Sauber team boss Monisha Kaltenborn praised Pascal Wehrlein after the German scored his first points for the Swiss outfit at the Spanish Grand Prix.

The former Manor driver used an alternative one-stop strategy to move up 11 places from his starting position of 19th and, as a result, leave McLaren as the only team yet to finish in the points in 2017.

His best result in Formula 1 also comes after a difficult start to the season for the 22-year-old after missing the first three races recovering from a back injury sustained at the Race of Champions in January.

"Absolutely, he had to take so much criticism for what had happened, partly very unfair and then a lot of criticism coming out about his performance," Kaltenborn told Sky Sports when asked if he had shown character. "We know a lot of it was on the car of course, but he just I think he showed everyone today what we are capable of."

She also suggested that only by having a driver with the ability of Wehrlein, was Sauber able to optimise the path they took during the race.

"It was a risky strategy but our strategist did a very good job in spotting the things at the right time," Monisha said. "You also need the drivers for that to implement that [the strategy] so a very, very good result for us."

The former DTM champion was also delighted by the performance he put in, in Barcelona.

"I'm really happy about the race and how it went, we took a risky one-stop strategy but it worked out," Wehrlein said.

"I think the first stint was quite tough with the softs driving so long with the soft, and in the end it was really important to keep Sainz behind, who was obviously a lot quicker," he explained.

"But you know then to keep him behind and build a gap to the guys behind him, because I got the five-second penalty and I knew that I have to make a gap to the other guys behind him, otherwise we lose a very strong race."

Lewis Hamilton laid down a marker in this year's championship battle, beating Sebastian Vettel in a head-to-head fight in a Spanish Grand Prix classic.

The Briton lost the lead to the Ferrari driver at the start, but, using an alternative strategy, was able to re-pass the German into Turn 1 after a Virtual Safety Car brought the pair back together on track.

Tyre choice proved crucial as Hamilton decided to stay out much longer than Vettel in the opening stint, with the likelihood being the Mercedes on a two-stop plan with the Ferrari on a three. A decision to use the slower medium compound in the second stint also paid off for the three-time world champion, as he switched back to the soft rubber as the VSC was ending, a lap earlier than Vettel who had to use the slower tyre.

That meant when the two were side-by-side as the Ferrari exited the pits, though Sebastian was able to strongly hold off the first attack from Hamilton, the extra grip and DRS saw the Mercedes ease ahead into Turn 1 before maintaining a gap to the Prancing Horse a claim his second win of the season.

It was a race of attrition behind, as Daniel Ricciardo emerged in third for Red Bull. That followed his team-mate Max Verstappen and Kimi Raikkonen being eliminated at the first corner on Lap 1, as the second Ferrari was hit by Valtteri Bottas on the inside, sending his countryman into the Dutchman and damaging both their front suspensions.

Bottas was able to continue, indeed holding up Vettel briefly after his first pit-stop, but an old engine that had to be used due to a problem on Saturday morning finally failed in its fifth straight race.

With half of the top six cars out, that allowed the midfield teams the opportunity to score some solid points. Once again it was Force India who fully capitalised with Sergio Perez fourth and Esteban Ocon fifth, further cementing their grip on fourth in the Constructors' championship as Williams failed to score.

Nico Hulkenberg made up for a disappointing qualifying to claim sixth for Renault and Toro Rosso had their best race of the season with local favourite Carlos Sainz moving up to seventh and Daniil Kvyat making the most places of anyone on the day, finishing ninth from 19th on the grid.

In between them, Pascal Wehrlein scored crucial points for Sauber, leaving McLaren bottom of the teams' standings. The German did finish seventh on track but a five-second penalty for entering the pit-lane on the wrong side of the bollard dropped him behind the Spaniard. 

Completing the top 10 was Romain Grosjean for Haas, but it almost a lot better for the American team as Kevin Magnussen ran ninth before a puncture, gained trying to pass Kvyat, forced the Dane to pit on the penultimate lap and sending him out the points.

It also promoted Marcus Ericsson to 11th with Fernando Alonso in 12th, as his hope for points was ruined by a collision with Felipe Massa in Turn 2 on the opening lap. The Brazilian would also be involved in the incident that caused the pivotal VSC, as Stoffel Vandoorne hit the side of him at Turn 1 leaving the Belgian in the gravel, en route to 13th.

Jolyon Palmer and Lance Stroll would complete the finishers in 15th and 16th respectively, behind the aforementioned Magnussen.

In the championship, Hamilton closed the gap to Vettel back to just six points, in the Constructors' too Mercedes increased their lead to eight points heading into the Monaco Grand Prix in two weeks time.

