After looking strong in FP1, Mercedes proved that they are still the fastest team on the grid with a 1-2 in Sprint Qualifying. It was George Russell who beat his teammate Kimi Antonelli, while Lando Norris seems to be their main rival, the McLaren driver starting third on the grid. Below is the full Sprint Qualifying report.
SQ1 Report:
It was an eventful start to qualifying, as we first learned that Alex Albon would not be able to take part in the session after the damage he had suffered from hitting a groundhog in FP1 proved too much to repair in time for quali. Liam Lawson was the second driver who wouldn’t be setting a time due to a hydraulic leak on his car. The drama was not over, though, as red flags were thrown with two minutes left in the session. It was Fernando Alonso is the Aston Martin that had caused SQ1 to come to a halt, after running into the barriers at Turn 3. The good news for the team is that Alonso had managed to set a time before his accident that was quick enough to carry him through to SQ2.
The drivers that were not so lucky, and eliminated in SQ1, were Sergio Perez, Lance Stroll, Pierre Gasly, Valtteri Bottas, Alex Albon, and Liam Lawson.
SQ2 Report:
Hamilton may have gone quickest in the first part of qualifying, but George Russell claimed the top spot by the end of SQ2 and proved how hard it will be for Mercedes’ top challengers to beat them to pole for the Sprint Race. Farther down the order, it was a stressful session for Max Verstappen, who was just on the cusp of elimination, and only went on to SQ3 after the other drivers below him failed to set a quicker time. It was a good SQ2 for Carlos Sainz, who got his Williams into the final round of Sprint Qualifying, which is good news for team after Albon could not participate in the session. Arvid Lindblad also showed how quick he can be, as the young rookie advanced to SQ3 in his Racing Bulls.
The drivers who failed to make it to the top ten shootout were Nico Hulkenberg, Gabriel Bortoleto, Franco Colapinto, Esteban Ocon, Ollie Bearman, and Fernando Alonso.
SQ3 Report:
It all came down to this for Sprint pole, and in the end, it was the Mercedes duo that took up the front row. This time George Russell took the top spot, with Antonelli behind in P2. The second row was filled with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri in third and fourth respectively. Lewis Hamilton outqualified Leclerc, with the Ferrari drivers in P5 and P6. Yet another pair of teammates will share a row on the grid, with Verstappen in seventh and Isack Hadjar placing eighth. Meanwhile, Arvid Lindblad and Carlos Sainz rounded out the top ten.
