Q1
Kevin Magnussen posted the first time of the session with a 1:29.015.
The Ferraris came out of the traps well, with Carlos Sainz’s 1:28.159 putting him 0.024s ahead of teammate Charles Leclerc. Perez, Russell, Piastri, Alonso, Ricciardo, Norris, Hamilton and Tsunoda completed the top 10 after 7 minutes.
World Championship leader Max Verstappen came out quite late. However, he logged a 1:28.023 to go fastest by a tenth. Seconds later, Valtteri Bottas valued up to 5th in the Sauber, before Hülkenberg replaced him there.
Ocon, Magnussen, Albon, Gasly and Guanyu found themselves in the relegation zone after everyone did a lap.
On the second runs for most drivers, Perez took top spot on a 1:27.772, 0.165s ahead of Sainz. Norris, Verstappen, Piastri and Leclerc completed the top 6.
Hamilton, Hülkenberg, Ocon and Russell completed the top 10 ahead of the final runs.
Ricciardo, running in P15, clipped the wall with his right rear on the exit of turn 16 but could continue.
Sargeant (+0.002 to the Aussie), Gasly, Magnussen, Guanyu and Albon were in the relegation zone.
A flurry of brilliant laps came in at the end from some unexpected names. Pierre Gasly moved all the way up to P5, 0.287s away from pacesetter Max Verstappen. Teammate Esteban Ocon also got himself in as he clocked the 12th fastest time.
The biggest disappointment was for Daniel Ricciardo as he could only manage P18 as he complained of having no rear, running wide at turn 17. He’ll start last with his grid penalty from China following his heroics in the Sprint.
Kevin Magnussen was left annoyed as traffic paradise on the entry and exit at turn 17 saw him run deep thanks to dirty air and his day was done.
Valtteri Bottas missed out by 0.010s, with home hero Logan Sargeant only 0.034s from making it through. Ricciardo, Magnussen and Guanyu completed the order of those knocked out.
Verstappen was fastest from Perez, Norris and Sainz.
Q2
A 1:28.549 from Lance Stroll kicked things off in Q2.
But that time was soon irrelevant as Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc pumped in a 1:27.533, 0.188s and 0.338s clear of Piastri and Norris in the McLarens. Carlos Sainz and Max Verstappen rounded out the top 5, with the World Champion the lead car on used softs.
Hülkenberg, Tsunoda, Perez, Russell and Gasly filled the remaining top 10 spots ahead of the last runs. 0.791s covered the Ferrari on top and the Alpine in P10.
At turn 17, Albon went deep in the Williams and had to reverse his way out of trouble.
Ocon, Hamilton, Stroll, Alonso and Albon needed to find time to get out as the final runs began.
The Monegasque stayed on top as Verstappen could only improve to a 1:27.566 on new tyres. Lewis Hamilton put in a superb lap as he went P3, only 0.164s away from Leclerc.
Piastri, Perez, Norris, Sainz and Russell also made their way through as the top 4 teams showed good speed.
The midfield winners were Yuki Tsunoda and Nico Hülkenberg as the RB and Haas drivers got themselves into the top 10.
Despite a strong qualifying, Lance Stroll missed out by 0.002s. Gasly, Ocon, Albon and Alonso also got bumped on a bad day for Aston Martin.
The Spaniard had absolutely no grip from turn 11 onwards as the soft tyres on his car overheated due to lots of sliding.
Q3
In Q3, Lando Norris went out on mediums at the start as the British driver felt more comfortable on the yellow walled tyre, as shown during the Sprint shootout yesterday.
It was the World Champion who delivered the goods on the first runs as a 1:27.241 from Max Verstappen put him 0.141s ahead of Charles Leclerc, with Carlos Sainz 0.073s behind his Ferrari teammate.
Piastri, Perez, Norris (mediums), Russell, Hamilton, Hülkenberg and Tsunoda rounded out the top 10.
After his brilliant Q2 lap, the seven-time World Champion had absolutely no grip from turns 11 to 16 and was a distant P8, almost 0.6s slower than Russell.
The final runs saw very little improvement. Sergio Perez jumped up to P4, 0.219s away from his teammate. He missed out on P3 by 0.005s.
Norris managed to jump Piastri on his final attempt, 0.353s away from like. 0.081s covered the McLarens.
Russell, Hamilton, Hülkenberg and Tsunoda rounded out the top 10. 0.125s covered P7 to P10.