Fernando Alonso acknowledged maintaining his top 10 start at the Spanish Grand Prix would have been very difficult even without his first lap incident.

The double Formula 1 world champion grabbed all the headlines after claiming seventh in qualifying for his home race in Barcelona, but an off into the gravel at Turn 2 on the opening lap dropped him outside the points as he and Felipe Massa were caught out by the damaged Ferrari and Red Bull ahead.

Looking back on what happened, Alonso admitted: "The cars in front were making contact and I took a risk.

"Maybe I could have stayed behind but I had nothing to lose so I tried to go around the outside knowing that maybe he wouldn't see me."

In his defence, the 35-year-old pointed to the ongoing performance issues of the McLaren-Honda package adding: "Even without that I think that with our speed on the straights sooner or later you start to drop down.

"Your rivals prepare it little by little and at one point it's impossible to defend or impossible to attack.”

One back behind many of the fastest midfield teams, Alonso conceded the dream of his first points of the season was merely that.

"In terms of race pace we knew we couldn't match the cars in front and even if we had it we lost all our chances behind Kvyat after the pitstop," he claimed.

"We can't pass on the straight so we stayed behind him and from there the race was more complicated."

Fernando Alonso is hoping to secure his first finish and first points of the 2017 season, after claiming a remarkable seventh place on the grid for the Spanish Grand Prix.

The local hero shocked everyone on Saturday, not only making Q3 but finishing at the front of the midfield battle, ahead of the two Force India's and the Williams of Felipe Massa.

Though 10th place in final practice had hinted at some decent raw pace in the McLaren, even the Spaniard admitted it was beyond his best expectations.

“I think yesterday we saw the car had some potential, the upgrades were working OK so I remained optimistic, maybe not as optimistic as seventh but I think it was a good day,” Alonso said somewhat understatedly.

“In a way, it is a surprise (to claim seventh), we qualified 13th as the highest this year so yesterday was very wrong from the beginning, so today being here in Q3 was a surprise.

“Happy for that, happy for the team, changing the power units every day basically, let’s enjoy and prepare for tomorrow, hopefully get some points!"

What made the result even more surprising was the difficulties the double world champion had on Friday, when his Honda engine failed after just two corners in the morning and he ran a reduced program in the afternoon as the repair ran a little long.

“It is one of those days where everything goes right and meets the expectations higher than anybody expected," Alonso conceded trying to explain the turnaround.

“I think we felt confident with the car, even yesterday, but we had strange sessions with the failure in FP1 and a short run in FP2 but we remained optimistic.

“Today we put everything together, we felt confident but the car was performing quite well and giving me the confidence that gained me these extra tenths.

“The support from the people in this place give me two or three tenths, so it was enough to be P7.”

Indeed, after achieving his best qualifying position since Hungary last year, the Spaniard does think he can not only finish his first race this year but stay in the top 10.

“They extended the DRS today! [But] It is a track that it is very difficult to follow so if we can keep this position I think points are a real possibility,” he concluded.

Sebastian Vettel conceded there was nothing more he could have done to stop championship rival Lewis Hamilton from winning in Spain.

The two men went wheel-to-wheel for the first time this season at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, but ultimately better tyre strategy and pit-stop timing proved decisive in the Mercedes' favour.

Their race-long duel developed after the Ferrari driver was able to get the jump on the Briton having started second on the grid.

"I had a very good start, I think Lewis and myself both picked up wheel spin straightaway," Vettel said.

"Then I picked up the clutch again and then I could gain on him, I was really happy with that, the run to Turn 1 was quite long but I managed to stay ahead.

"I settled into a nice rhythm, it was fine, obviously Lewis stayed out longer and did the opposite, mirrored the strategy, I knew at the end it would be crucial.”

A mid-race Virtual Safety Car also benefitted Hamilton, as he lost less time when he pitted for the second time, that meant when Vettel pitted a lap later, the two men were side-by-side as the German rejoined the racetrack.

"I was a bit surprised when I came out, it was so close,” the former Red Bull driver admitted.

"I tried to brake as late as possible in Turn 1 and locked up, and I don't know if we touched, I managed to stay ahead, so it was really close.

"Then I was doing all I could to stay in front, I was a bit lucky as there was a car in front giving me a tow [for several laps], then I was alone and he flew past.

"It was a shame, we tried to stay in the race, well done to him, we did everything we could.”

After the Mercedes breezed ahead with DRS "like a train" as Vettel described it, an additional stop was considered with the 29-year-old revealing: "We weren't sure, there was a big conversation, trying to do something, we were hoping Lewis would maybe struggle with tyres at the end.

"Normally at the end of the race the track picks up the rubber and the tyres last very long so he didn't have any problems, we tried to keep pushing and stay close but we never close enough," he concluded.

