This weekend marks round five of the 2019 Formula One season, with the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona. Mercedes have dominated the first four races and look set to do so again in Spain, while Ferrari's hopes a new engine could help them close the gap at the top failed to materialise. Sportsmail brought you all the news and updates as the grid unfolded on Saturday afternoon.<doc-sep>Bottas had the edge on Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton throughout qualifying, ending up a massive 0.634s quicker. None of the top four were able to improve their times on their second runs on soft Pirellis in Q3, ensuring Mercedes kept hold of the front-row lockout it had taken earlier in the final segment of qualifying. Sebastian Vettel was third and 0.866s off the pace, less than a tenth quicker than fourth-best Max Verstappen's Red Bull. Charles Leclerc only had one run in Q3 thanks to having to use two sets of soft Pirellis in Q2 after compromising his first run by running wide at Campsa – also picking up some minor floor damage. He put in two attempts on his one set of tyres, but ended up third and over two tenths slower than Verstappen – but ahead of the second Red Bull of Pierre Gasly. Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen made good on the promise the upgraded Haas showed in practice by taking seventh and eighth place, with Toro Rosso driver Daniil Kvyat ninth. Daniel Ricciardo was slowest of those in Q3 in 10th, although he must serve a three-place grid penalty for reversing into Kvyat in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix two weeks ago. Lando Norris was the best of those who didn't reach Q3 in 11th place after being bumped down a position by Leclerc's late improvement in Q2. Toro Rosso driver Alex Albon, like his teammate, only had one run on fresh softs in Q2 and ended up 12th after running wide at Turn 5. Carlos Sainz made an error on what should have been his quickest lap and ended up 13th ahead of the lead Alfa Romeo of Kimi Raikkonen and Racing Point's Sergio Perez. Nico Hulkenberg was the fastest of those eliminated in Q1 in 16th place, 19 thousandths slower than teammate Ricciardo. Hulkenberg crashed at the Turn 4 right hander on his first run before he set a time, but was able to recover to the pits despite crunching his front wing. He returned to the track in the closing stages and briefly lifted himself out of the drop zone with his first flying lap on the second set of options – although his pace was hindered by having switched to an older-spec front wing. But Raikkonen then improved to push him down to 16th, with Hulkenberg finding two-tenths on his second flier but not quite enough to escape. Racing Point's Lance Stroll was eliminated for the fifth time in five 2019 races in 17th place, two tenths faster than 18th quickest Antonio Giovinazzi's Alfa Romeo. George Russell won the intra-Williams battle for 19th place despite a spin at the chicane on his first run, outpacing Robert Kubica by 1.2s after the Pole failed to improve on his second run.<doc-sep>Valtteri Bottas emphatically laid waste the optimism Ferrari had brought to the Spanish Grand Prix with a pole position that left the Scuderia floundering in his wake. The Finnish driver’s commanding performance also meant his Mercedes teammate, Lewis Hamilton, who was second, had questions to answer of his own and the defending champion admitted he had to improve if he is to face the challenge Bottas is mounting for the world title. After a lacklustre 2018, with which he was very disappointed, the Finn is a driver seemingly reborn this season. He leads Hamilton by one point in the championship and this is his third pole in a row. With a time of 1min 15.406sec, he was six-tenths clear of Hamilton and eight-tenths in front of Sebastian Vettel’s Ferrari in third. Asked about his preparation leading up to the weekend, he revealed he had followed Finnish folklore and spent time in the forests of his homeland. “I think there has been research about it that it’s good for your brain,” he said. “Last week I spent a lot of time in the woods. It might sound crazy but it seems to work.” Indeed communing with nature is paying off as never before. Bottas’s ninth career pole position is his first in Spain and further reinforces the immensely strong start he has made. He has outscored Hamilton over the single lap now by three to one and, of the two in qualifying, appears the more comfortable with the car. Lewis Hamilton had to settle for second as Mercedes secured a front-row lockout of the grid. Photograph: Albert Gea/Reuters The pair have two wins apiece and have secured four consecutive one-two finishes for Mercedes. A fifth seems highly likely. “We have been doing a good job as a team with the direction we’ve been taking the car in,” Bottas said. “In terms of where to find the performance and how and so on, so we’ve