Verstappen storms to Spanish F1 GP pole as Russell and Hamilton clash

Dominant Red Bull driver half a second clear of Carlos SainzHamilton and Russell summoned to stewards after incident

Max Verstappen took pole for the Spanish Grand Prix with a crushing lap for Red Bull, beating the Ferrari of Carlos Sainz into second place at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Lando Norris was an excellent third for McLaren with Pierre Gasly in fourth for Alpine. Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton and George Russell were in fifth and 12th. There was a shock exit in Q1 for Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who finished in 19th after only having time to complete one quick lap on a drying track.

There will be some hard questions asked at Mercedes after Hamilton clipped Russell as he came up behind him on the straight. Hamilton accused his teammate of unexpectedly backing off, causing the pair to touch during Q2 and damaging Hamilton’s front wing in the process. It is the first time the pair have clashed on track since Russell joined Mercedes in 2022. The team described the incident as a “miscommunication” but both drivers have been summoned to the stewards with Russell facing the charge of “abnormally changing direction” causing an impact.

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