Spanish Grand Prix 2017 Qualifying: Saturday's F1 Results, Times, Final Grid

Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton will begin Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix in pole position after a gripping qualifying battle with Ferrari.

Hamilton posted a searing one minute, 19.149 seconds on his first run in Q3, and while Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel, who will start second, and Mercedes man Valtteri Bottas, who was third quickest, sought to hunt him down in the latter stages, the three-time world champion did enough.

Kimi Raikkonen, who had topped the timesheets in final practice earlier in the day, will begin the race in fourth.

Meanwhile, Fernando Alonso produced the performance of the day, driving his problematic McLaren into seventh.

Here's a look at how the action played out on Saturday in Barcelona.

Qualifying Recap

Here's how it's shaping up for Sunday's race after an absorbing day's qualifying:

There were few surprises in the first two sessions, with the usual suspects dropping out early on. However, there was one driver who started Q3 that nobody would have anticipated making it through earlier in the week.

It was to the delight of the home crowd, too, as Spaniard Alonso somehow hauled the troublesome McLaren through the first two sessions. By contrast, his team-mate Stoffel Vandoorne was only able to finish in 19th.

What was even more remarkable from Alonso was his efforts in Q3, as he put his McLaren in seventh on the grid for the race.

F1 journalist Matt Gallagher hailed the talents of the Spaniard after his stunning display:

"Maybe it was at the oval I learnt how to go quick on the straights," he said afterwards, referencing his recent stint practising for an upcoming IndyCar appearance, per BBC Sport. "P7 is a gift and we will see what we can do tomorrow."

Mark Thompson/Getty Images

There was action at the very top of the standings, too, as Hamilton set a superb early marker in Q3.

Having been a little erratic in the morning runs, the Mercedes man was sensational when it mattered most, moving to the top of the standings ahead of Bottas with a brilliant lap.

Still, it was a marker that was there to be shot at, and with another set of hot laps to come, there was tension aplenty among the fans at the Circuit de Catalunya.

Mark Thompson/Getty Images

Bottas was unable to improve on his time, and neither was his team-mate, leaving the two Mercedes men at the mercy of the razor-sharp Ferraris, who were further back on track. However, Vettel was only good enough for second, with Raikkonen behind him in fourth spot.

With two Mercedes' on one side of the track and two Ferraris on the other, we're set for a fascinating beginning to Sunday's showpiece.

FP3 Recap

Here are the standings following the conclusion of final practice:

After an upgraded Mercedes helped Hamilton top both practice sessions on Friday, all eyes were on the Silver Arrows on Saturday morning. But it was only the Brit who took to the circuit, with Bottas nowhere to be seen as FP3 got under way.

The team's Twitter account revealed the Finn had an "electrical fault" and then a "small water leak," yet they remained hopeful he would take part:

The top of the leaderboard was occupied by the red of Ferrari, with Raikkonen leading Vettel after a stint on the medium tyres. But as the session wore on, the times started to tumble.

Hamilton split the Ferrari duo with his first run on the medium compound. When the soft tyres were donned, Raikkonen had extended his lead at the top of standings. Vettel had also usurped the Mercedes to retake second place.

Dan Istitene/Getty Images

As the session came to a close, the drivers looked to get another fast lap under their belt, although Vettel's FP3 came to a premature end, as his Ferrari stopped in the pits as he sought to exit. It meant he sat out the final seven minutes.

Meanwhile, as we can see below, courtesy of the F1 Twitter account, Ferrari were dominating in all areas of the track:

Mercedes did eventually get Bottas out for the latter stages of the session, and he jumped up into fourth with his first hot lap. However, he was unable to trouble the top three on subsequent runs, with Ferrari setting an ominous pace ahead of qualifying.