The Mercedes announced themselves as favorites when entering Q3 after having flown through qualifying and George Russell took pole, far ahead of his teammate Lewis Hamilton only tenth.
The British driver dominated his subject by taking pole position after having already been the fastest in FP3, despite a slight contact with the wall in his penultimate attempt. He beat the Ferrari of Carlos Sainz by less than a tenth and the surprising Alpine of Pierre Gasly by three and a half tenths for an astonishing top 3 finish at the end of qualifying.
Q3: Russell in front, Hamilton behind
Postponed for the time to put the walls back in place and clean the track at the site of the Colapinto crash, the third part of Q3 started 20 minutes late. After the preparation laps, it was necessary to pull out all the stops with the final set of new tires and Russell therefore had the last word in front of Sainz and Gasly, the second Ferrari of Charles Leclerc ensuring a place on the second row by preceding the two protagonists of the title race Max Verstappen and Lando Norris.
Great performance from Tsunoda P7 for RB ahead of a disappointed Oscar Piastri, Nico Hülkenberg faithful to the post in Q3 and Hamilton who missed his last lap by overheating the rear tires.
Q2: Franco Colapinto's gross crash
The second phase saw the top teams pass easily into Q3, still led by the Mercedes flanking the Ferrari of Carlos Sainz and followed by the Alpine of an excellent Pierre Gasly, but the battle to enter the top 10 was intense in a final sprint unfinished due to Franco Colapinto's exit, further aggravating the spare parts deficit at Williams.
If the two Haas and the RB of Yuki Tsunoda pass, it is not the same for the second Alpine of Esteban Ocon (eleventh) and the second RB of Liam Lawson who had aborted his last lap.
Q1: Sergio Pérez is still left behind!
On a track that is still fresh and slippery, the drivers set off on red sidewall tires (the soft rubbers) and some take two warm-up laps before setting a time. The Mercedes of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton set the benchmark times ahead of Max Verstappen, the Ferraris and the McLarens.
The second Red Bull of Sergio Pérez does not advance to Q2 for the sixth time this season while the two Aston Martins of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll (delayed by an electrical failure in EL3) are eliminated, as well as the Williams of Alex Albon whose best lap was canceled and the Sauber of Valtteri Bottas who will suffer a grid penalty at the start tomorrow.
