Pole for George in Barcelona

• George Russell took pole position for Sunday’s Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix with Kimi Antonelli lining up P3.

• That is George’s 10^th pole position in F1 and comes on a landmark weekend for him as he celebrates his 100^th Grand Prix with the team.

• It also marks the 150^th pole position for the Mercedes works team in F1.

• Qualifying fastest was no easy feat with a track temperature of over 50°C combined with the punishing tarmac and mixture of low, medium, and high-speed corners providing a real test.

• George ended FP3 quickest whilst Kimi was P7, unable to get a clean lap in due to traffic.

• Both drivers showed good pace in Q1 and Q2, advancing needing only one set of tyres and one push lap in each segment.

• Despite a mid-segment red flag, both drivers got two laps in Q3, and their last efforts were their best.

• George topped the timing screens with a 1:14.679; the Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton splitting our duo.

George Russell

I had a big reset heading into this weekend and every lap since the beginning of the weekend, we’ve been in the top two positions. That is what I’m most happy about after such a tough run of results recently for various different reasons. I’ve really felt back in the groove here in Barcelona and comfortable in the car. I’m really grateful to the team and for everyone that has stood by me in recent weeks. Hopefully today shows exactly what I am capable of.

Of course we are pleased with pole position, but the points are scored tomorrow. The race start will be important, but it will be a long race with high tyre degradation. There will be a lot of opportunities across the Grand Prix and strategy will be interesting. Hopefully we can keep our noses clean, make sure we get to the flag, and be in a position to fight for victory.

Kimi Antonelli

It has been a more difficult weekend on my side so far compared to recent races. I’ve not felt as one with the car here in Barcelona. That is partly because of the conditions here where it is not only very hot, but the track is punishing on the tyres too. I feel like I might have been pushing a bit too much in qualifying and in the final sector, I could feel the lap time slipping away.

Our long run in FP2 was strong so hopefully we can carry that pace into tomorrow. P3 is not a bad position to be starting, and it will be a long race. It will be crucial to look after the tyres and maybe drive a little slower at times to go fast. It will be a strategically difficult race; we will do our best and trying to maximise the result.

Toto Wolff, CEO & Team Principal

George has been the quickest driver all weekend. Ahead of the session, if you had asked me for a favourite for pole it would have been him. He’s been on it all weekend, has reset and refocused after his recent bad luck and put together an accomplished performance so far this weekend. He will need to carry that on into the race tomorrow if he wants to fight for victory but he’s in a good place this weekend and reminding everyone just how good he is.

On Kimi’s side, missing FP1 took some track time away from him but P3 is still a solid result. It is easy to forget he is only in his second year and has an incredibly fast team-mate alongside him. His long run pace in FP2 was competitive so I am sure he will be looking forward to tomorrow.

It will be a long race tomorrow with high tyre degradation. Whilst we want to be leading the way into turn one, we know the Grand Prix can’t be won there but can be lost. We will need to look after the tyres well, hopefully have good pace, and see what we are racing for come the closing stages.

Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director

Well done to George and the team for another well-deserved pole. The car has been reasonably solid all weekend. From our running in practice, we'd expected McLaren to be the closest competitors however, from the early stages of the session it was clear that we had a fight on our hands with Ferrari.

Our run through the sessions was pretty straightforward. We got caught by the red flag in Q3 which gave us a few options for how to use the remaining eight or so minutes. We decided to reuse the tyres and carry the fuel for two attempts giving both cars a banker lap, which in George's case was good enough for provisional pole. The final runs were clean; P1 and P3 is not a bad place to start tomorrow. Our long runs looked competitive and we're expecting hot conditions so hopefully we can convert this qualifying into a strong race result tomorrow.

FP3 Result

Qualifying Result