Qualifying for the Grand Prix was shrouded in uncertainty, with an 80% chance of rain. The track was dry at the start, but the drivers knew that conditions could change at any moment.
Q1
The Mercedes drivers were the last to take to the track, hoping that the first cars would clean the circuit and lay down rubber, thus improving conditions for them.
Guanyu Zhou, after running off track twice during free practice, sought to make amends by setting the first fastest time of the session in 1:25.702.
The Aston Martin drivers had been in good form since the start of the weekend and were now in second and third positions, just behind George Russell.
The track was evolving rapidly, allowing the drivers to improve their times. With 10 minutes to go before the end of the first part of qualifying (Q1), the track was becoming more and more gummed up and the times were improving.
At that point, Perez and Hamilton were 16th and 17th respectively, with everything to play for.
The local hero, Lance Stroll, narrowly avoided the wall of champions and set the provisional fifth fastest time. Oscar Piastri, hampered by traffic, was 16th, while the last Grand Prix winner also complained about traffic.
Four minutes before the end of Q1, Perez, then 17th, returned to the pits.
After putting on a new set of tyres, the lap times continued to fall, and the two Aston Martins moved into provisional second and third positions, behind Lando Norris with a time of 1:12.959.
In the final minute of the session, Zhou put in a fast lap but remained in 20th position. Norris, confident, did not come out of the pits.
In the final seconds, Verstappen set the fastest time of 1:12.360, while Perez failed to make it through to Q2, placing 16th for the third time in succession.
Q2
Pierre Gasly was the last driver to qualify for Q2, finishing 15th, while his team-mate failed to make it past Q1 for the first time since Jeddah.
Right from the start of Q2, the drivers rushed out onto the track as the rain threatened to return. The Mercedes were the first out, closely followed by Magnussen and Sainz.
Russell and Hamilton were the first to set a time, with Hamilton taking the provisional lead with a 1:13.104.
With 11 minutes remaining, Oscar Piastri took the lead with a time of 1:12.323, a performance hard to beat. Russell, on hard tyres, regained top spot with less than 8 minutes to go.
Verstappen, complaining about traffic, struggled to qualify for Q3, being only 11th at one point. Despite improving his time, he could only manage 9th with his worn tyres.
With 5 minutes to go, all the drivers returned to the pits to change tyres and make one last attempt to qualify for Q3.
The Ferraris were in trouble, with Leclerc and Sainz in 10th and 14th positions respectively with a minute to go.
Albon improved his time, eliminating Leclerc from Q2 and ending a run of 22 Q3 qualifiers for the Monegasque driver. Verstappen managed to climb back up to 7th place at the last minute.
Q3
Piastri and Verstappen were the first to take to the track in Q3 on worn tyres. The other drivers also followed them on run-in tyres.
The Mercedes drivers waited until the last few minutes to go out, also on worn tyres.
Verstappen quickly set the provisional best time of 1:12.358, but was beaten by the two Mercedes, with Hamilton finishing 0.280s behind Russell.
The advantage was clearly with Mercedes on this first run. With fresh tyres, all the drivers came out with 4 minutes to go for their final timed laps.
The McLarens, who came out early, improved their times without beating Russell. With two minutes to go, all the drivers were on track with new tyres.
Verstappen and Stroll, who came out last, only had one shot at pole. Daniel Ricciardo put in an excellent lap, moving up to 5th position.
Verstappen set the same time as Russell, but as he was second fastest, he only took second place on the grid.
George Russell took pole position, his first since the Hungarian Grand Prix in 2022.