done a really good job.” Ferrari, however, are reeling. Hamilton’s deficit to his teammate was down to an untidy lap on the final runs and he would have expected to be much closer. The Scuderia’s concerns cannot be so easily assuaged. Charles Leclerc in the second Ferrari was in fifth behind the Red Bull of Max Verstappen. Ferrari had brought an engine upgrade earlier than planned to this race plus aerodynamic improvements. A major step forward was hoped for but Mercedes brought their own raft of aero upgrades and have further increased their advantage. Vettel trails Bottas by 35 points, and Ferrari are 74 behind Mercedes. The Scuderia have proved strong on straightline speed but their car’s failing was exposed again at the Circuit de Catalunya. The Mercedes is superb on turn-in through the slower corners where Ferrari are losing chunks of time. The twisty final sector in Barcelona proved to be costing them dearly. Worse still, those upgrades do not appear to have delivered any major improvements in the areas that they desperately need them. Asked if he was surprised by the gap, Vettel replied: “Yes, of course. Coming here we did not expect it but we seemed to lose quite a big amount of time in the last sector. Definitely there is some homework to do. We know this track very well but today we were just not able to match them. “We lose time in the corners, in that last sector pretty much every corner. The car didn’t feel perfect, so that’s something we can improve, but we cannot carry as much speed through the corner as them.” Hamilton in turn was disappointed. He expected more and would have anticipated being far closer to his teammate. He has been given stern warning that Bottas is increasingly looking like his main rival this season and that the Finn is showing no sign of quietly succumbing to the five-time world champion. The difference between the two was a scruffy lap by Hamilton when the track conditions were best on their penultimate runs. The British driver failed to find the precision required through the corners of the final sector. “I think it’s about the whole weekend and it’s the feel that I have in the car,” he said. “I just need to work on it so I don’t think it’s really about my approach in qualifying particularly. But, of course, I’m looking at all solutions and I’ll get there eventually.” He will expect to improve and will be relentless in his pursuit of doing so just as Mercedes have been in recent years. No other team have taken pole in Spain since 2012. Ferrari’s hopes of breaking that run proved forlorn and their chances in the race look similarly slim. Hamilton will be in no mood to grant any quarter to his teammate, but this new Bottas looks equally determined and it is the Finn who starts with his nose in front in Barcelona. Red Bull’s Pierre Gasly was in sixth. The Haas cars of Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen were in seventh and eighth, with the Toro Rosso of Daniil Kvyat in ninth. Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo was in 10th place but will take a three-place grid penalty for causing a collision in Baku. His teammate Nico Hülkenberg hit the wall in Q1 and damaged his front wing and went out in 16th place. The McLaren’s of Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz were in 11th and 13th. Alexander Albon in the Toro Rosso was in 12th, with Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Räikkönen in 14th and Racing Point’s Sergio Pérez in 15th. George Russell crashed his Williams in FP3 and had to take a replacement gearbox for which he will receive a five-place grid penalty and will start at the back of the grid. His teammate Robert Kubica was in 20th. Lance Stroll in the Racing Point was in 17th in front of the Sauber of Antonio Giovinazzi.<doc-sep>1:36 Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas spins into the gravel at Turn Five during P3 of the Spainish GP. Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas spins into the gravel at Turn Five during P3 of the Spainish GP. Lewis Hamilton continued Mercedes' Spanish GP charge in final practice as he finished half a second ahead of the Ferraris, though team-mate Valtteri Bottas spun into the gravel. Mercedes have held an advantage over Ferrari all weekend in Barcelona but while Bottas topped both Friday sessions, Hamilton found his form in Practice Three as he set the pace with an impressive 1:16.568, which is just three tenths slower than the track record. Charles Leclerc was the fastest Ferrari in second place but 0.531s behind Hamilton, with Vettel a further tenth back in fourth. "That lap, half a second quicker, that's Lewis to a tee," said Sky F1's Jenson Button. "He could have a difficult P1, P2 but then he just brings it out when it matters. He's ready for qualifying now, he has that confidence. "A fantastic lap." But while Mercedes appear the favourites for qualifying, which