Hamilton takes pole in Spain - Qualifying summary & results

Q1

Q1 started with the confirmation that Brendon Hartley was unable to compete, as his Toro Rosso was not easily repairable after his crash. 

In Baku, we saw Williams do well and get to Q2, but in Barcelona is was back to reality for the British team, as both Stroll and Sirotkin looked the slowest cars on the track, manning P19 and P18 respectively. Stroll rounded off his qualifying session by crashing into the barriers after the checkered flag. Silly Lance.

Someone who surprisingly dropped out is Nico Hulkenberg. He needed to come back into the pit with what looked like a gearbox problem, and he had to stay there until the last two minutes. He got the 14th time, but was pushed back into P16 by Vandoorne and Ocon who made a late push.

Vettel and Raikkonen took P1 and P2 respectively, as Ferrari once again looked the quickest car on the track.

Q2

Q2 again saw Ferrari putting their foot down and taking the one-two at the top of the field, but it was at the bottom of the field where the more interesting things were happening.

Fernando Alonso just about managed to get out of Q2 and make it into Q3 for the first time this season for McLaren, which will be a huge relieve for the Woking-based team. Alonso just edged out his teammate Stoffel Vandoorne, who will have to do with a P11 finish.

A disappointing session for Force India, who couldn't really follow up their amazing podium in Baku, as they finished in P13 and P15. The Pink Panthers will no doubt make up a few places in the race, but unfortunately, Perez's podium in Baku looks like a fluke now.

Rookie Charles Leclerc did very well to get to P14, again out-qualifying his teammate Marcus Ericsson, who he left behind in Q1. Leclerc beat Perez's Force India, which is a very good result for the boys at Sauber. 

Q3

Everyone, including us, expected Ferrari to complete the one-two combination they had in both Q1 and Q2, but the prancing horse couldn't get a quick time early-on in the session. Raikkonen had to be wheeled into the pit with a minor issue, and Lewis Hamilton stood at the top of the pack for the most part of Q3. Raikkonen managed to steal it back from the Brit, but Hamilton immediately countered and took back what was his, and he remained the quickest in the remaining minutes of the session.

The Red Bulls looked to get a great result for a while, as Verstappen and Ricciardo sat in second and third respectively for a large chunk of Q3. It wasn't until the final minutes, when Ferrari and Mercedes really turned it on, that Red Bull had to concede. They'll start from P5 and P6.

Kevin Magnussen looks a confident man again, as he got a P7 for Haas, three places above his teammate Romain Grosjean, who was in P10.

Fernando Alonso did very well to grab P8 for McLaren, as the Spaniard finally made it to Q3 in his heavily upgraded MCL33. Normally, he has to fight his way into the points, so it's exciting to see what he can do tomorrow, as he'll be starting in the points. An upset on the cards, maybe?

Finally, Carlos Sainz got P9 for Renault, as the Spaniard, who has his own stand in Barcelona this year, did well to reach Q3 and start ninth. The two Spanish drivers are expected to put on a show tomorrow for their home crowd, so that will certainly be something to look out for tomorrow.

An overview of the times:

The championship leader takes his second pole of 2018

Will he be able to extend his lead in the standings tomorrow? #SpanishGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/9Ee9Na6oHY

— Formula 1 (@F1) 12 mei 2018