Lewis Hamilton said he “needed” the pole position that he earnedon Saturday afternoon in Barcelona.

Mercedes locked out the front row in Spain, with Valtteri Bottas qualifying in P2, just 0.04s behind the Brit, who unleashed the Silver Arrows’ power with a 1:16.173.

“I needed that pole,” said a relieved Hamilton.

I’ve not had pole for a while. It was very close but I’m very happy.”

“It’s important for me to get back into a good position in qualifying, it’s usually a strength of mine.”

The four-time World Champion believed that it could have easily have been Ferrari locking out the front row in Barcelona.