Lewis Hamilton secured his 35th career pole position, his fourth of the season so far and his first at the Spanish Grand Prix.
The Mercedes driver managed to put the lap in when it counted after team-mate Nico Rosberg topped both Q1 and Q2, but when it came down to the pole shootout in Q3, the Briton just pipped the German.
Rosberg’s lap gave Mercedes yet another front-row lock-out.
A closely fought battle behind for third saw Daniel Ricciardo come out on top for Red Bull, whilst Valtteri Bottas was fourth for Williams.
Lotus’s Romain Grosjean surprised with fifth, mounting a resurgence for the Enstone team. However team-mate Pastor Maldonado starts last after hitting the wall at turn three, bringing out the red flags in Q1.
Kimi Raikkonen outqualified Fernando Alonso for the first time in 2014, but only just. The Spaniard starts just behind in seventh, ahead of McLaren’s Jenson Button and Felipe Massa.
Sebastian Vettel meanwhile starts tenth after he too caused a red flag when his RB10 stopped on-track with a gearing issue.
Qualifying – 2014 Spanish Grand Prix
| # | Driver | Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | L. Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:27.238 | 1:26.210 | 1:25.232 |
| 02 | N. Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:26.764 | 1:26.088 | 1:25.400 |
| 03 | D. Ricciardo | Red Bull | 1:28.053 | 1:26.613 | 1:26.285 |
| 04 | V. Bottas | Williams | 1:28.198 | 1:27.563 | 1:26.632 |
| 05 | R. Grosjean | Lotus | 1:28.472 | 1:27.258 | 1:26.960 |
| 06 | K. Raikkonen | Ferrari | 1:28.308 | 1:27.335 | 1:27.104 |
| 07 | F. Alonso | Ferrari | 1:28.329 | 1:27.602 | 1:27.140 |
| 08 | J. Button | McLaren | 1:28.279 | 1:27.570 | 1:27.335 |
| 09 | F. Massa | Williams | 1:28.061 | 1:27.052 | 1:27.402 |
| 10 | S. Vettel | Red Bull | 1:27.958 | 1:27.052 | No Time |
| 11 | N. Hulkenberg | Force India | 1:28.155 | 1:27.685 | |
| 12 | S. Perez | Force India | 1:28.469 | 1:28.002 | |
| 13 | D. Kvyat | Toro Rosso | 1:28.074 | 1:28.039 | |
| 14 | E. Gutierrez | Sauber | 1:28.374 | 1:28.280 | |
| 15 | K. Magnussen | McLaren | 1:28.389 | No Time | |
| 16 | J. Vergne | Toro Rosso | 1:28.194 | No Time | |
| 17 | A. Sutil | Sauber | 1:28.563 | ||
| 18 | M. Chilton | Marussia | 1:29.586 | ||
| 19 | J. Bianchi | Marussia | 1:30.177 | ||
| 20 | M. Ericsson | Caterham | 1:30.312 | ||
| 21 | K. Kobayashi | Caterham | 1:30.375 | ||
| 22 | P. Maldonado | Lotus | No Time |
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