Lance Stroll breaks shocking two-year long record at Barcelona Grand Prix

Barcelona will see an all-British front row for the start of the Catalunya Grand Prix as George Russell managed to pip Lewis Hamilton to pole after being the fastest driver in qualifying.

World Championship leader Kimi Antonelli could only secure a spot in third for the start of the Grand Prix, while the current holder of the title, Lando Norris, could secure a starting position from fourth on the grid for the Grand Prix.

The final qualifying stage was not without incident, as Charles Leclerc crashed on his first lap in the final session and will start 10th.

Russell will be desperate to close the gap in the World Championship battle with his Mercedes teammate after he fell 68 points behind Antonelli after a difficult race in Monaco, so a win in Barcelona will be crucial in his season’s ambitions.

Mercedes driver George Russell at the Canadian Grand Prix.

While all eyes will have been on those names fighting to secure a place at the front of the grid for the start of the Barcelona Grand Prix, there were drivers fighting for personal pride in some teams that have struggled this season.

One of those included those drivers for Aston Martin and Cadillac, with these two constructors having battles between their teammates for much of the season as they have struggled to battle against those at the front.

For one of these four drivers, he will be happy to have ended a two-year-long streak in Barcelona, as Lance Stroll managed to outperform Fernando Alonso for the first time since Silverstone, 2024.

It was not a vintage performance for either Aston Martin driver as they finished right at the bottom of the qualifying times, as the Canadian finished 21st and the Spaniard 22nd.

However, it is understood the car has not been at the standard needed for them to compete at the front, so Stroll will be pleased he could end this losing streak to Alonso in qualifying, and he will aim to build off this for the rest of the season.

Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso pictured (Image: Getty)

Stroll’s victory over Alonso in this battle between teammates has brought to an end the third-longest qualifying win streak for the Spaniard.

The other two streaks had seen Michael Schumacher beat his various teammates between 1992 and 1995, having gone to 56 qualifying events, finishing above his rival in the same constructor garage.

Meanwhile, the only other one above Alonso’s fine performance against Stroll is Ayrton Senna managing to outperform various teammates for 44 races between 1985 and 1988.