Despite a touch of oversteer through turn one on his final flying lap, a sensational effort from the four-time world champion yielded a time of 1.26.204. Enough to pip Lando Norris to pole by just 0.065.s, the Brit later apologising to his team for taking too much kerb during his final run. He may not have replicated his sprint pole from Friday, but Kimi Antonelli was nevertheless content with P3, the Mercedes driver stating that the track conditions changed sharply from Friday to Saturday and a period of adjustment was required. After setting the fastest time in Q2, Oscar Piastri had to settle for fourth after setting just one fast lap in Q3, while George Russell, who struggled for pace throughout qualifying, was happy to end up fifth. Russell and Verstappen were the only frontrunners to set two fast laps in Q3.
Williams’ strong pace persisted as Alex Albon made it into the final part of qualifying for the second time this weekend with seventh (though he is under investigation for a possible pit lane infringement) while his teammate Carlos Sainz made up for his sprint qualy woes with a fine drive to sixth. Both Ferrari drivers’ sessions ended in disappointment with Leclerc evidently frustrated after qualifying eighth, stating that there was “no satisfaction” to be gained from putting in strong performances if minor points placings are the only outcome. Further back, his teammate Lewis Hamilton failed to make Q3 for the first time this season, the seven-time world champion only managing 12th after struggling with balance through the session, describing the car as “a bit of a mess right now”.
Despite losing time at the chicane and missing out on Q3, Isack Hadjar was able to qualify one place ahead of his idol in 11th. Yuki Tsunoda secureed a spot in Q3 once again while Estaban Ocon, who put in a strong lap to secure P8, kept his feet on the ground and stressed the importance of trying to secure a points finish on Sunday.
Elsewhere, Gabriel Bortoleto out-qualified his teammate Nico Hulkenberg for the second time this season, the rookie secured his best qualifying position to date in 13th with a car he described as easier to drive. Of the other rookies, Jack Doohan managed to outqualify his experienced teammate Pierre Gasly. The Australian appreciated the result but was nevertheless disappointed not to reach Q3, believing that a “couple of snaps” in Q2 cost him around a tenth of a second that could have got him further up the grid. Liam Lawson’s qualifying was curtailed by a battery issue, the subsequent loss in power denying him the chance to capitalise on a car he described as “really hooked up”.
Oversteer through turn one and understeer through the final hairpin meant Nico Hulkenberg could only manage 16th, ahead of Fernando Alonso. Who was pleased with his performance and praised his team’s efforts in repairing his car after his crash in the sprint, but did not shy away from the fact that the AMR-25 lacks overall pace. The same could be said of Pierre Gasly whose three flying laps came and went without incident, but a lack of pace as well as a change in track conditions, meant 18th was all the Frenchman could manage. Much like his teammate, Lance Stroll said the car felt the best it has all weekend and accepted 19th as a representative result, while a dissatisfied Ollie Bearman rounded off the grid after what he deemed a “messy session overall”.
