saturday:

1st row
Lewis Hamilton (GBR/McLaren-Mercedes)
Pastor Maldonado (VEN/Williams-Renault)

2nd row
Fernando Alonso (ESP/Ferrari)
Romain Grosjean (FRA/Lotus-Renault)

3rd row
Kimi Raikkonen (FIN/Lotus-Renault)
Sergio Perez (MEX/Sauber-Ferrari)

4th row
Nico Rosberg (GER/Mercedes-AMG)
Sebastian Vettel (GER/Red Bull-Renault)

5th row
Kamui Kobayashi (JPN/Sauber-Ferrari)
Michael Schumacher (GER/Mercedes-AMG)

6th row
Jenson Button (GBR/McLaren-Mercedes)
Mark Webber (AUS/Red Bull-Renault)

7th row
Paul di Resta (GBR/Force India-Mercedes)
Nico Hulkenberg (GER/Force India-Mercedes)

8th row
Jean-Eric Vergne (FRA/Toro Rosso-Ferrari)
Daniel Ricciardo (AUS/Toro Rosso-Ferrari)

9th row
Felipe Massa (BRA/Ferrari)
Bruno Senna (BRA/Williams-Renault)

10th row
Vitali Petrov (RUS/Caterham-Renault)
Heikki Kovalainen (FIN/Caterham-Renault)

11th row
Charles Pic (FRA/Marussia-Cosworth)
Timo Glock (GER/Marussia-Cosworth)

12th row
Pedro de la Rosa (ESP/HRT-Cosworth)
Narain Karthikeyan (IND/HRT-Cosworth)

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
Should Siya Kolisi keep the captaincy as the Springboks build towards their World Cup title defence in 2027?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
Yes! Siya will only be 36 at the next World Cup. He can make it!
25% - 1273 votes
No! I think the smart thing to do is start again with a younger skipper ...
29% - 1473 votes
I'd keep Siya captain for now, but look to have someone else for 2027.
45% - 2252 votes
Vote
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE