Hamilton takes pole for Spanish GP

Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes will start Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix from the pole positon after edging Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari by 0.051 of a second in the final qualifying session at the Montmelo race track just outside of Barcelona.

Hamilton's fastest lap was one minute and 19.149 seconds, while Vettal's quickest circuit of the course was 1:19.200. It was a promising drive from the Englishman, whose car is carrying modifications in Barcelona after he finished off the podium in the Russian Grand Prix.

Hamilton's Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas and Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen will start from third and fourth place on the grid, ahead of the Red bull duo, Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo fifth and sixth.

There was a surprise in seventh place as Spain's Fernando Alonso gave the home fans something to cheer about after he recovered from the engine problems which saw him withdraw from Friday's first practice session.

Force India's Sergio Perez will start from eighth place on the grid with Felipe Massa of Williams ninth and Esteban Ocon of Force India tenth.