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He's starting plum last today, but that hasn't stopped Fernando Alonso soaking up the adulation of his adoring Spanish fans during the drivers' parade.

"I'm going to stay here to watch the race, it's better than in the car," he joked.

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The day has come for Lance Stroll.

After FORTY-TWO grands prix, the Canadian has finally out-qualified his Aston Martin team-mate Fernando Alonso for the first time in two years.

The pair are still propping up the grid in P21 and P22 but still, it's a small victory for Stroll against the Spanish two-time world champion. Or is it?

Speaking to ESPN, Stroll said qualifying had not been so good, which is understandable, given the team's issues this season. When asked if it meant anything to him to beat Alonso, he added: "No. I don't care."

Asked if it would maybe mean more if the two were fighting each other in Q2 and Q3 instead, he added: "I don’t know. I don’t give a ****." Yikes.

As for Alonso, finishing at the back of the grid on pure pace for the first time in his career - and in front of his home crowd - was a disappointing moment.

"There are no surprises that we qualified at the back as we know this is our level of car performance right now," said the 44-year-old.

Alice Powell
British racing driver on BBC Radio 5 Live

It was a much-needed pole position for George Russell, taking his 10th career pole. We are just watching on our screens here, George Russell on the way to the grid, having a massive lock-up on the soft tyres, Trying to already push them to the limit. Lewis Hamilton was having a battle out of the pit lane as well with Carlos Sainz.

Already getting elbows out for Hamilton and maybe a tell-tale sign of what's to come but it was a brilliant pole position for George Russell yesterday and exactly what he needed.

Andrew Benson
BBC F1 correspondent

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McLaren's Oscar Piastri said he was "pretty mind-blown" about the decision to overturn Pierre Gasly's penalty for pit-lane speeding in the Monaco Grand Prix.

Gasly was returned to third place in the race after initially being dropped to seventh following a successful appeal by his Alpine team.

But the stewards' verdict revealed an error with measuring the pit-lane speed limit. This affected a number of other drivers, who were also penalised.

"I'm pretty mind-blown by the decision," Piastri said, "because how you can reverse a decision that was ultimately wrong, but when other people have been penalised for the same thing and served a penalty in the race, how you can then change one penalty, knowing that probably five or six other races have been impacted by that, is astonishing."

Read the full story here

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McLaren looked strong at the beginning of this Barcelona weekend with Lando Norris quickest in second practice and team-mate Oscar Piastri up near the front too.

But the constructors' champion's pace faded into qualifying, plus they were hampered by Charles Leclerc's red flag, and when title holder Norris was told many people had them pinned for a possible pole position, he replied jokingly: "Really? Delusional."

Despite Norris' assessment that McLaren weren't in the fight, the Briton, who starts P4, was only a fraction away from Kimi Antonelli's P3 time. "It’s going to be a hot, high-degradation race and tyre management will be everything," he said.

"Strategy could go one, two, or even three stops depending on how the tyres behave, and I think most teams will end up doing similar things."

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Charles Leclerc has always been a driver who is hard on himself but after yesterday's qualifying crash-out, the Monegasque man was probably the most upset we've ever seen him. Not tears, but he verbally gave himself a dressing down.

Leclerc, who starts P10, also crashed in Monaco qualifying and his home race the following day, although last Sunday's shunt he said he would not take the blame for: that was firmly on his troublesome brakes.

The Ferrari driver suffered a snap of oversteer at Turn Four on his first flying lap of Q3 on Saturday before hurtling across the gravel and shunting into the barrier. He was OK after the incident, but in the media pen afterwards, he didn't hold back, using the word "ashamed" multiple times while talking to Sky Sports.

"I released the brakes earlier. I think we were close to being the fastest car every corner apart from Turn Four," said Leclerc.

“I knew it was a weakness, I knew I had to make everything perfect for that lap. I tried, but I obviously regret it and again, I feel very much ashamed.

"There's no excuses, I just feel ashamed. The only positive I can take is that the feeling that I have in the car is back and for tomorrow I feel optimistic.

"But I need to show that. I just need to do the perfect race."

Andrew Benson
BBC F1 correspondent

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Ferrari brought a significant aerodynamic upgrade to the Spanish race and Lewis Hamilton fought back from a difficult run through practice to take his best qualifying result since the 2024 British Grand Prix.

The 41-year-old joined Ferrari in 2025 and had a difficult first season, struggling to get on terms with team-mate Charles Leclerc, although he did take a pole and win in the sprint race in China last year.

But he has looked much more back to form this year. His previous best grand prix qualifying result for Ferrari was third in Monaco last weekend.

At Silverstone two years ago, George Russell led Hamilton to a Mercedes one-two in qualifying and the seven-time champion went on to take what was his first victory for nearly three years.

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Kimi Antonelli is in possession of a healthy buffer at the top of the drivers' championship, so he can afford a few tiny misteps in the next couple of races.

