George Russell felt “like my old self again” after taking pole for the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix, his 10th for Mercedes and 150th for the team. Lewis Hamilton pushed hard to claim second thanks to a late surge tied to Ferrari’s upgrade, while Kimi Antonel
George Russell stepped out of qualifying in Spain with a different weight on his shoulders—one that lifted the moment he landed in pole position.
“I felt like my old self again,” he said after scorching to the top spot for the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix. Fractionally faster than second-placed Lewis Hamilton, Russell claimed a lead built on the kind of execution he had been missing. On a 4.657km circuit, his hot lap of 1min 15.717sec was enough to hold off Hamilton by 0.064.
It wasn’t just a personal recovery. It was Mercedes marking a landmark day: Russell’s 100th race for the team, his 10th pole, and the 150th pole overall for Mercedes.
From the pit lane, Russell’s mood was noticeably lighter. On his arrival in Spain. he said the pressure was off because he had fallen 68 points behind the drivers’ championship leader. Antonelli. after a run of mishaps. “It’s been a difficult few races. obviously bad luck. and some poor performances in there. ” he said. pointing to trouble that included an incorrect pit-lane speeding penalty in Monaco. He also described misfortune in Canada last month. where a battery failure cost him almost certain victory. plus setbacks in China and Japan in March.
Standing beside a teammate pushing for momentum didn’t intimidate him, either. Antonelli, the 19-year-old driving for Mercedes, will start from third aiming for a sixth consecutive victory.
Russell said he was able to move past the noise by returning to an approach he knew worked. “Just really happy to be back in my groove,” he said. Asked whether the changes were technical or mental, he pointed to both. “Car setup, mentality … Going back to basics,” he said. “These cars are so complicated … it’s challenging to get on top of things. especially when I’ve got a guy like this [Antonelli] next to me performing so well … I’m just glad to feel myself again. feel at one with the car again.”.
Behind them, the grid picture suggested a messy middle act—full of grip limits, momentum swings, and upgrade payoffs.
Hamilton finished second after a weekend he admitted had tested him nearly to breaking point. “For sure. It’s been a very, very tricky weekend,” he said. “Really. really struggled to get on pace [and] never been so down before. in terms of the gap between Charles and I and everybody else.” He described a qualifying turnaround that hinged on a gap of “one second” in “one session. ” enough to fling Ferrari into the front row mix.
Hamilton tied the improvement to the team’s work back at the factory. “This is really down to everyone back in the factory. They’ve been working so hard. for them to bring this upgrade here … I can’t thank them enough. ” he said. “Tomorrow it would be nice, for once, be able to hold on to them [Mercedes].”.
For Ferrari, there was another emotional story running in parallel: Charles Leclerc’s weekend collapsed into a spectacular Q3 crash that triggered a red flag. A week after hitting a wall at his home race in Monaco, Leclerc again found trouble at a critical moment.
After the crash, he didn’t point outward. “There is no one to blame but me,” Leclerc said. “I tried to release brakes earlier, tried to carry more speed. But I went on the dirty side of the track and lost the rear. There was not much to excuse myself.”
He carried that blame into the rest of the day. “Today, and this weekend, I think everything felt really good. In these days I need to deliver and I feel very ashamed in general,” Leclerc said.
That shame turns into a starting grid penalty the team can’t ignore. Leclerc will begin from 10th. Ahead of him, Liam Lawson qualified eighth for Racing Bulls, with Nico Hulkenberg ninth for Audi.
Up front, Antonelli’s focus stayed practical even as Hamilton and Russell made the pace for Mercedes look formidable. Despite Antonelli’s commanding lead in the drivers’ championship, he described a car he couldn’t fully settle. “I’m struggling with the feeling of the car. very low grip here. and I’ve just been attacking a bit too much in the corners. ” he said. “In the last lap. I lost basically everything in the last sector … Definitely not the best performance … Still P3. and we focus on tomorrow.”.
Behind that, the grid offered its own clues. Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar qualified fifth and sixth for the Red Bulls. Lando Norris took fourth for McLaren, with Oscar Piastri seventh.
With the race looming, Leclerc tried to shift the focus from qualifying disappointment to what comes next on a circuit known for tyre degradation. He left space for a plan that might involve a three-stop strategy for some drivers.
“We can do great tomorrow,” Leclerc said. “I’m optimistic. But for now, the disillusion of ‘quali’ is all I can think of.”
So the stakes look clear. even before lights go out: Russell has pole and momentum that felt elusive for weeks; Hamilton has a late surge powered by Ferrari’s upgrade work; Antonelli has a chance to keep his win run alive from third; and Leclerc. staring at a 10th-place start after Q3 turned into a crash. is left to chase redemption in a race where tyres—and timing—will decide who survives.
George Russell Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix pole position Lewis Hamilton Kimi Antonelli Charles Leclerc Mercedes Ferrari qualifying F1 grid