Max Verstappen, the reigning world champion, clocked an impressive 1 minute 23.445 seconds on his initial run using fresh tires. Despite his early lead, Verstappen couldn’t further bolster his time during his second attempt.
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Charles Leclerc surged from being over a second behind after the initial Q3 runs to an outstanding second place, finishing just 0.139 seconds adrift of Verstappen. Rising talent Oscar Piastri claimed third place, followed by George Russell, who surged to fourth, securing the fastest Q3 time in the final sector.
Lando Norris, initially a threat to Verstappen’s pole position bid, encountered a critical setback in his final lap due to a massive sideways moment at Turn 13, costing him a hefty half a second. Behind him, Yuki Tsunoda, Fernando Alonso, and Nico Hulkenberg secured respectable positions in sixth, seventh and eighth respectively.
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RedBull’s Sergio Perez delivered a lap that would have placed him sixth but lost the time due to running wide at Turn 1, leaving him in a disappointing ninth place with Pierre Gasly rounding off the top 10.
Lewis Hamilton, aiming to secure a strong position for Mercedes in their fight for P2 in the constructors’ title against Ferrari, faced disappointment as he failed to advance beyond Q2.
The session saw Verstappen’s strategic approach, opting for just one run on fresh soft tires during Q2 while others used softs initially. This tactic proved beneficial for Verstappen’s overall strategy.
The Q1 segment saw a fiercely competitive field, with Perez clinching second behind Verstappen. However, Carlos Sainz missed the cut, alongside Kevin Magnussen, Valtteri Bottas, Zhou Guanyu, and Logan Sargeant. Sargeant faced the disappointment of having both his Q1 times nullified due to exceeding track limits at Turn 1.
