After just a single free practice the entire field headed out immediately for the 12 minutes of SQ1, with championship leader Max Verstappen leading the way. Logically Verstappen was also the first one to set a time on the mandated medium tyres with a 1:34.698.
Team mate Sergio Pérez slots in behind Verstappen in second, before his time gets removed for track limits. Kevin Magnussen and Yuki Tsunoda both eclipse Verstappen’s time, before Lando Norris goes to the top by more than four tenths, quickly followed by Charles Leclerc.
The Monegasque driver goes to the top with a 1:33.896, but it doesn’t last for long, as Lewis Hamilton jumps to the top with just a smidge under six one-hundreths of a second.
Esteban Ocon, Nico Hülkenberg and both Kick Saubers join Pérez in the preliminary knock-out zone for the moment, as Verstappen lines up for his second attempt.
The Dutchman goes second as Pérez goes seventh with a safe lap, pushing Franco Colapinto into the elimination zone. The rookie currently has the exact same time as his team mate Alexander Albon, but by virtue of setting the time later than Albon, he is currently eliminated.
Colapinto puts himself in the top 15 as Albon spins going into turn 19. The full 360° of course means he cannot improve his time. Oscar Piastri also gets his time deleted, meaning he doesn’t improve and is knocked out. He is joined by Ocon, Albon, Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu.
SQ2 starts with again everyone on the medium tyres, but this time around the home team of Haas opens the session. Hülkenberg sets the first time, but is quickly bested by Magnussen, George Russell and Hamilton, who goes first with a 1:33.544.
Carlos Sainz is the next one who takes the top spot by almost a tenth of a second, and stays there after Verstappen’s run, as the final sector by the three-time world champion looks quite cautious.
Pérez just manages to get into the top 10, putting himself at risk for the cars still needing to set a time.
The first of those is Pierre Gasly, but the Frenchman manages just 11th. Both RB drivers are next, and it is Tsunoda who pushes out Pérez, as Liam Lawson slots in just behind the Mexican.
Fernando Alonso sees his time deleted (again) and this time it means he finishes the session in 15th, just behind team mate Lance Stroll. That means both Aston Martins are eliminated, together with Pérez, Lawson and Gasly.
Mercedes takes the proverbial Texas Longhorn by the horns with Russell setting the first time of SQ3. Team mate Hamilton struggles on the soft tyres and comes half a second shy of the first time, as Colapinto spins coming out of turn 12.
The rest of the contenders wait a bit to set their times at the end of the session, with all of them going for a single run on the softs. Sainz first crosses the line with a 1:33.089, putting him second for the moment, but is quickly surpassed by both Norris and Leclerc.
Verstappen is next of the front runners, and he bests Russell by 12 one-thousands of a second, putting him in first for the sprint.
That means that Verstappen will start the sprint on the front row together with Russell, followed by Leclerc and Norris on row 2. Sains starts fifth from Hülkenberg, Hamilton and Magnussen. Tsunoda and Colapinto round up the top 10.
