Q1

Liam Lawson’s horror start to life at Red Bull continues as he qualifies last on the grid for the second time this weekend. Following a qualifying result of 18th in Australia, the Kiwi might find himself in the hot seat if his fortunes don’t turn around soon.

Track limits proved to be a small issue for some drivers in the early part of qualifying, with drivers like Lando Norris and Jack Doohan having times deleted for it, with the latter also spinning in Q1.

The track evolved rapidly at the start of qualifying, making it tough to know what the true pecking order was. However, the Racing Bulls looked particularly quick, with Hadjar and Tsunoda taking second and third respectively in Q1.

ELIMINATED

16. Pierre Gasly – Alpine +0.069

17. Ollie Bearman – Haas +0.095

18. Jack Doohan – Alpine +0.169

19. Gabriel Bortoleto – Kick Sauber +0.218

20.  Liam Lawson – Red Bull +0.251

Q2

Carlos Sainz has had a tough start to life at Williams, which continued into this qualifying session, setting the slowest lap of Q2 to find himself 15th, all the while Alex Albon found himself squeaking into Q3.

The Racing Bulls’ pace continued into Q2, who looked as though they could be set up to cause an upset in Q3 if any of the top teams underperformed.

Ferrari started to look as though they were not finding as much pace as they had been during the sprint portion of the weekend, while McLaren appeared to have regained their mojo, and we’re certainly favourites to take pole position come Q3.

It was a much improved qualifying for both Ocon and Hulkenberg. Qualifying 18th and 19th in sprint qualifying, they now find themselves starting 11th and 12th for the Grand Prix on Sunday.

ELIMINATED

11. Esteban Ocon – Haas +0.030

12. Nico Hulkenberg – Kick Sauber +0.037

13. Fernando Alonso – Aston Martin +0.093

14. Lance Stroll – Aston Martin +0.178

15. Carlos Sainz – Williams +0.245

Q3

Oscar Piastri set the pace early with a strong provisional pole position time, which was just under tenth of a second faster than Norris and just over two tenths quicker than Verstappen.

As drivers went round for their final runs, most of the top runners failed to improve, though Piastri was able to stretch his margin by 0.062 seconds. This gave him a bit more breathing room when Russell came to finish his final lap, where he split the two McLarens to grab second, going just 0.082 seconds slower than the Australian.

The Ferraris continued to be a little bit off the pace compared to their exploits earlier in the weekend, with Hamilton and Leclerc taking 5th and 6th respectively.

Qualifying results

1. Oscar Piastri – McLaren +1:30.641

2. George Russell – Mercedes +0.082

3. Lando Norris – McLaren +0.152

4. Max Verstappen – Red Bull +0.176

5. Lewis Hamilton – Ferrari +0.286

6. Charles Leclerc – Ferrari +0.380

7. Isack Hadjar – Racing Bulls +0.438

8. Andrea Kimi Antonelli – Mercedes +0.462

9. Yuki Tsunoda – Racing Bulls +0.997

10. Alex Albon – Williams +1.065