George Russell takes Barcelona pole after Leclerc crash in Q3
NXTbets Pro | Published On: June 14, 2026
Russell takes pole
George Russell took pole for the Barcelona Grand Prix qualifying session with a lap of 1:14.679. Russell earned his first pole since Australia. Lewis Hamilton qualified second, 0.064 seconds behind, giving the front row to the pair. Kimi Antonelli split the top two with a third-place time, leaving Lando Norris on the second row alongside Antonelli. Max Verstappen was fifth, with Isack Hadjar sixth and Oscar Piastri seventh. Liam Lawson slotted into eighth and Nico Hulkenberg ninth. The order through the top ten reflected a fast and tightly packed session where small margins decided starting slots. Russell’s lap set the benchmark and held, forcing the rest of the field to chase split seconds that they could not recover.
Leclerc crash in Q3
Charles Leclerc suffered a heavy crash in Q3 that prevented him from setting a time, so he will start 10th on the grid. Leclerc struck the Turn 5 barrier nose-first in Q3 and was able to walk away unharmed. The crash removed one of the likely front-row contenders from contention for pole and reshuffled the final running order for the top ten. Teams and drivers completed their final attempts with Leclerc out of contention, and the session finished with Russell on top and Hamilton second while the Ferrari driver settled for a place on the fourth row. The impact of the accident is clear on the starting grid and it will shape strategy for the race.
Stroll beats Alonso
Lance Stroll out-qualified Fernando Alonso in the opening segment for the first time in 42 race weekends, edging Alonso by 0.057 seconds in Q1. Both Aston Martin cars then failed to advance beyond the opening qualifying segment and will start from the last row of the grid. Alonso had suggested before qualifying that this might be his final Formula 1 appearance at the Barcelona circuit, an added weight to the team’s disappointing afternoon. The track is not scheduled to return to the Formula 1 calendar until 2028, which gives the result extra context for a driver who had signaled the venue’s uncertain future. The two Aston Martins will face a difficult recovery at the start, while other teams prepare to capitalize from higher starting positions.
