Hamilton is still the fastest driver in F1
Or at the very least he's still the fastest driver at Mercedes.
As the world champion noted pointedly in the post-session press conference: "This is three out of three for me". Point taken - Lewis has claimed pole position whenever he has finished a qualifying hour this season.
This, though, was a bit special. After making a hash of his first run in Q3, Hamilton's second effort was sublime, wheel perfect and, to borrow the description of Sky F1 pundit Damon Hill, "epic".
For Rosberg, it must have been a particularly chastening afternoon given that, until Q2, he appeared to have the edge over his team-mate this weekend. Hamilton spoke after qualifying of "going step-by-step" following a difficult Practice One but his surge in the opening minutes of Q2 amounted to a crushing, astounding leap. In a session billed as the most important qualifying hour of the year so far, it may even have been the moment when the title tide turned this season.
Hamilton on pole as Red Bull shock Ferrari
Having been two tenths down on Rosberg in Q1, the astonishing lap of 1:22.159 Hamilton produced straight out of the Q2 traps was delivered without warning but with the maximum of intent. Left reeling by the mighty margin of six tenths, Rosberg had no answers. Hamilton's first flier in Q3 was heading to a similar margin of superiority before he made a mistake into Turn 10. Under pressure and with no further room for error, Hamilton's final effort - hailed as flawless by his admiring team - concluded affairs with a cushion of three tenths.
The worry for Rosberg must be that if Hamilton had already deposited his banker, he could easily have been over half a second clear on a track where familiarity ensures there is generally little or nothing between team-mates.
Ricciardo proves his mettle
"The star of that for me was Daniel Ricciardo. What an answer he had for the teenager Max Verstappen. Under pressure in P3, only had one set of tyres for Q3 and Ricciardo has delivered the perfect lap in response" - Martin Brundle.
Which begs the question: is Ricciardo the most under-rated driver in F1?
The pressure at Ferrari is becoming suffocating
Because a season which was going badly - relative to the expectation that they would be capable of challenging Mercedes for victories and world championships, at least - has just got a whole lot worse.
At best, Ferrari are merely in danger of being overtaken by Red Bull as the best of the rest. At worst, they already have been relegated to third and are poised to slip even further behind once Renault trial their upgraded B-spec engine next week in testing.
In the mitigation of under-pressure team boss Maurizo Arrivabene, it's eight years and counting since Ferrari last won a title in F1 - so it's hardly as if his year-and-a-bit tenure has heralded a sudden downturn in fortunes. The problem, however, is that his boss, Sergio Marchionne doesn't seem a man inclined to sympathise with excuses. Nor does it appear as if 'patience' is in Marchionne's vocabulary.
"I expect us to win shortly - starting with Spain," said the Ferrari president in midweek just days after reports in Italy broke that Arrivabene's position is in jeopardy. Read into that exactly what Marchionne wanted you to hear.
We shouldn't have to wait long for his thoughts on the team's latest setback either - Marchionne is expected to be in the paddock on Sunday for race day. Good luck with that, Maurizo.
Progress from McLaren
And now it's tangible, with the team reaching Q3 for the first time since reuniting with Honda. These are baby steps from a fallen superpower but, after coming to a complete standstill in 2015, McLaren are at last moving forward.
"We are making progress. We are definitely moving in the right direction," said Alonso. "All the upgrades in the car keep making us more competitive. But there is a long way to go because we are still far from pole position - this is just the first step."
Although McLaren will only continue to walk rather than run until Honda's power unit finally reaches approximate parity to those of Mercedes, Renault and Ferrari, it's not inconceivable that McLaren, a team still boasting very deep pockets, could finish the year as the fourth-fastest outfit. While Ferrari remain at least half a second up the road, Alonso clambered into Q3 with the lead cars of Toro Rosso, Williams and Force India less than two tenths ahead.
Watch the Spanish GP live on Sky Sports F1. The race starts at 1pm on Sunday, with build-up underway at 11.30am. Or watch the race without a contract for £6.99 on NOW TV.