Sebastian Vettel described both his Ferrari car and team as "phenomenal" after taking second on the grid for the Spanish Grand Prix.

The German driver had several heart-in-mouth moments on Saturday as a failure at the end of practice required an engine change ahead of qualifying, then on his first flying lap in Q1, the team asked him to stop the car which would have resulted in starting last. 

However, the decision of Vettel to continue, later revealing he couldn't find a good place to stop so decided to carry on, later saw the issue clear and him able to eventually just miss out on pole by 0.051s from Lewis Hamilton in Q3. 

“I have to say the team did a phenomenal job,” Vettel said. “We’re quite surprised, had the issue this morning and had to change the engine and normally that’s plus 3 hours job if you’re rushing. I don’t know how they managed, they did it in sub-2 hours.

“Really a big thank you to them, also Kimi’s crew helped out so quite thankful and quite funny at one point when one car on one side of the garage was one or two mechanics, while the other one was completely crowded like bees hovering around the car so I think great effort so big thanks.”

After a lack of pace on Friday, the four-time world champion also heralded the performance of his SF70-H after a small mistake in the final sector arguably cost him the top spot.

“I think we could’ve had pole today so not the ideal end but considering where we were this morning and yesterday, I wasn’t happy with the car balance at all and today it was phenomenal,” he said.

“I felt yesterday that it was in the car, but I just couldn’t get to it but today was really a pleasure especially in the first two sectors.

“Conditions were tricky with the wind, never easy and not knowing what to expect, and I think I was caught out a bit in the last sector.”

In recent races, starting on the inside of the grid, as Vettel will on Sunday, has proved a disadvantage. Yet, despite the added factor of a run 700+ metre run to the first corner, the Scuderia driver seemed less concerned about losing positions.

“Yeah, you need a perfect start. As simple as that,” the 29-year-old admitted. “It’s a long way but I think the great thing is that there won’t be much difference (between the two sides of the grid) with all the racing series this weekend.

“You have Porsche, GP2, GP3... Sorry F2, so usually they put a lot of rubber down everywhere so I don’t think that’s a disadvantage, and as I said you need to get everything right, that’s the best way to attack and defend.”

Jenson Button has revealed he may still return to Formula 1 full-time in 2018, as the 2009 world champion prepares for an appearance in the upcoming Monaco Grand Prix.

The Briton will replace Fernando Alonso at McLaren, as the Spaniard takes on the Indy 500, participating in a race he won eight years ago for Brawn GP.

Looking ahead to the event on the streets of the Principality, he told the Daily Mail: "I am thinking of Monaco as my only race this year.

"Obviously if I am asked again at another point in the year I am here to fill that seat. But I am not going to go out of my way to ask to drive because the whole idea was not to."

In fact, Button admits he had to decline numerous offers to race, as he enjoys what could only be a year away from the F1 circus he first joined back in 2000.

"I had so many options to race this year it is hilarious. That even went into this year with two different teams asking me to race. I have no interest in doing that."

As for a potential comeback next year, however, the 37-year-old said: "I can't rule it out.

"I have a contract with the team to race next year so I would definitely not rule anything out."

Much will depend on what Alonso decides to do for 2018, with the Spaniard claiming he would be open to talks with other teams if McLaren's ongoing problems with Honda continue.

Lewis Hamilton has claimed pole position for the Spanish Grand Prix, just holding off Sebastian Vettel in an exciting qualifying session.

The three-time Formula 1 champion set a 1m19.149s on his first run in Q3 and it proved just enough as the German fell 0.051s shy on his last run.

It was almost very different, however, as, at the start of the session as on his first flying lap, the team asked Vettel to stop after a loss of power from the engine. That would have meant starting at the back of the grid, but the four-time champion questioned the radio message and his decision to carry on at a reduced speed would be vindicated as the problem cleared and he was able to resume.

Valtteri Bottas was left to rue a few small errors on both his runs in the final shootout in third and Kimi Raikkonen once again wasn't quite able to convert strong practice form into a strong qualifying claiming fourth.

Red Bull showed they have made progress in Barcelona as Max Verstappen was still only fifth, but less than six tenths slower than the pole time. Daniel Ricciardo struggled, however, half a second down on his team-mate in sixth.

A major surprise at the head of the midfield as Fernando Alonso produced two wonderful laps to firstly make Q3 and then claim seventh for McLaren at his home race, comfortably the best result of the British team's season so far.

The two Force India's also improved from practice as Sergio Perez claimed eighth and Esteban Ocon 10th with the Williams of Felipe Massa maintaining his consistent qualifying performances this season in between in ninth.

