Alex Albon’s car stood out the most in Q1. The Williams suddenly lost half of the bodywork on the long straight towards the Chicane. A red flag came and at the time the Albon engineers could repair his car, after which he convincingly popped to Q2. Verstappen also did that – as number five.
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For Gabriel Bortoleto, Carlos Sainz, home rider Lance Stroll, Liam Lawson and Pierre Gasly it went too fast, although the differences were to be minimal. Bortoleto was less than 56 hundredths behind Norris’s time.
Max Verstappen flashes on mediums
In Q2, Verstappen impresses during his first run. On his mediums, he mainly set a dike of a first sector. This made his first run good for the fastest time. There was less good news for his teammate Yuki Tsunoda. He flew out and because he received a grid penalty of 10 places for overtaking under the red flag – during free practice three – he starts on Sunday from last place.
In addition to Tsunoda, Franco Colapinto, Nico Hülkenberg, Oliver Bearman and Esteban Ocon did not go to Q3.
Max Verstappen again strong in sector 1
In Q3, Verstappen immediately conjured up a phenomenal first sector from the top hat. After that he returned, but he left 25 thousandths in the first run compared to Piastri. The difference with the rest of the field was suddenly a lot bigger than in Q1 and Q2.
For Run two, Verstappen did come out on mediums, while Piastri remained on the softs. But it wasn’t Verstappen or Piastri who went to pole. Because Russell was suddenly able to conjure up and went to P1 for Verstappen and Piastri. The great loser was Norris, who recorded the seventh time.