First Qualifying session since the summer break. No one was expecting changes in front, but Oscar Piastri continues to show domination, with five pole positions this season.
Oliver Bearman is the first driver on track and put a 1:10.262 time on soft. Charles Leclerc made a mistake toward the end of his lap and found himself behind the Haas. In Turn 13 Lance Stroll went wide into the grass and spun, going into the gravel. He had to box again to change his front wing, but his floor might have been damaged, resulting in him not going out again.
With ten minutes remaining, only nine drivers went out to make their first time. Lando Norris took first place with a 1:09.469 time, and Oscar Piastri put himself in P2. Liam Lawson also went a bit wide and told his team to check the floor. The Australian McLaren driver made a great second sector and took first place away from his teammate by 0.131. Charles Leclerc is the first one to take the chequered flag and is only ninth. It’s not bright for Lewis Hamilton either; he’s only in eighth. It thankfully was enough for them to go into Q2.
Out in Q1: Franco Colapinto (P16), Nico Hulkenberg (P17), Esteban Ocon (P18), Oliver Bearman (P19) and Lance Stroll (P20).
The order remains
After locking his eyes with a fox, Charles Leclerc took the first time in Q2, with Hamilton in P2. George Russell quickly took advantage; however, Max Verstappen seemed to fly on track by going 0.5 quicker than the previous driver. With a 1:08.874, Lando Norris took first place and took down the record of the track with it. Oscar Piastri was 0.090 behind. The more grip the track seemed to have, the better the Ferrari seemed to be doing.
On the other hand, the only Aston Martin remaining with Fernando Alonso, who was doing great in all free practices, seemed to struggle a little. It was very tight in the midfield, with less than a tenth between P7 and P11. Yuki Tsunoda made a mistake on his last lap in the second sector and had to wait for the other to cross the line to know if he could continue. Alexander Albon was very unhappy with his tyres, resulting in him missing the Q3. The only French driver remaining on track was Isack Hadjar.
Out in Q2: Kimi Antonelli (P11), Yuki Tsunoda (P12), Gabriel Bortoletto (P13), Pierre Gasly (P14) and Alexander Albon (P15).
Battle on track
Oscar Piastri was ready to fight as soon as he went back on track. He broke the new record of his teammate, in 1:08.662 and took first place in his first run. Lando Norris was 0.012 s behind. The battle between both McLaren’s teammates was on with only two minutes remaining. However, the track was not getting better, and their time remained as it was before. The only driver really improving was Isack Hadjar, who took P4 and will then start on the second row for the race. Oscar Piastri took the pole position, in front of Lando Norris and Max Verstappen.