The Italian is starting behind the front row in P3 for the first time this season and his hopes of claiming a sixth consecutive victory rest on him jumping ahead of seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton and polesitter and Mercedes team-mate George Russell.

He's also got reigning world champion Lando Norris and four-time title winner Max Verstappen for company just behind.

Antonelli said he has been "overdriving the car" this weekend, conceding the hot temperatures and tricky conditions have been a struggle, adding: "and the tyres have just been running away a little bit from me."

The teenager's race starts haven't been his strong point this year, but he did make a good getaway in Monaco last Sunday. "It’s going to be important to get a good start - it’s a long run into Turn One, so I’m not in a bad position, to be fair."

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George Russell said earlier this week he just wants neutral luck this time around - "I'm dying for a smooth weekend" - following his up and down results since his opening win in Australia.

He was struck with technical issues in China and Canada, got caught out with the timing of a safety car in Japan, and also conceded his own performances were not the best in Miami and Moanco.

Beating Kimi Antonelli and Lewis Hamilton is surely the dose of good fortune he was hoping for.

Barcelona is a special occasion in Russell's Mercedes career, as he reaches 100 grands prix with the team today, joining seven-time world champion Hamilton, 2016 title winner Nico Rosberg and 10-time race winner Valtteri Bottas on the list.

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Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton, who will start the race in second place: "It's hot! I feel good. I've been here a long time but it never gets old, seeing these amazing crowds, the support. It doesn't matter which driver they're supporting there's great energy, it's great to have them here. It's so hot today but I feel good."

On the run into Turn One and whether that is the best opportunity to overtake: "I don't think it's the best one, but it's one of the strong ones. Mercedes have a lot of power, but it is a long run into Turn One and it is definitely an opportunity so we will try and maximise there and then it's who can look after their tyres better. Hopefully we can have similar pace to the guys ahead, if we do then we can have a good race."

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It's a long old rundown to Turn One at the Barcelona circuit, and this is the first time George Russell and Lewis Hamilton have started on the front row together this season.

The Ferraris have been fast-starting in 2026, however, Mercedes have settled down off the line at lights out in the past few races.

Both drivers are looking for personal glory today - Russell to narrow the gap to title leader and younger team-mate Kimi Antonelli and Hamilton to secure his main maiden win for the Scuderia.

So, who leads into the first corner: Mercedes or Ferrari?

Click the left thumb for polesitter Russell or hit the right thumb for seven-time world champion Hamilton.

Also let us know your thoughts using the 'get involved' button on the live page - don't forget you can add pictures to your messages now.

We've got a poll running at the top of the page as well where you can tell us who you think will win today's race.

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Lewis Hamilton has been inching closer to standing on the top step in Scuderia red - he's finished second at the past two races in Canada and Monaco - but can the 41-year-old go one better and cross the line as a main race winner for Ferrari today?

Hamilton, whose last grand prix win was in Belgium two years ago for Mercedes, was surprised to be riding high in the final part of qualifying. "All weekend we’ve been kind of four tenths off these guys [Mercedes], so even with the upgrade, we thought maybe that’s where we were," he said.

After congratulating former team-mate George Russell on his pole position, the (very polite) fighting talk came out. "We're in a good position to fight, so we have a race." Game on.

Is a 106th career victory within Hamilton's reach today?

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When speaking to Sky Sports after claiming pole position, George Russell said: "Honestly, I just want to see the chequered flag and get to the end of the race."

The pit lane isn't even open yet, so there is a long way to go before we know who will be on the top step of the podium later on. But at least the first task of the weekend has been successfully completed for Russell and his team.

The Briton, who said he has been trying to "reset" and "trust his own gut", edged former Silver Arrows team-mate Lewis Hamilton by just 0.064 seconds, with new buddy Kimi Antonelli three tenths back to claim a spot on the second row alongside reigning world champion Lando Norris.

Russell received his pole award from six-time Olympic cycling champion Sir Chris Hoy and said after a disappointing last few races, he came into Barcelona "with a clean slate and job done".

Lorraine McKenna
BBC Sport Journalist

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Hello, folks. One driver says he feels the groove again, another is pleasantly surprised to be on the front row and one side of the Ferrari garage used the word "ashamed" a lot in his post-qualifying interview.

It was an exciting session on Saturday as George Russell returned to the front of the grid and booked pole position for the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix. The Mercedes driver was ahead of seven-time world championship Lewis Hamilton, who will start alongside him, and team-mate Kimi Antonelli.

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Italian title leader Antonelli could only manange third on today's grid after what he said has been a difficult weekend so far. He leads the two men in front of him in the drivers' championship by a decent margin heading into the 66-lap race in Spain.

Charles Leclerc is the driver who had his tail between his legs following a heavy shunt at the start of Q3. The Monegasque driver crashed in qualifying for second consecutive weekend and will line up in 10th place.