Nico Rosberg beats Lewis Hamilton to pole in the Spanish Grand Prix

It’s another Mercedes front row for the 2015 Spanish Grand Prix, but for the first time in 2015 it’s Nico Rosberg on pole and Lewis Hamilton in second place.

Yes, Mercedes has first and second places on the grid for tomorrow’s Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona, but for the first time in 2015 it’s not Lewis Hamilton on pole, with team mate Nico Rosberg beating Hamilton’s qualifying lap by 0.267 seconds. Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel is in third place and Williams Bottas in fourth.

Behind the top four, Carlos Sainz Jr gave his home crowd something to cheer about with a surprise fifth place for Toro Rosso, and team mate Max Verstappen grabbed sixth followed by the Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen, the Red Bull of Daniil Kvyat, the Williams of Felipe Massa and the Red Bull of Daniel Ricciardo rounding out the top ten starters.

Away from the top ten, McLaren managed to get in to Q2, but starting 13th and 14th, and with no real sign the promised performance improvements for Europe appearing, the chances of either Button or Alonso getting in to the points for the first time this year is slight.

It does look like the 2015 Spanish Grand Prix is likely to be another Mercedes procession at the front, but at least we have the prospect of Rosberg being harassed by Hamilton to break the potential monotony at the front.