Mercedes driver George Russell will start on pole for the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix Sunday morning.
It’s the 10th career pole for Russell, who dropped to third in the drivers’ championship following a 12th-place finish at the Monaco Grand Prix last week. He has not scored points in the last two races.
Russell’s teammate and championship leader Kimi Antonelli starts third. It’s the first race this season where he will not start on the front row.
Coverage of the Formula 1 Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix begins at 8:55 a.m. on Sunday. Watch LIVE on TSN5, TSN.ca, and the TSN App.
Antonelli has won the last five grand prix races and holds a 66-point lead over Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton in the drivers’ championship. At 19 years old, he is the youngest championship leader in Formula 1 history.
Hamilton will start second in Spain. He holds a two-point lead over Russell in the drivers’ championship following consecutive second place finishes at the Canadian and Monaco Grand Prix. Hamilton is still looking for his first win with Ferrari.
His teammate Charles Leclerc will start from P10 following a crash during his first flying lap in Q3. Leclerc crashed out of his home race in Monaco while running in third place.
The reigning world champion Lando Norris will start fourth for McLaren. It’s an all Red Bull third row with Max Verstappen starting fifth and Isack Hadjar starting sixth. Last year’s race winner, Oscar Piastri starts seventh.
Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso starts from P18. The Oviedo, Spain native hinted that this may be his final time racing in Barcelona. Alonso, 44, is the only Spanish Formula 1 driver to win a world championship.
Alonso has not signed a contract for next season. Barcelona-Catalunya will rotate with Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium on the calendar following this season. The next race in Barcelona will be in 2028.
