Q1
The Sauber of Valtteri Bottas kicked things off in qualifying with a 1:18.507.
Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes went out on mediums. A 1:17.203 from Lando Norris saw the Brit 0.241s clear of Carlos Sainz. Hamilton, Russell and Leclerc followed, with Piastri only P8 behind the Astons.
On the soft compound tyre, Max Verstappen pumped in a 1:16.998 in the RB20 to go quickest by 0.205s from his championship rival. Sergio Pérez was 1.532s slower than his teammate.
As the track ramped up, Gasly, Hülkenberg and Tsunoda put themselves into the top 5.
Russell, Ocon, Zhou, Piastri and Pérez was the bottom five before Mercedes and McLaren switched to soft tyres.
Russell jumped up to P4 on his lap, with Lewis Hamilton slotting into 8th. Four places and 0.112s covered them.
After briefly going purple in the middle sector, Oscar Piastri got wide at turn 12 and saw his time deleted. Such was the mistake in that corner that lost him a bundle of lap time, he had only gone P13 before it was removed.
Lando Norris showed the full speed of the McLaren, going 0.493s quicker than Max Verstappen. Sainz would go on to split them, as his 1:16.778 put him within 0.273s.
After going again, Piastri could only do a 1:17.597, going P14. That time would be beaten by Bottas, Hülkenberg and Stroll as he was sensationally knocked out, along with Sergio Pérez. The home hero ended up in P18. They were 1.092s and 0.808s slower than Norris and Verstappen respectively.
Franco Colapinto was also a victim of the late improvements from the aforementioned drivers as he wound up in P16 — 0.369s away from Alex Albon.
Norris was fastest from Sainz, Verstappen, Leclerc and Magnussen. Gasly (P6) and Bottas (P14) stood out. Russell and Hamilton were P10 and P11.
Colapinto, Piastri, Pérez, Ocon and Zhou got bumped in a thrilling session.
Q2
A 1:17.090 from Alex Albon saw the Thai put in the first time of Q2. Moments later, World Championship leader Max Verstappen logged a 1:16.629 to go P1.
The Ferrari of Charles Leclerc had a huge moment in turns 9 and 10 on his used tyre lap but avoided any major incident.
Once again, Lando Norris was flying as he smashed in a 1:16.301 to go 0.328s quicker than his title rival. Russell, Hamilton, Sainz, Gasly, Albon, Tsunoda, Lawson and Alonso completed the top 10 with 5 minutes to go.
Magnussen, Stroll, Hülkenberg, Bottas and Leclerc needed to improve to get through.
Sainz on a 1:16.515, with Leclerc 0.126s slower saw the Ferrari pair move up to P3 and P4. Max Verstappen made a small improvement just beforehand, moving to within 0.213s of Norris.
Alex Albon made a crucial improvement on his second lap, pumping in a 1:16.988 to go 7th as he did green sectors in 2 and 3.
The middle segment of qualifying was halted ten seconds early as Yuki Tsunoda crashed. He locked up his front left as he carried too much speed into turn 12, lost the car and hit the barriers. The Japanese driver was P11 at the time and had just done a personal best middle sector.
Seconds before the red flag appeared, Hülkenberg and Magnussen jumped up to P8 and P9 to book their spots in Q3 at a track where Haas has historically struggled. Albon and Gasly were the other midfield runners to make it through.
Norris, Verstappen, Sainz, Leclerc, Russell and Hamilton was the order in the top 6.
Tsunoda, Lawson, Alonso, Stroll and Bottas departed.
Q3
Kevin Magnussen did a 1:18.104 on used tyres to get things underway in the final segment of qualifying.
Max Verstappen pumped in a 1:16.368 to go P1. However, his time was deleted as he cut turn 2.
A poor lap from Lando Norris saw the Brit only post a 1:16.937 to be P5, behind the Mercedes cars.
Carlos Sainz went purple in sectors 1 and 3 as he pumped in a brilliant 1:16.055, 0.360s clear of Charles Leclerc. Russell and Hamilton were 0.454s and 0.596s off the Spaniard respectively.
Gasly, Albon, Hülkenberg, Magnussen and Verstappen was the rest of the order.
It was a tremendous final run from the 30-year-old in the Ferrari as a 1:15.946 from Sainz gives him his first pole since the 2023 Singapore Grand Prix. A brilliant lap from Max Verstappen saw the Dutchman join his former teammate on the front row, finishing 0.225s off Sainz.
Despite looking incredibly quick in Q1 and Q2, Lando Norris could only manage P3 as he went purple in the middle sector. He was 0.314s off pole, but critically the Brit was 0.005s faster than Charles Leclerc. The Ferrari driver had a big moment in turn 9 again on his final attempt.
Russell and Hamilton locked out row three as Mercedes were spectators to the top 4.
In the midfield fight, Kevin Magnussen won out, beating Pierre Gasly by 0.006s. Albon and Hülkenberg complete the top 10, as the German had a big moment on the turn 12 kerb.
