Hamilton wins Merc shootout

Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg both shaved an extra second off their quickest times late in the shootout for pole position on Sunday - leaving the rest of the pack far in their wake. Briton Lewis Hamilton again pipped his German teammate to the top spot on the grid. Qualifying is often key in Spain, a twisty track where overtaking can be tricky and where the long run into turn one off the line can be crucial.

Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo was again closest to the dominant Silver Arrows, securing third on the grid for Sunday's race. Having looked close to the Mercedes duo for most of the session, Ricciardo was suddenly left a full second adrift when Rosberg and Hamilton revealed their true pace.

Defending champ Sebastian Vettel in the other Red Bull stopped on track early in the decisive third segment of qualifying. Unable to set a time in the top 10 shootout for pole, Vettel will start tenth on Sunday.

Valtteri Bottas put his Williams on the second row of the grid, ahead of Romain Grosjean in fifth for Lotus. The Lotus team have had a miserable season to date, with Saturday's session easily their most promising of the campaign.

Hülkenberg and Sutil miss out

The Ferraris of Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso will start sixth and seventh, with 2009 champion Jenson Button keeping Alonso company on the fourth row of the grid.

Felipe Massa put the second Williams ninth on the grid, to start alongside Vettel on Sunday.

German charger Nico Hülkenberg unusually missed the cut for the top 10, the Force India lead driver lines up 11th. Adrian Sutil was eliminated in the earliest third of qualifying, managing just 17th spot on the grid.

Either Hamilton or Rosberg have qualified and finished first for every F1 race of the season so far. Presuming their cars remain reliable on Sunday afternoon, an all-silver shootout for the win at the Spanish Grand Prix appears likely too.