This was the second week in a row that the pole position margin has been 0.063 s or lower, and Hamiltons 4th pole in six races and 92nd of his career, as he also passed 150 front row begins.
It was a personal battle for pole position between the two Mercedes chauffeurs in Spanish Grand Prix certifying, with champion leader Lewis Hamilton pipping group mate Valtteri Bottas by just 0.059 s in extremely hot conditions at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
Qualifying realities and statistics: Hamilton strikes landmark 150th front-row start
Mercedes have made Barcelona their own in the last decade, taking six front row lock-outs in the last seven years, and they revealed no signs of loosening that grip as Hamilton and Bottas ended the one hour session seven tenths of a second quicker than anyone else.
Red Bulls Max Verstappen, winner of the last race at Silverstone, was their closest challenger in third, the Dutchman attaining the very first top-three start in Spain of his F1 profession.
1
Lewis
Hamilton
HAM
Mercedes
1:15.584
2
Valtteri
Bottas
BOT
Mercedes
1:15.643
3
Max
Verstappen
VER
Red Bull Racing
1:16.292
4
Sergio
Perez
PER
Racing Point
1:16.482
5
Lance
Stroll
STR
Racing Point
1:16.589
The returning Sergio Perez got where he left off before he evaluated positive for Covid 19 with a blistering turn of pace that put him 4th on the grid, equalling his career-best start and one place clear of Racing Point team mate Lance Stroll.
Carlos Sainz made a mistake on his first run, but recuperated to nab seventh in the closing seconds, usurping his McLaren group mate Lando Norris by a portion for only the second time this year. It was likewise Sainzs finest start in Spain considering that 2015, when he started fifth for Toro Rosso.
Charles Leclerc was the leading Ferrari in ninth, with group mate Sebastian Vettel failing to make Q3 for the 2nd race in succession.
The other Red Bull of Alexander Albon completed the leading six, but he was 0.5 s adrift of group mate Verstappen in what was the biggest deficit between group mates associated with the top 10 shoot-out.
Pierre Gasly outqualified AlphaTauri group mate Daniil Kvyat for the ninth race weekend in a row as he finished the leading 10, with Kvyat two locations even more back in 12th.
Qualifying Highlights: 2020 Spanish Grand Prix
Q1– Raikkonen lastly escapes Q1 in 2020
The Racing Point RP20 looked in significant shape around the sweeping turns of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, with Lance Stroll validating their speed with the third quickest time, beating the other Mercedes of Bottas.
Hamilton squandered little time heading out on track to pump in a benchmark time, however his nearby competitor was something of a surprise, with the returning Sergio Perez just a fraction behind in second.
CHECKED OUT MORE: Podium hopes depend upon start, states Perez after qualifying P4 on F1 return
The Haas speed Romain Grosjean demonstrated on Friday was no where to be seen on Saturday, with both Kevin Magnussen and his team mate getting the boot in 16th and 17th respectively, with George Russell bemoaning being sent in traffic for his last run as he suffered his very first Q1 elimination because round one in Austria.
In other places, there was finally something to smile about down at Alfa Romeo, as Kimi Raikkonen at last made it out of Q1 in 2020, scraping through in 15th. His group mate Antonio Giovinazzi wasnt so lucky, the Italian winding up as the slowest qualifier for the first time in his profession.
Knocked out: Magnussen, Grosjean, Russell, Latifi, Giovinazzi
Raikkonen found the rate to enter Q2 for the very first time this year
Q2– Soft tyres the compound of choice as teams prevent medium gamble
There were standout performances from Gasly, the Frenchman pumping in the fifth quickest time at the death, and Sainz, who has actually looked mighty considering that the team changed the engine ahead of last practice on Saturday.
Mercedes began to stretch their legs a little in the second part of qualifying, with the soft tire the compound of option as teams prevented a gamble on the harder rubber.
Hamilton and Bottas led the method with ease, this time flanked by Verstappen who appeared somewhat happier with the 2nd segment in qualifying.
There wasnt such great news for Sebastian Vettel, the German missing out on the leading 10 by simply 0.002 s to Lando Norris (who has actually remained in Q3 every race this year) in what was his 3rd exit in this sector in six races. However, he will at least get totally free option of tires to begin Sundays race.
CHECKED OUT MORE: Leclerc and Vettel downhearted as Ferrari can only manage P9 and P11 on grid in Spain
Kvyat was 12th quickest, the Russian outqualified by his team mate for the ninth consecutive race, with Renault looking off the boil as Daniel Ricciardo ended up a lowly 13th, his worst of the season, with Esteban Ocon – who crashed in FP3 – scoring the groups worst certifying efficiency of 2020 with 15th.
Knocked out: Vettel, Kvyat, Ricciardo, Raikkonen, Ocon
Spanish Grand Prix Qualifying: Hamilton on pole as Mercedes seal front-row lockout
Q3– Hamilton gets the upper hand once again
But 2nd time around, with temperature levels still sweltering, Bottas stopped working to enhance while Hamiltons effort was more than four tenths slower than his criteria.
Hamilton set the bar early on, but a space of just 0.059 s suggested pole might still go in any case as the champion leader and his team mate Bottas prepared for their final runs.
CHECKED OUT MORE: The tasks not done says polesitter Hamilton as he fears Red Bull speed at physical Barcelona
Sainz was among the few to put in a quicker lap which raised him approximately seventh in spite of suffering understeer in the last sector that cost him time while Albon found enough time to move up two places to 6th.
Very couple of drivers enhanced on their second runs, and though Perez managed to, he stayed fourth overall.
The essential quote
Whats next?
” I couldnt go faster on my second lap,” stated pole-sitter Hamilton. “I thought I might however it just wasnt an excellent lap. The very first one was decent, I guess, which did the job thankfully.
The Spanish Grand Prix kicks off at 1510 local time, which is 1210 UTC. Mercedes have locked out the front row for the seventh time in eight years, but will they manage to make their tires last in the hot temperatures? Or might Verstappen prove and attempt a different method to be a thorn in their side once again?
” But these guys do such a remarkable job and were constantly discovering. Ive been here with the men till 10pm last night examining all the details, taking a look at how we can enhance and what are the areas for the race that we might get much better due to the fact that these Red Bulls are super-fast.”
FOUND OUT MORE: Verstappen aiming to apply pressure on Mercedes after best-ever Spanish qualifying
The Spanish Grand Prix kicks off at 1510 local time, which is 1210 UTC. Mercedes have locked out the front row for the seventh time in 8 years, however will they manage to make their tyres last in the hot temperatures?
” I could not go faster on my 2nd lap,” stated pole-sitter Hamilton. “I thought I might however it simply wasnt a terrific lap. The first one was decent, I guess, which did the job thankfully.