starts at 2pm on Sky Sports F1, it wasn't all plain sailing for the world champions as Bottas beached his W10 in the Turn Five gravel. On his first out-lap of the session on medium tyres, Bottas lacked grip and lost control of his car, causing a red flag after reporting that he was "stuck". Fortunately for the championship leader his Mercedes avoided damage, and he returned to the track with 15 minutes remaining in the session. But while Bottas split the Ferraris in third, he will hope to be a lot closer to Hamilton in qualifying after finishing 0.555s behind his team-mate. 1:37 Williams driver George Russell has gone backwards into the barriers at Turn Four during P3 of the Spanish GP. Williams driver George Russell has gone backwards into the barriers at Turn Four during P3 of the Spanish GP. Haas ahead of Red Bull, Russell crashes The big surprise from the session was arguably Haas' performance. The US team, who lie eighth in the constructors' standings, finished fifth and sixth in final practice with Romain Grosjean, their lead car, just a few hundredths slower than Vettel in the Ferrari. Both Grosjean and team-mate Kevin Magnussen were ahead of Max Verstappen, and Red Bull have plenty of work to do before qualifying. Pierre Gasly was only 14th after a compromised lap. Alex Albon, Kimi Raikkonen and Carlos Sainz completed the top-10 for Toro Rosso, Alfa Romeo and McLaren respectively - hinting at an incredibly close midfield battle - while Renault could only manage 12th and 17th with Nico Hulkenberg and Daniel Ricciardo. Lando Norris needs a big improvement after finishing 18th in the other McLaren, only ahead of Williams, whose young driver George Russell prompted an early end to the session after smashing his car into the barriers with minutes remaining. That crash and damage has handed another problem to a team under pressure. Spanish GP Practice Three Timesheet Driver Team Time 1) Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:!6.568 2) Charles Leclerc Ferrari +0.531 3) Valtteri Bottas Mercedes +0.555 4) Sebastian Vettel Ferrari +0.604 5) Romain Grosjean Haas +0.624 6) Kevin Magnussen Haas +0.962 7) Max Verstappen Red Bull +0.990 8) Alexander Albon Toro Rosso +1.296 9) Kimi Raikkonen Alfa Romeo +1.401 10) Carlos Sainz McLaren +1.435 11) Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso +1.537 12) Nico Hulkenberg Renault +1.782 13) Sergio Perez Racing Point +2.088 14) Pierre Gasly Red Bull +2.125 15) Lance Stroll Racing Point +2.166 16) Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo +2.172 17) Daniel Ricciardo Renault +2.406 18) Lando Norris McLaren +2.439 19) George Russell Williams +2.853 20) Robert Kubica Williams +4.002 Watch the Spanish GP live only on Sky Sports F1 this weekend. Sunday's race starts at 2.10pm. Sky Sports is the home of live and exclusive F1. Find out more here to watch the 2019 season live<doc-sep>
Mercedes driver Hamilton enjoyed a commanding advantage over the chasing Ferraris in FP3, which ended under red flags when Russell lost the rear of his Williams at Turn 4 and ended up in the wall backwards after travelling through the gravel. That stopped three drivers – Red Bull's Pierre Gasly, Renault driver Nico Hulkenberg and McLaren's Lando Norris – completing a final new-tyre run and some from improving on a second flying lap on softs. However, it did nothing to impact the gap Hamilton had over the next-best driver, Charles Leclerc. Hamilton's eventual best was a 1m16.568s, more than half a second clear of the two Ferraris. Leclerc pipped Sebastian Vettel by 0.073s, a tiny margin that was still big enough for Valtteri Bottas to slot into and steal third from Vettel. Bottas's session started badly when he caused a seven-minute red flag by spinning on his out-lap at Turn 5 and beaching his car in the gravel. After the Mercedes was recovered Bottas did join the action but the Friday pacesetter ended up 0.555s slower than teammate Hamilton. Vettel, demoted to fourth by Bottas's improvement, had his own spin when he lost the rear mid-corner at the chicane early in the session. He ended up only a fraction faster than the leading Haas of Romain Grosjean as the American team challenged the established frontrunners in final practice. Grosjean believes Haas can "play" with Red Bull in Spain and his pace in FP3, 0.624s off the pace and within a tenth of both Ferraris and Bottas. Kevin Magnussen also got ahead of the two Red Bulls in the second Haas, lapping sixth fastest and 0.962s off the pace. Max Verstappen was Red Bull's leading man, partly thanks to Gasly being denied a final run. Verstappen was fractionally slower than Magnussen, 0.990s behind Hamilton, but encountered traffic in the final sector of his first lap on new tyres at the end of the session. Toro Rosso driver Alex Albon finished the session eighth, while Kimi Raikkonen's Alfa Romeo and the McLaren of Carlos Sainz completed the top 10.