Spanish Grand Prix LIVE: Lewis Hamilton wins to retake F1 championship lead ahead of Valtteri Bottas

Welcome to The Independent's live coverage of today's Spanish Grand Prix, where Valtteri Bottas starts ahead of Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton in their battle for the 2019 championship. 

With the race set to get underway at 2:10pm, we'll bring you full coverage from 1pm.

Some early and not unexpected news in early as Nico Hulkenberg will start from the pit lane as a result of his qualifying shunt yesterday.

The Renault driver damaged his front wing in the accident, the only new-spec front wing that he has this weekend, and as a result he has been forced to change to the old-spec version under parc ferme rules, resulting inthe penalty being applied.

Nico Hulkenberg will start from the pit lane after crashing in qualifying 

Speaking of qualifying, let's take a look at how Saturday unfolded.

It started with a spin for Valtteri Bottas, but ended with a smile as he beat Hamilton to pole position. The Finn spun off in third practice, but recovered to set the pace with a lightning-fast lap time that was an incredible six-tenths faster than his Mercedes teammate. 

The jubilation for Mercedes was in complete contrast to Ferrari, who saw Charles Leclerc damage the floor of his car during Q2 that affected his running in Q3 and left him down in fifth behind Max Verstappen, while Sebastian Vettel could not rival the Mercedes as he took third.

Here's how qualifying played out:

40 minutes to go until lights out, which means the pits are just a few minutes away from opening and triggering the green light that will see the 10 team garages come to life.

The drivers have already completed the track parade, in which a slightly frosty Lewis Hamilton confirmed that Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has not had to remind the drivers of their responsibilities given what happened here between him and Nico Rosberg three years ago.

"We're professionals, we don't need to be told what to do."

Need a reminder about that eventful day in 2016? Not only did it trigger the rivalry between Hamilton and Rosberg, but it also brought the first career victory for Max Verstappen, who is neatly placed again today to take advantage of any shenanigans out in front.

A little bit of an early clash to report. The pits is open and a all of the drivers are using the few laps that they get to check all is well with the cars. As the grid is forming up, they use the pit lane to complete another lap and get a practice start in at the end, but it's at the start of pit lane where the drama is.

Hamilton comes round the final corner in the pits at normal race speed to find a cruising Vettel firmly in his way. Perhaps unaware that Hamilton is closing in at a rate of knots, Vettel crawls into the pits and Hamilton had to jam the brakes on to avoid running into the back of him. Given the race doesn't start for another half an hour, that was all a bit strange to see.

The grid is starting to take shape...

Max Verstappen has been very vocal in talking up Red Bull's chances of taking the fight to Ferrari, and the young Dutchman believes that the extra temperature today - in the baking Barcelona heat - should play in their favour. It could very easily turn into a two-way fight, with Vettell attempting to stay with the front two while also having to keep an eye on any attack from behind.

Two very special guests have been soaking up all of the attention on the grid, with PSG footballers Neymar and Dani Alves taking to the grid and everyone else desperate to get a word with them.

The drivers are all busy going through their final preparations after returning from the front of the grid for the national anthem. None of them are keen to get into the cockpit early and are taking as long as possible to stay in the shade, with al of them undoing their overalls and having ice and towels here, there and everywhere.

You don't need me to tell you it's going to be a hot one, and that's going to have a big impact on the degredation of the tyres that could well force a few one-stoppers into a two-stop strategy.