Lewis HamiltonPlayer·Lewis Hamilton will start the Barcelona Grand PrixCompetition·Barcelona Grand Prix from second on the grid after finishing just 0.064 seconds behind former teammate George RussellPlayer·George Russell in qualifying at the Circuit de Barcelona-CatalunyaCompetition·Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. The Ferrari driver said the result leaves him in position to fight on Sunday after a weekend that began with more difficulty than expected.
Hamilton admitted he was surprised to end qualifying so close to the front after struggling through the early sessions. He missed the first practice session, a setback that affected his preparation more than usual, and said he was more than a second off the pace in second practice before gradually recovering the balance of the car.
By the time qualifying arrived, Hamilton had found enough confidence to top Q1 and remain in the mix through the decisive runs. Traffic made Q2 more complicated, but he still produced a lap good enough to secure a front-row start and keep Ferrari in contention for victory on a track where the margins were razor-thin.
Russell’s pole position set up an immediate intra-team storyline with Hamilton’s former MercedesTeam·Mercedes stablemate, while the small gap between first and second underlined how tightly matched the leading cars were. Hamilton said Ferrari had spent the weekend roughly four tenths behind the pace leaders before closing the gap with upgrades, a shift he believes can matter in race conditions.
That leaves Sunday finely poised. Hamilton has not hidden his ambition to return to winning ways in Barcelona, but he will have to do it from the front row and against a field separated by little more than a blink in qualifying. He said the team must continue to push and develop, and that the race should offer a real fight rather than a procession.
With Russell on pole and Hamilton alongside him, the opening laps are likely to shape the afternoon. For Ferrari, the result offers a clear opportunity; for Hamilton, it provides another chance to turn a difficult weekend into something more substantial when the lights go out in Barcelona.
George Russell, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, and Lewis Hamilton celebrate qualifying in Spain. Photo: Marco Canoniero
Marco Canoniero/IMAGOThis article was generated by AI (sonar-pro). Learn more.
