Q1
Esteban Ocon set the first time on a 1:32.645, ahead of Bottas, Gasly and Zhou.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc quickly beat that, popping in a 1:30.896. The driver who has looked unbeatable all weekend, Lando Norris, logged a 1:30.724 to beat that soon after. Oscar Piastri slotted into P3, 0.244s adrift, with Carlos Sainz 0.020s away from that. o
On his first flier, Max Verstappen put in a 1:30.854 to go P2, 0.130s behind his title rival. Nico Hülkenberg did a superb lap, moving up to P5.
Sainz, Verstappen, Leclerc and Colapinto all had various slides and moments but carried on without any issues.
Gasly, Bottas, Zhou, Colapinto and Stroll was the bottom five with five minutes remaining.
Norris, Leclerc, Verstappen, Piastri, Hülkenberg, Sainz, Alonso, Ocon, Magnussen and Tsunoda was the top 10, with Sergio Pérez and Daniel Ricciardo down in 14rh and 15th. Hamilton and Russell were only in P11 and P13.
On new softs, a 1:30.679 from Alex Albon put him top by 0.045s. Norris responded immediately on a scrubbed set, pumping in a 1:30.002 to go quickest again. Piastri ended up 0.256s away on his second go.
After a difficult weekend so far, Lewis Hamilton found pace and moved up to P3. That would become P4 when Max Verstappen slotted into 2nd, 0.155s away from Norris.
George Russell was fuming over the radio about tyres once again as he felt a completely different balance to FP3. Despite a poor lap that was over 0.4s off Hamilton, he got through in P13.
Franco Colapinto, without the updates to the FW46, did a superb lap to be within 0.025s of teammate Alex Albon, finishing 9th in the session. They were split by Fernando Alonso.
A superb lap by Esteban Ocon saw him get through in P15. He was 0.3s quicker than teammate Pierre Gasly.
Ricciardo, Stroll, Gasly, Bottas and Zhou got knocked out. The Aussie was over a tenth off Ocon in front.
Q2
Sergio Pérez clocked the first time of Q2, putting in a 1:30.653. Max Verstappen had a huge moment in the last corner as he had a snap, although he managed to avoid the wall. His 1:30.371 was taken away for track limits.
Once again, Lando Norris was the man who led the way as a 1:30.007 despite a very messy T14 and 16-17. Leclerc, Piastri, Hülkenberg, Tsunoda, Sainz, Pérez, Magnussen, Alonso and Albon completed the top 10 with 8 minutes left. The Mercedes drivers had not done a lap.
On his first attempt, Lewis Hamilton smashed in a 1:29.929 to go quickest. George Russell backed that up, going P3. He was 0.224s away from the seven-time World Champion.
Running in the gap before the final 3 minutes, Max Verstappen smashed in a 1:29.680 to beat his arch rival’s time by 0.248s.
It was McLaren fastest again but this time through Oscar Piastri. A 1:29.640 was 0.040s quicker than the Dutchman’s attempt. Leclerc, Hamilton, Norris, Sainz, Hülkenberg, Russell, Tsunoda and Alonso made it through as well.
Norris had gone purple in sector 1 by four hundreths but did not complete the lap.
It was extraordinarily close in the fight for P10 as Albon and Colapinto missed out by 0.024s and 0.031s respectively.
The big shock was Sergio Pérez as he was 0.9s off his teammate, qualifying P13 as the rear tyres were not in the right window. Magnussen and Ocon also dropped out.
Q3
A scruffy lap from Oscar Piastri saw the Australian log a 1:30.037, 0.8s quicker than Nico Hülkenberg.
The first red flag of qualifying came as Carlos Sainz crashed. The Spaniard, about to start his lap, lost the car through the final corner and hit the wall, with the gearbox taking a smack.
Max Verstappen and Lando Norris, who were both on very fast laps, did not get to complete them. The Dutchman had crossed the line and lifted off before it, but the time of a 1:29.791 was removed due to double waved yellows before the red flag.
Following a sizable delay, it became a 1-lap shootout.
As has been the case all weekend, Lando Norris was fastest. While it was not his finest lap, a 1:29.525 from the Brit saw him take pole by 0.203s from title rival Max Verstappen as Red Bull turned things around from a terrible FP2.
Mercedes came alive at the end as Hamilton and Russell locked out the second row. They were the fastest in cars in Sector 3.
Piastri, Hülkenberg, Alonso and Tsunoda completed the order of drivers who set a time.
Charles Leclerc lost his time as he exceeded track limits at turn 2, and he’ll be on the fifth row with teammate Carlos Sainz. His time would only have been good enough for P7.
