After a spin on his first lap in final qualifying, Charles Leclerc battled back to clinch pole for the Spanish Grand Prix.

The Ferrari driver put off an outstanding run, relegating Red Bull’s Max Verstappen to second place.

The world champion led the opening several laps but lost power on the penultimate lap, rendering him unable to keep up with Leclerc’s pace.

George Russell finished fourth, giving Mercedes their best finish of the season.

Lewis Hamilton was sixth fastest, behind Sergio Perez of Red Bull. In his home race, Carlos Sainz finished third in the second Ferrari.

Russell was 0.643 seconds off pole after modifications for this race propelled the team forward and minimized the aerodynamic bouncing that had plagued them all season.

Mercedes had looked more competitive throughout the weekend than they had in any other race this season, but they were unable to compete at the front, despite beating one vehicle from the top two teams.

Ferrari drivers and Verstappen, on the other hand, were out of reach, and Leclerc confirmed his reputation as F1’s qualifying king with his fourth pole position in six races.

When he spun nearing the final chicane on his first run in the top-10 shootout, he made things far more difficult for himself than they needed to be; his first lap had already put him in the lead.

If he was under any pressure, it did not show in his performance, and his final lap was outstanding.

“I feel good,” added Leclerc, who leads Verstappen in the title by 19 points.

“It was a very challenging session, especially in Q3, because I made a mistake in the first run and just had one lap remaining.”

“It went off without a hitch. I had a fleeting thought, but it stuck with me. It was a fantastic lap, and the car was even better, so I’m overjoyed.”

Verstappen, who has won the last two races, claimed he doesn’t know if he would have been able to beat Leclerc if his DRS overtaking aid had not failed to open on his penultimate run.

“Being on the front row is a nice performance,” he remarked, acknowledging that Red Bull had battled to find a balance in the car this weekend.

The top two were in a league of their own, as they had been for much of the season – Sainz was 0.416s behind his teammate in third.