Q1

The first part of qualifying began with George Russell eager to set the pace. The Mercedes driver was first out on track and looked strong, topping the timesheets halfway through the session.

As drivers completed their runs, it became clear who was in trouble. Both Haas cars, Zhou Guanyu, Williams’ Franco Colapinto, and Alpine’s Esteban Ocon were at risk.

In the end, Russell remained on top, but the focus of Q1 was on the battle to avoid an early exit.

Williams suffered a double elimination, with Alex Albon narrowly missing Q2 by just 0.026 seconds in 16th and Colapinto finishing 19th. Nico Hulkenberg also faced disappointment, qualifying 18th after a battery issue affected his run.

Red Bull’s Liam Lawson, who had impressed in the sprint qualifying yesterday, was also knocked out, while his teammate Yuki Tsunoda got through to Q2. Ocon finished last, rounding off a tough session for Alpine.

Q2

The second part was packed with action, starting with George Russell setting the fastest time early on. His 1:21.161 lap put him ahead of the field until Max Verstappen responded with a quicker 1:21.085.

Russell briefly reclaimed the top spot by the tiniest margin—just one-thousandth of a second—but Verstappen wasn’t done. The Red Bull driver struck back with an even faster lap to finish the session in first.

The battle for a spot in the top 10 was just as exciting. Kevin Magnussen held onto 10th place for most of the session, with Zhou Guanyu and Valtteri Bottas close behind. 

Zhou claimed Sauber’s best starting position of the year by qualifying 12th, ahead of Bottas in 13th. Pierre Gasly narrowly missed Q3, adding to Alpine’s frustrations with Ocon starting last. Meanwhile, Yuki Tsunoda and Lance Stroll rounded out the top 15, in P14 and P15, respectively.

There was also a small incident between Carlos Sainz and Lewis Hamilton in the pit lane, when the Ferrari driver was released from the garage straight in the way of the Briton, but no penalty.

Q3

George Russell started the last part off strong, setting the fastest time with a 1:20.575 lap. Verstappen joined the track late but quickly moved into second, just 0.045 seconds behind. 

Meanwhile, Lando Norris had trouble early, running into the gravel and abandoning a second attempt, leaving him with only one chance to set a competitive time.

In the final minutes, Verstappen delivered a strong lap to take pole by 0.055 seconds, while Russell couldn’t improve his time. However, there was some controversy as Verstappen is now under investigation for possibly slowing Russell down during his cooldown lap, leaving the final starting grid uncertain.

Norris managed to recover and take third place with his one and only flying lap, just ahead of teammate Oscar Piastri in fourth. Charles Leclerc finished fifth for Ferrari, followed by Lewis Hamilton in sixth.

Carlos Sainz ended the session in seventh, while Fernando Alonso delivered a good result for Aston Martin with eighth place.

Sergio Perez improved the qualifying pace and after a Q1 exit yesterday, he put his Red Bull in ninth place, while Kevin Magnussen completed the top 10.