By Camille Lebez Leroy
Q1:
Qualifying began with a long queue at the end of the pit lane, mostly due to the track length, but also pressure over possible rain coming. And before anyone had even set a lap, drama happened.
Alonso was going down the fast lane when Haas released Bearman into his path. The Spaniard braked to avoid contact, but after investigation, no action was taken by the stewards. Meanwhile, Hülkenberg was clipped by Stroll as the Aston Martin tried to squeeze past. That incident damaged the German’s front wing.
On track, Colapinto was the only one with medium tyres, the rest with used soft tyres. With thirteen minutes to go, Verstappen, Bortoleto, Antonelli, Tsunoda, Hülkenberg, Lawson, and Russell all decided to put on fresh tyres.
Sainz aborted one of his laps early, while Piastri went first with a 1:41.998, just ahead of his teammate. Few other drivers had to abort their laps, including Colapinto and Hamilton, suggesting setup issues; Red Bull, for instance, were seen adjusting rear downforce.
Verstappen put himself in second position right behind the McLarens. Lawson then went quickest, before Sainz and Leclerc exchanged fastest times. Bearman impressed by coming fifth on used tyres, while Norris set a lap six tenths faster than the top.
Piastri picked up second position, which made his teammate beat him on pace for the first time this weekend. With three minutes to go, the drop zone was made of Russell, Stroll, Colapinto, Antonelli, and Bortoleto.
Verstappen secured third, but Antonelli only managed 12th. Russell went up to eighth, knocking out Stroll. Alonso couldn’t start a final run and dropped to 17th. Bortoleto and Tsunoda saved themselves while eliminating Antonelli.
Colapinto tried to improve, but unfortunately, it wasn’t enough. Then came the final twist: Hamilton’s last lap was deleted for track limits. He was out.
Eliminated in Q1:
16th – Lewis Hamilton
17th – Franco Colapinto
18th – Kimi Antonelli
19th – Fernando Alonso
20th – Lance Stroll
Q2:
As Q2 began, Verstappen led the pack out, with Piastri, Norris, and Russell, they were all on new C4S. Sainz was the only one to start on used tyres.
Red Bull had changed their rear wing in order to get a higher downforce, exchanging top speed for better cornering, a move that is supposed to improve race-day performance, especially if rain comes.
Verstappen was the first one to set a lap, a 1:40.951, but Piastri immediately beat it by three tenths. Norris followed, coming in between the two drivers, a tenth behind his teammate. Leclerc put his Ferrari fourth, between the Red Bulls, while Russell could only manage a 6th position. On the other hand, Bearman suffered a wild moment after taking too much kerb.
With six minutes left, most drivers returned to the garage to put on fresh tyres ahead of a final push. The drop zone was made of Hulkenberg, Bortoleto, Gasly, Sainz, and Bearman, who still had not secured a time.
As everyone headed back out with four minutes to go, traffic chaos happened. A Racing Bulls car jumped in front of Piastri, and Russell tried a risky move in the pit lane. Tsunoda, the last driver out, had to hustle just to make the line.
On the final laps, Gasly went first with a decent sector one. Bortoleto followed and jumped up to seventh. Russell went purple early but faded late, finishing sixth. Sainz couldn’t improve and dropped out in 14th. Gasly’s earlier time left him 11th, outqualified by Lawson, who snuck into eighth position.
Albon moved up to 10th after the chequered flag. Ocon only managed 11th, Bearman 12th.
Eliminated in Q2:
11th – Esteban Ocon
12th – Ollie Bearman
13th – Pierre Gasly
14th – Nico Hülkenberg
15th – Carlos Sainz
Q3:
Russell was first out on track in the last part of this qualifying session with fresh tyres on, followed by Verstappen on used rubber.
As the laps started, it was Russell who set the first time with a 1:41.540. Verstappen quickly beat him by nearly half a second, even though he was on used tyres. Leclerc jumped between the two latest.
Then came the McLarens. Piastri went three tenths quicker than Verstappen, but Norris beat his teammate by two tenths to take provisional pole.
Further back, Bortoleto lost his lap due to track limits, and Albon had a moment going into the gravel.
With three minutes left, the final runs began. Verstappen was first out with new tyres on. Norris, Piastri, Russell, and Hadjar were also on fresh sets.
Verstappen improved but could only go third. Norris improved his first two sectors but couldn’t go faster on his final attempt. Piastri improved, but not enough to beat his teammate. Leclerc jumped Verstappen to take third.
And right at the end, Albon delivered an amazing lap, allowing him to get fifth place.
Top 10:
Pole: Lando Norris
2nd: Oscar Piastri
3rd: Charles Leclerc
4th: Max Verstappen
5th: Alex Albon
6th: Georges Russell
7th: Yuki Tsunoda
8th: Isack Hadjar
9th: Liam Lawson
10th: Gabriel Bortoleto
WHEEL2WHEEL REPORTS 