Outside the top 10, Kevin Magnussen put Haas close but not close enough in 11th, while his team-mate Romain Grosjean did look to have the pace to make Q3 but ran wide at Turn 13 ruining his lap and leaving him down in 14th.

Carlos Sainz wasn't able to maintain his practice form but will start his home Grand Prix from 12th, with Nico Hulkenberg very disappointed to end a strong run of qualifying results only 13th in the Renault.

Pascal Wehrlein was able to beat team-mate Marcus Ericsson by just five-thousandths of a second in Q1 and will start 15th. Jolyon Palmer was also struggling in the second Renault down in 17th, as Lance Stroll was unable to maintain enough grip in his rear tyres throughout the lap and was only 18th.

Stoffel Vandoorne remains the driver to have been eliminated early in every session so far in 19th with Daniil Kvyat the surprise name at the very back of the grid for Toro Rosso.

Spanish Grand Prix winner Lewis Hamilton believes his battle with Sebastian Vettel in Barcelona was Formula 1 "as it should be".

The two main championship rivals went wheel-to-wheel on track for the first time this year on Sunday, with the Briton able to use a faster tyre strategy to make the race-deciding move into Turn 1.

Hamilton, as his almost breathless radio messages often suggested, admitted his triumph in Spain was one of the toughest, yet most satisfying yet.

"Seb was so fast ahead, it was such a push to try to keep close to him and not let him pull away," he said about the early laps.

"It was just the rawest fight I can remember having for some time, which I loved.

"This is what the sport needs to be every single race and this is why I race and what got me into racing. To have those close battles with him, a four-time champion is awesome.”

Initially, Hamilton called Vettel out on the radio when the two battled for the first time, claiming his very aggressive defence was "dangerous". However, in reflection, the 32-year-old played down the rubbing of wheels between the Mercedes and Ferrari

"In the end, we came out so close together, which was very, very close into Turn 1,” he said.

"I gave Vettel space otherwise we would have touched. It was close, it was cool.

"In the heat of the moment it's difficult to know from the outside, I felt like I ran out of road but was alongside. But it was how racing should be - I love it, I wouldn't change it for the world," he added.

In thanking his team for their race management, Hamilton did reveal some scepticism after the final stop.

"The team did a great job with the strategy," he said. This is one of the hardest races to keep up with him (Vettel), he drove fantastically well so it's such a privilege to race against him.

"The last stint, 25 laps, when they told me they [the tyres] had to do that I didn't think... I thought at the end of the stint he would come back but we managed it.

"These guys [Ferrari] have done a phenomenal job, the pace they have, it is close between us."

Kimi Raikkonen set the pace heading into qualifying at the Spanish Grand Prix, leading a Ferrari 1-2 at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

The 'Iceman' posted a 1m20.214s on the soft compound tyres in the final low fuel run, almost a quarter of a second faster than team-mate Sebastian Vettel.

The German's session ended on a sour note, however, as he stopped in the pit-lane heading out for another run with his mechanics now in a rush to complete a "precautionary" engine change ahead of qualifying.

After dominating Friday, Lewis Hamilton had to settle for third in final practice. He's looking strong compared to team-mate Valtteri Bottas, however, who missed much of the hour's running as Mercedes had to change back to the same engine that has completed the first four races following an issue with a fresh unit installed overnight. The Russian GP winner was able to complete a low fuel run at the end taking fourth.

One reason for the improvement by Ferrari could be a decision to dramatically reduce the minimum pressures set by tyre supplier Pirelli overnight after concerns over downforce levels went unfounded.

Behind, the two Red Bulls maintained fifth and sixth, with Max Verstappen again leading Daniel Ricciardo. The gap between them and the front did increase slightly compared to Friday to eight-tenths, but even if that was to be replicated in qualifying that would still mark some decent progress.

Nico Hulkenberg and Felipe Massa looks set for a battle to be best of the midfield, with the former Le Mans 24 Hours winner just ahead of the veteran Brazilian in seventh and eighth respectively.

Carlos Sainz moved up a place from Friday, finishing ninth for Toro Rosso, as fellow countryman Fernando Alonso gave the local fans hope in 10th for McLaren.

In the fight to make Q3, the two Haas' and two Force Indias were locked together with just over a tenth covering Grosjean, Magnussen, Perez and Ocon from P11 to P14.

Towards the back, Daniil Kvyat led the lead Sauber of Marcus Ericsson, with the second Williams of Lance Stroll also locked in a battle with a Renault, this time of Jolyon Palmer albeit in 17th and 18th.

After a strong Friday, Stoffel Vandoorne slipped down to 19th alongside Pascal Wehrlein on what would be the back row of the grid.