We witnessed a truly exciting and eventful qualifying session, where a surprise also occurred: Carlos Sainz will start from pole position tomorrow!
After the first few fast laps of Q1, Max Verstappen took the lead, but the drivers swapped places behind him. Pierre Gasly, Nico Hulkenberg, and later Verstappen also took the lead, as Lando Norris stole the lead from him. Ultimately, Norris won the first stage ahead of Carlos Sainz and Verstappen, while, surprisingly, Oscar Piastri, Sergio Perez, Franco Collapinto, Esteban Ocon, and Guanyu Zhou were eliminated.
Q2 was also marked by the Norris and Verstappen duo, but the Mercedes team also made up ground. Scuderia Ferrari still seemed to be struggling at this point. However, in the second attempts, the reds made great progress, allowing Sainz to join the Norris-Verstappen duo, who won Q2. Many were not so lucky, as those who started their second flying lap late were unable to complete it due to an accident and a red flag. In this phase, the two Aston Martins, the two VISA Racing Bulls, and Valtteri Bottas were eliminated.
After the first Q3 tests, we saw some surprising names at the top, such as Sainz, Leclerc, and Russell, while Norris and Verstappen were only in fifth and tenth place. Carlos Sainz, however, recovered very seriously and found no challenger that evening. The Spaniard easily secured pole position ahead of Max Verstappen and Lando Norris, giving him a serious chance of leaving the Italian team with a victory.
