Max Verstappen beats the Mercedes duo of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton for the pole position in Qualifying. The two-time world champion produced a surprising but expected fastest lap in his Q3 run. George Russell was the closest rival to Verstappen in Qualifying. However, he botched his final run attempt after running wide and got his lap time deleted. Lewis Hamilton topped the timing sheets in Q1 and Q2; however, he also failed to beat Verstappen’s Q3 lap.
Q1
Sebastian Vettel was the surprise exit from Q1. The German driver was not happy with the balance of his car in FP3 and struggled in also couldn’t find pace in Q1. Mick Schumacher couldn’t make it into Q2 also. Schumacher, at one stage, posted the sixth fastest time. However, his track time got deleted due to exceeding the track limits.
Sergio Perez also struggled in his initial runs and was also susceptible to getting eliminated. He improved his time in the final stages and got in Q2 successfully. Lance Stroll and the Williams pair of Alex Albon and Nicholas Latifi were knocked out of Q2 as well.
Q2
Daniel Ricciardo failed to improve on his qualifying performance for McLaren again. He qualified P11 after missing out on Q3 by just 0.05s to Alpine’s Alonso. Hamilton was again the fastest driver in Q2. Zhou Guanyu, Alpha Tauri duo of Yuki Tsunoda and Pierre Gasly, and Kevin Magnussen failed to reach into Q3.
Q3
Verstappen nailed his first attempt for the pole position in Q3 by going 1:17.947. It was the first time this weekend that a driver managed to enter the 1:17 time mark. Lewis Hamilton got his first Q3 lap time deleted by exceeding the track limits. Ferrari also failed to show a robust pace in the final qualifying session. Both Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc couldn’t manage to string up a clean lap. They qualified P5 and P7 for the Sunday race. Verstappen improved his time in his final run and posted a time of 1:17.775. Verstappen’s last attempt sealed the P1 slot for Sunday’s race.
Russell and Hamilton came close to Verstappen’s time, but they both made mistakes in their final run and, in the end, managed P2 and P3, respectively, ahead of Sergio Perez, who qualified P4. Russell apologized for his mistake in the final run to the Mercedes team, but they also said that Verstappen’s time was challenging to beat.
Valtteri Bottas produced an outstanding performance for Alfa Romeo and qualified for P6. Lando Norris is P8 ahead of the Alpine pair of Fernando Alonso and Estaban Ocon. The McLaren and Alpine are bunched together on the starting grid on Sunday from P8-P11. Both teams would hope to get a strong start in their battle for 4th place in the constructors’ table.
Verstappen’s comments after Qualifying
After Qualifying ended, Verstappen shared his thoughts with the media. “It was a good qualifying, I think,” Verstappen said. “It was a close one, but after FP3, we made a few adjustments on the car and got into a better rhythm.
“To be on pole here is amazing; of course, it’s a very long run to turn one, so we need a good start. We have a fast car, which is most important.”
Qualifying Result
| Max Verstappen |
| George Russell |
| Lewis Hamilton |
| Sergio Perez |
| Charles Leclerc |
| Valtteri Bottas |
| Carlos Sainz |
| Lando Norris |
| Fernando Alonso |
| Estaban Ocon |
| Red Bull |
| Mercedes |
| Mercedes |
| Red Bull |
| Ferrari |
| Alfa Romeo |
| Ferrari |
| McLaren |
| Alpine |
| Alpine |
| 1:17.775 |
| 1:18.079 |
| 1:18.084 |
| 1:18.128 |
| 1:18.351 |
| 1:18.401 |
| 1:18.555 |
| 1:18.721 |
| 1:18.939 |
| 1:19.010 |
Out in Q2
| Daniel Ricciardo |
| Zhou Guanyu |
| Yuki Tsunoda |
| Pierre Gasly |
| Kevin Magnussen |
| McLaren |
| Alfa Romeo |
| Alpha Tauri |
| Alpha Tauri |
| Haas |
| 1:19.325 |
| 1:19.476 |
| 1:19.589 |
| 1:19.672 |
| 1:19.833 |
Out in Q1
| Mick Schumacher |
| Sebastian Vettel |
| Lance Stroll |
| Alex Albon |
| Nicholas Latifi |
| Haas |
| Aston Martin |
| Aston Martin |
| Williams |
| Williams |
| 1:20.419 |
| 1:20.419 |
| 1:20.520 |
| 1:20.859 |
| 1:21.167 |
