Lewis Hamilton storms to pole position for Spanish GP

Lewis Hamilton has stormed to his third pole position of the season at Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya, his first around the Spanish circuit in a topsy-turvy qualifying session. The Williams of Pastor Maldonado has qualified 2nd, with local hero Fernando Alonso 3rd for Ferrari.

It was a slow start to qualifying, with Paul di Resta the first man on track after five minutes of waiting. The Scot eventually set the first timed lap of Q1, with a 01:25.675, which was bettered by Grosjean before local favorite Fernando Alonso went fastest for Ferrari. In typical qualifying fashion the times continued to tumble, as the majority of the drivers switched to the softer Pirelli rubber.

This forced everyone back out on track, as the threat of elimination loomed over the front runners. Lewis Hamilton, slipping further down the order, was able to finally set a quick lap on the soft tyres with a 01:22.583 as Bruno Senna spun his Williams as he desperately tried to set a faster time. The usual suspects were joined by the Brazilian in being eliminated after Q1.

The second qualifying session was reminiscent of the first as Kamui Kobayashi eventually left the pits and set the first timed lap with a 01:24.031. Nico Rosberg then went to the top, followed by the two McLaren’s shortly after. Pastor Maldonado then confirmed his true pace with a scorching 01:22.105 towards the end of the session. With so much track action going on, Mark Webber and Jenson Button were caught out and were eliminated after Q2, with Michael Schumacher only just slipping through to Q3. The only positives Button and Webber can take through to the race will be the ability to start the race on any of two tyre compounds they choose, whereas the top 10 will start on the tyres they qualified on. Kamui Kobayashi had a disheartening end to Q3, as the Sauber driver came to a standstill on the exit of turn 4 with a hydraulics issue. This cemented the Japanese in 10th place for tomorrows race.

With all the excitement of Q1 and Q2, the all-important qualifying shootout was a slight anti-climax as the majority of the drivers initially only completed installation laps. However, Lewis Hamilton completed the first true timed lap of the session with a 01:22.560. With the majority of the field eager to savor their tyres, it was no surprise to see some drivers’ initially uninterested in setting fast timed laps.

As the final session entered it’s closing stages, a flurry of cars exited the pits with the aim of dethroning Hamilton from the top spot of the timing sheets. Alonso succeed, however only momentarily as Pastor Maldonado continued impressing the F1 fraternity with another scintillating lap. However, Lewis Hamilton stormed to pole in the dying seconds with a 01:21.707.

With the winner of all but one of the Spanish Grands Prix starting from the front row of the grid at the Circuit de Catalunya, both Lewis Hamilton and Pastor Maldonado will be hoping this fact continues for tomorrows 66 lap Spanish Grand Prix.

Follow me on Twitter - @AndyYoungF1