By Camille Lebez Leroy
Q1
Franco Colapinto was first to go out on track, quickly followed by Ocon and Bearman, all of them were on soft tyres. The track temperature were close to 47°C, the grip was kind of tricky which increased the number of track limits.
Stroll was the quickest for a few after putting a 1:13.699. After the top drivers came on the track, we saw Piastri setting a strong lap 0.248s ahead of his teammate, with Russell and Verstappen close behind.
Further down, Hulkenberg, Ocon, Sainz, Tsunoda, and Colapinto were in the threating zone. More than halfway through in the session Colapinto cause a pit lane traffic jam, which made things a bit chaotic.
In the last minutes, Bortoleto jumped to P8, while Lawson climbed to 7th. Colapinto had to stop his car on the side of the track due to some technical issues not allowing him to set a time to hope to be through Q1. After a mistake Sainz couldn’t finish his last lap and set a time.
Out in Q1: P16 Hulkenberg, P17 Ocon, P18 Sainz, P19 Colapinto, P20 Tsunoda
Q2
The second part of the qualifying session started with Albon, Bearman, and Alonso heading out first on used softs. Albon set the early benchmark with a 1:13.113, but the top drivers were still in the garages.
Verstappen looked strong setting a 1:12.358, but Norris went faster, and Piastri overtook them both with a 1:12.056. The McLarens were controlling everything once again.
Russell and Hamilton secured a place in the top five, while Bortoleto, Lawson, Albon, Stroll, and Bearman were at risk of missing out on Q3.
In the final laps, Stroll improved but only to 12th, which wasn’t enough. Antonelli, Gasly and Hadjar jumped into the top 10. Bearman, on the other side, being on used tyres couldn’t improve.
Out in Q2: P11 Albon, P12 Bortoleto, P13 Lawson, P14 Stroll, P15 Bearman
Q3
Q3 began quietly, with everyone waiting for the right moment. Track temps were still high around 48°C, which made the tyre management tricky.
Piastri was the first one to show his potential, and his lap was stunning. Russell couldn’t match his lap, and Verstappen was nearly half a second behind.
Then came Norris, right before starting his lap, his teammate slightly gave him a tow. Norris went ahead by just 0.017s in what promises to be a tight McLaren battle.
Leclerc slotted into fourth, just behind Russell, while Alonso used his only set of fresh tyres left to take P5. At that moment, Verstappen, Hamilton, and Antonelli followed, with Hadjar and Gasly were still yet to set their final laps.
In the final seconds, Norris went first but made a little mistake. He improved with a 1:11.755, but Piastri replied to him with an even better lap,two tenths faster, which was enough for him to claim the pole position.
P1 – Oscar Piastri
P2 – Lando Norris
P3 – Max Verstappen
P4 – George Russell
P5 – Lewis Hamilton
P6 – Kimi Antonelli
P7 – Charles Leclerc
P8 – Pierre Gasly
P9 – Isack Hadjar
P10 – Fernando Alonso
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