Bumpy track conditions sent sparks flying from George Russell’s Mercedes, while the Williams cars of Logan Sargeant and Alex Albon found themselves off-course in the gravel within the opening laps. Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin, miraculously repaired just in time after a crash in Free Practice 3, found the gravel as well going off the track in Q1.
Mirroring their strong performance in Miami, the Mclaren cars were very quick following the new upgrades which are now completed on Piastri’s car. Piastri, however, could face a three-place grid penalty for an incident at Turn 1, affecting his starting position for the Grand Prix.
Verstappen went fastest in Q1, as Bottas, Sargeant, Guanyu, Magnussen and Alonso were eliminated before Q2.
In Q2, the biggest shock came as Sergio Perez was eliminated from Q3 for the first time this season, while Daniel Ricciardo found himself in Q3 for the first time this season, marking an important turnaround for him.
Perez, Ocon, Stroll, Albon, and Gasly were knocked out in Q2.
At their home race, both VCARB cars were out to impress, Yuki Tsunoda giving one of the most impressive qualifying performances of the season finding himself ahead of his teammate, starting seventh on the grid.
Both Ferrari’s struggled to find lap times to compete with Verstappen or the Mclaren’s, Leclerc starting fourth and Sainz starting fifth.
Verstappen will start the Grand Prix on pole, his eighth in a row, equaling the record of the great Ayrton Senna. Verstappen will start alongside Piastri, followed by Lando Norris.