Summary

  • Hamilton scores 100th career pole, Verstappen 2nd

  • Hamilton by far most successful, with Michael Schumacher second in all-time list with 68

  • Get involved #bbcf1

Live Reporting

Matthew Henry

  1. Hamilton loses time in the middle sector...

  2. It's a good first sector for Hamilton as he goes for his 100th pole.

  3. Here we go. Hamilton flies off down the straight to begin his final lap. Can he hold on to pole? Verstappen is right behind him.

    He leads from Verstappen and Bottas as it stands.

  4. There's not that long left - about 90 seconds - as cars complete an out lap. Max Verstappen is trying to move up the field.

  5. Jennie Gow
    BBC Radio 5 live pit-lane reporter

    It's all eyes now focused on this pole position run and this is why Formula 1 is so fascinating right now because it's not just a Lewis Hamilton whitewash, this is Hamilton v Verstappen v Bottas. All three could get pole, but only one of them can...

  6. Hamilton and Bottas emerge from the garage first. A chance to stamp their authority?

  7. Get Involved

    #bbcf1 or text 81111

    Nick Jenkin: Lewis will have to pull something special from the bag to get his 100th Pole here. Could happen.

  8. Five minutes remain. Everyone is back in the garage.

    The camera pans to a huge banner of Max Verstappen's face. He's going to have to do the business on his final run.

  9. This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on Twitter
    The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
    Skip twitter post

    Allow Twitter content?

    This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy and privacy policy before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

    The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.

  10. As it stands

    1. Hamilton
    2. Verstappen
    3. Bottas
    4. Ocon
    5. Sainz
    6. Ricciardo
    7. Leclerc
    8. Norris
    9. Alonso
    10. Perez

  11. Hamilton goes top

    Perez is out of the way in time for the others to get by.

    Hamilton does a 1:16.7... Verstappen can't beat it! It was close but not enough. 0.036 seconds in it.

  12. Jolyon Palmer
    Former Renault driver on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra

    Will that Perez spin affect any of the big three coming through? I don't think it will but it's neck and neck between them!

  13. At the back, Hamilton and Verstappen are within a few hundreds.

    But Sergio Perez has spun!

  14. Lando Norris, on a used set of softs, is first across the line on a flying lap. He drifts around the final corner.

    Charles Leclerc beats him, as does Carlos Sainz.

  15. Bottas, Hamilton and Verstappen emerge now.

  16. 'The character of the car is different'

    Alpha Tauri's Yuki Tsunoda, who starts 16th on the grid, to Sky Sports: "The tyre temperature was spot-on but the car is really slow compared to the other car. I don't know why it's slow, I think most of the car is slower than me.

    "The performance in this car is a concern - but it's always different compared to my team-mate. The character of the car is different to my team-mate, I don't know why I am struggling."

  17. Carlos Sainz leads the flurry of cars out. Hamilton and Verstappen sit and wait.

  18. Take a deep breath. This should be good.

  19. Final qualifying starts

    Ben Edwards on 5 Live Sports extra points out 27 of 30 races in Barcelona have been won from the front row.

    That's why this next few minutes matters.

  20. Lewis Hamilton is going for a 100th career pole remember. From what we've seen so far he's got a job on to beat Verstappen.