Leclerc recovers form spin to claim Spanish GP pole

Charles Leclerc bounced back from a spin to clinch pole position for the Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix.

A perfect weekend of practice was nearly ruined by the careless spin in Q3, but Leclerc recovered strongly with one final lap to topple Max Verstappen for pole.

“I did a mistake on my first run, but in the end I made it stick,” Leclerc said. “Very happy with that lap and that I made it work with the only chance I had.”

Verstappen couldn’t muster enough speed in his Red Bull to overcome the three-tenths deficit to Leclerc. A DRS failure on Verstappen’s final lap meant he had no realistic shot at challenging for pole.

Still, the defending world champion starts second.

In saying that, the pole-sitter in Spain has won 23 out of 31 times. So, if history is anything to go by, tomorrow’s race is Leclerc’s to lose.

“Tomorrow will be very hot and this track is very hard to pass but hopefully it will kinder on our tyres,” Verstappen said.

Carlos Sainz has George Russell for company on row two. Russell executed Mercedes’ best qualifying performance of the season in what looks to be the team’s most competitive weekend since the end of last year.

Sergio Perez and Lewis Hamilton repeat the same Red Bull-Mercedes order on row three.

Hamilton, a six-time winner in Spain, narrowly edged former teammate Valtteri Bottas for P6. Bottas came within a whisker of giving Alfa Romeo yet another top-six start but instead grids up in P7.

Kevin Magnussen starts P8, while Daniel Ricciardo and Mick Schumacher rounded out the top ten.

Magnussen and Schumacher showed off Haas’ potential, although the latter was only promoted to Q3 after Lando Norris had his last Q2 lap deleted for exceeding track limits.

Alpine, who have often been Q3 contenders this season, had little to offer in qualifying. Esteban Ocon starts P12 while Fernando Alonso didn’t even advance beyond Q1. He takes to the race from 17th.