George Russell pips Lewis Hamilton to F1 Barcelona GP pole after Charles Leclerc crashes out

George Russell pipped Lewis Hamilton to pole position in a tight Formula 1 qualifying session at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix. 

Russell outpaced former Mercedes team-mate Hamilton by just 0.064 seconds to secure his third pole of the season as he looks to hit back against championship leader Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who was 0.319s adrift in third.

Antonelli is 68 points clear of Mercedes team-mate Russell after winning the last five races but he has struggled to match his title rival for pace around Barcelona all weekend so far.

2026 F1 Barcelona Grand Prix: Full qualifying results

For 28-year-old Russell, it marked the perfect response following a difficult run of races that included back-to-back grands prix without scoring a single point. 

"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," Russell said. 

"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. I'm sure there will be a fight on our hands, so tomorrow won't be easy but I feel ready."

Reigning world champion Lando Norris was fourth for McLaren, 0.322s behind Russell, while Max Verstappen took fifth for Red Bull ahead of team-mate Isack Hadjar.

Oscar Piastri was only seventh in the other McLaren, ahead of Liam Lawson’s Racing Bulls and Nico Hulkenberg’s Audi.

Charles Leclerc will start Sunday’s grand prix from a disappointing 10th on the grid after suffering a heavy crash on his first flying lap of Q3.

The Monegasque tried to correct a slide coming out of Turn 4 but was spat out into the barriers on the opposite side of the track in an impact which caused significant damage to the front-end of his Ferrari.

F1 rookie Arvid Lindblad narrowly missed out on a spot in the top-10 as could not join Racing Bulls team-mate Lawson in Q3 and had to settle with 11th.

12th went the way of Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto, while both Alpine cars were eliminated in the second part of qualifying as Franco Colapinto outpaced team-mate Pierre Gasly.

Behind the Alpines, Ollie Bearman was the lead Haas driver in 15th, with home hero Carlos Sainz only able to qualify 16th as the sole Williams to progress into Q2.

Esteban Ocon was only 17th for Haas, ahead of Alex Albon’s Williams and the Cadillac pair of Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas, who were 19th and 20th respectively to complete the penultimate row of the grid.

For the first time in 42 races, Lance Stroll outqualfied Aston Martin team-mate Fernando Alonso, who will start 22nd and last for his home grand prix.

On Thursday, the 44-year-old Spaniard admitted this could be his “last race at Barcelona” with the two-time world champion, whose contract expires at the end of the season, yet to make a decision about his future.

Sunday’s 66-lap Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix gets underway at 2pm UK time.