Q1 Report:
Q1 had lots of excitement as the battle looks to heat up. Norris set an early fastest lap and no one was able to surpass him. Hamilton went second fastest as Ferrari are looking to be speedy. Verstappen managed third after setting his only lap time late in the session and his teammate only managed 14th. Also seeming fast are Isack Hadjar and Pierre Gasly, who both set impressive lap times. After being fastest for both FP2 and FP3, Piastri was only fourth.
The drivers eliminated are Alex Albon, Liam Lawson, after having his DRS close halfway down the straight on a fast lap, Gabriel Bortoleto, while his teammate managed to reach Q2, Lance Stroll, and Ollie Bearman, off the back of a Q3 appearance in Japan.
Q2 Report:
Early in Q2 Esteban Ocon had a bad crash at the exit of turn 3, and luckily is okay, but did cause a red flag. The session was stopped with 11 minutes to go before resuming again after a short amount of time. From there the McLarens ended up back on top, with Piastri ahead of Norris. Both Mercedes drivers seem to be consistent in their pace, with Russel and Antonelli being 4th and 5th respectively. The shock was Pierre Gasly, who put in a stunning lap to go third fastest. He will be one to watch in Q3. Max Verstappen and Yuki Tsunoda both managed to get into Q3, however only just, as they finished 9th and 10th. Carlos Sainz will also be continuing on, as will both Ferraris.
The drivers eliminated are Jack Doohan, Isack Hadjar, after he was looking good during practice, Fernando Alonso, Esteban Ocon, and Nico Hulkenberg, who was in 13th before having his lap time deleted for track limits.
Q3 Report:
Q3 was not short of excitement as the energy and suspense ramped up as the session drew to a close. The two Mercedes set early times that seemed incredibly quick, however Piastri stormed across the line to earn himself an impressive pole position. Russell lines up next to him in P2, and Leclerc and Antonelli are on the second row. It was an incredibly disappointing session for Lando Norris, who didn’t seem to have the pace and could only qualify 6th, one place ahead of Max Verstappen, his old rival. Another shock was Pierre Gasly, who managed to drive his Alpine brilliantly to take P5.
It will be an intense race start on Sunday, as Norris looks to make his way up to challenge his teammate for the win, and both Mercedes are hoping to sneak onto the podium.
