Q1
Zhou Guanyu set the first time of the session as he put in a 1:35.479. Alonso rapidly beat that, logging a 1:34.496 to go quickest.
Championship contender Lando Norris went top on a 1:34.029, beating Carlos Sainz by 0.075s. Oscar Piastri slotted into P3, 0.214s away from his teammate.
Despite a poor final corner, Max Verstappen put in a 1:33.690 to go fastest by 0.339s from Norris. Sergio Pérez matched the Brit’s time to go 3rd.
Haas continued their excellent showing, with Nico Hülkenberg pumping in a 1:33.870 to split the title contenders. However, Pierre Gasly delivered on his new tyres as a 1:33.550 put the Frenchman top.
Gasly, Verstappen, Hülkenberg, Lawson, Ocon, Norris, Pérez, Colapinto, Albon and Sainz was the top 10 with 7 minutes remaining.
Russell, Hamilton, Zhou, Leclerc and Tsunoda found themselves in the relegation zone. The Japanese driver had gone P5 but his time was deleted.
On new tyres, Charles Leclerc pumped in a 1:33.241 to go fastest from Gasly by 0.309s. Sainz and Norris were within the same tenth of the Alpine.
Heading into the final runs, Bottas, Russell, Hamilton, Zhou and Tsunoda found themselves in the bottom five.
While George Russell jumped up to P3, Lewis Hamilton had a shocking middle sector with an error, only improving to P16, getting knocked out in the process. That time would ultimately be deleted as he went off at turn 12, dropping him to P19.
Right at the end, Kevin Magnussen and Lance Stroll delivered clutch laps to get themselves through. The Dane went 7th, with Stroll moving up to P15, displacing Alex Albon by 0.018s as the Thai was bumped.
Colapinto (0.011s slower than Albon), Bottas, Hamilton and Zhou also got knocked out in a remarkable session full of surprises.
Verstappen was fastest on a 1:33.046 from Leclerc by 0.195s. The impressive Lawson was P3, followed by Russell and the even more impressive Gasly. The McLarens could only manage P10 and P12.
Q2
Max Verstappen kicked things off in Q2 and pumped in a 1:33.052 to go within 0.006s of his Q1 time on used tyres. Gasly went 0.377s away, with Sainz 0.004s slower. Pérez was 0.058s slower than the Frenchman as Alpine continued to surprise.
On new tyres, Lando Norris fired in a 1:32.851 to go fastest, 0.201s faster than Max Verstappen. Oscar Piastri jumped up to P3, 0.005s slower than the Dutchman.
Russell, Gasly, Sainz, Pérez, Hülkenberg, Magnussen and Tsunoda completed the top 10 after the first runs.
Ocon (0.032s), Alonso, Stroll, Leclerc and Lawson were in the drop zone. The Kiwi would not be completing a lap as he faces a 60-place grid penalty for component changes.
The World Champion responded to Norris as a 1:32.584 put Verstappen 0.267s clear. Carlos Sainz would eventually split them, going 0.252s slower than Verstappen.
Leclerc, Pérez, Piastri and Russell completed the top 7 as the usual top four teams this year dominated.
Gasly improved to stay P8, almost 0.3s ahead of Fernando Alonso. The Spaniard and Kevin Magnussen delivered very strong laps to make it through into Q3.
Tsunoda, Hülkenberg, Ocon, Stroll and Lawson departed. The Japanese and German drivers missed out by 0.032s and 0.070s respectively.
A replay showed Hülkenberg went deep at turn 1 on his final attempt, and he compounded it by having a snap of oversteer, costing him around 0.2-0.3s.
Q3
Lando Norris found a big chunk of time from his Q2 time as a 1:32.330 put him 0.322s clear of Carlos Sainz, with Charles Leclerc 0.088s slower.
After going purple in sector 1, Max Verstappen was slower in 2 and 3, going 0.031s slower than his title rival.
Norris, Verstappen, Sainz, Leclerc, Piastri, Russell, Gasly, Magnussen, Pérez and Alonso was the order with 5 minutes left. The Mexican had his time deleted for track limits at turn 9.
Running in the gap, Fernando Alonso slotted into P8, 0.979s away from Norris’ benchmark.
On his final attempt, Max Verstappen went purple in sector 1. However, his chances of taking pole ended as George Russell crashed in turn 19.
The Mercedes driver had a massive snap of oversteer on the entry, spun and ended up in the barrier.
The order from the first runs remained unchanged, giving Norris a second straight Grand Prix pole.
