Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix LIVE! Latest updates as George Russell looks to close championship gap to Kimi Antonelli
Multiple Authors
Open Extended Reactions
Mercedes’ George Russell will be looking to close the gap in the world championship to teammate and title leader Kimi Antonelli with a victory from pole at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix.
Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton qualified second and will be targeting his first victory with Ferrari, while Antonelli starts third on the grid.
– Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix 2026: Race start time, how to watch, full schedule, predictions
– Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix: George Russell ‘feels like old self’ after commanding pole
Russell last won a grand prix at the season opener in Australia and has been dealt a run of bad luck in the last few races. The Brit is currently third in the drivers’ championship — 68 points behind Antonelli.
The Brit has been quick all weekend and put in a statement lap to qualify in pole position on Saturday.
In the post-qualifying interview he expressed that he felt “like his old self again,” while Hamilton warned the “fight was on” for Sunday’s grand prix.
Charles Leclerc in the other Ferrari crashed during his first run in the last session of qualifying and said he felt “ashamed.”
