Piastri will start from first for the first time in his F1 career as he edges out teammate Lando Norris to give McLaren their first front row lockout since 2012.
SQ1
Track limit issues creeped up once more in this sprint shootout, which would not have been helped by the reprofiling of turns 5 and 13 on safety grounds. Four of the five eliminated in SQ1 had their best times deleted.
Charles Leclerc had been at risk of being eliminated at one point, having found himself as low as 17th at one point. Fortunately for him, he was able to move up to 10th and secure his place in SQ2.
Further up front Russell had set the early benchmark by going fastest in this session, leading from Verstappen and Norris.
ELIMINATED
16. Lance Stroll – Aston Martin +0.180
17. Alex Albon – Williams +0.193
18. Yuki Tsunoda – Alpha Tauri +0.257
19. Kevin Magnussen – Haas +0.769
20. Logan Sargeant – Williams +39.072
SQ2
Whilst yesterday saw Sainz and Perez be surprise Q2 exits, today it was Hamilton’s turn to be a shock elimination. Whilst he did have a track time deleted, his fastest time was still only good enough for 11th, meaning he would have been knocked out regardless.
On the topic of Sainz and Perez, there might have been worries that yesterday’s form would carry over into this session, however these fears would have been alleviated when Ferrari and Red Bull would have seen them rise to 7th and 3rd respectively.
ELIMINATED
11. Pierre Gasly – Alpine +0.176
12. Lewis Hamilton – Mercedes +0.452
13. Valtteri Bottas – Alfa Romeo +0.726
14. Liam Lawson – Alpha Tauri +1.074
15. Zhou Guanyu – Alfa Romeo +29.036
SQ3
Some conflicting strategies as some drivers chose to get out on track immediately for the final session in this sprint shootout. Verstappen was one of these drivers, and certainly looked like he’d need the extra time after having had a time deleted for track limits during his first lap.
The McLarens proved to be very punchy all shootout, but especially so during SQ3. Norris and Piastri had waited a couple minutes before setting their bankers, which had seen them take a provisional 1-2, with Norris leading.
The final runs then began, and eyes were on Verstappen to see if he could spoil the mood in the McLaren garage. However, he was only able to go third fastest, effectively guaranteeing a McLaren 1-2, but who would come out on top?
The answer would be Oscar Piastri, who would improve by enough to beat Norris by less than a tenth of a second. Norris had been improving, but made a mistake by going wide at the final corner to squash any chance of taking top spot.
Sprint Shootout Results:
1. Oscar Piastri– McLaren 1:24.454
2. Lando Norris – McLaren +0.082
3. Max Verstappen – Red Bull +0.192
4. George Russell – Mercedes +0.387
5. Carlos Sainz – Ferrari +0.701
6. Charles Leclerc – Ferrari +0.793
7. Nico Hulkenberg – Haas +0.866
8. Sergio Perez – Red Bull +0.928
9. Fernando Alonso – Aston Martin NO TIME
10. Esteban Ocon – Alpine NO TIME
