World champion two tenths clear of Rosberg; Stunning performance from Red Bull sees team lockout second row; Ricciardo three tenths clear of Verstappen; McLaren in Q3 for first time since 2014
Monday 16 May 2016 14:23, UK
Lewis Hamilton took his first pole position since Bahrain as the world champion finally enjoyed a trouble-free qualifying session at the Spanish Grand Prix to put his title defence back on track.
After a lock-up on his first flying lap, Hamilton posted a stunning 1:22.000 with his final attempt to beat Nico Rosberg by nearly three tenths of a second.
"I'm very, very happy. Nico has been very strong all week. I've been trying to get the pace step-by-step. But this is three out of three for me - I didn't get to compete in the last two qualifying sessions," said Hamilton.
Red Bull locked out the second row of the grid as Daniel Ricciardo delivered what Sky F1 pundit Martin Brundle described as a "perfect lap" to beat new team-mate Max Verstappen by over four tenths. The Dutchman had threatened to steal the headlines up until that point on his debut weekend with Red Bull.
Ferrari looked set to challenge Mercedes based on final practice pace, but as track temperatures soared, their pace vanished. Kimi Raikkonen was fifth, but 1.1 seconds off the pace, with Sebastian Vettel a further two tenths back in sixth.
"Something went wrong for both drivers. This morning we were far better," said under-pressure Ferrari team principal Maurizio Arrivabene.
Valtteri Bottas was seventh for Williams, a long way clear of team-mate Felipe Massa who was a shock Q1 casualty.
"I had traffic on my first lap and then we didn't have enough time to go out again," explained the Brazilian, who went on to place the blame on the team for not leaving him enough time for a second run.
Another man a long way clear of his team-mate was Carlos Sainz, who was eight for Toro Rosso, with Daniil Kvyat 13th on his return to the Italian squad.
Sergio Perez was ninth for Force India, ahead of Fernando Alonso who gave McLaren their first Q3 appearance since the reunification of the McLaren-Honda partnership.
"I've been watching Q3 on television for too long now so it is good to be part of the show," said Alonso.
2016 Spanish Grand Prix grid in full
Despite having the new - and supposedly quicker - front wing, Jenson Button was only 12th quickest for McLaren after struggling to find balance on the rear of his car all weekend.
Romain Grosjean was 14th for Haas, ahead of Renault's Kevin Magnussen and Esteban Gutierrez in the second Haas.
Jolyon Palmer went out in Q1 for the fourth consecutive race as he finished the session three tenths slower than his team-mate Magnussen.
"I could have found a little bit more in the car," he said. "It would have helped doing P1 or P2, 15 minutes on Friday is not a lot of running."
The Saubers of Marcus Ericsson and Felipe Nasr and the Manors of Pascal Wehrlein and Rio Haryanto lined up two-by-two at the back.
When is the Spanish GP and how can you watch it on Sky Sports?
Spanish GP Qualifying
Q3
1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 1:22.000
2. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes, 1:22.280
3. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull, 1:22.680
4. Max Verstappen, Red Bull, 1:23.087
5. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, 1:23.113
6. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, 1:23.334
7. Valtteri Bottas, Williams, 1:23.522
8. Carlos Sainz, Toro Rosso, 1:23.643
9. Sergio Perez, Force India, 1:23.782
10. Fernando Alonso, McLaren, 1:23.981
Q2
11. Nico Hulkenberg, Force India, 1:24.203
12. Jenson Button, McLaren, 1:24.348
13. Daniil Kvyat, Toro Rosso, 1:24.445
14. Romain Grosjean, Haas, 1:24.480
15. Kevin Magnussen, Renault, 1:24.625
16. Esteban Gutierrez, Haas, 1:24.778
Q1
17. Jolyon Palmer, Renault, 1:24.903
18. Felipe Massa, Williams, 1:24.941
19. Marcus Ericsson, Sauber, 1:25.202
20. Felipe Nasr, Sauber, 1:25.579
21. Pascal Wehrlein, Manor, 1:25.745
22. Rio Haryanto, Manor, 1:25.939
Vote: Which team has the best driver line-up?
Watch the Spanish GP live on Sky Sports F1. The race starts at 1pm on Sunday, with build-up underway at 11.30am. Or watch the race without a contract for £6.99 on NOW TV.
