Lando Norris takes the first pole position of the season

Lando Norris takes the first pole position of the season with a time of 1:15.096. The Briton will top the starting grid, joined on the front row by his teammate, Oscar Piastri. Max Verstappen, meanwhile, will start from third, promising an exciting race from the outset.

photo: Mclaren

During the first part of qualifying, the first driver to be eliminated was Ollie Bearman, who had to retire due to a gearbox issue. The Haas driver, who had already had a difficult weekend, was unable to complete the session. His teammate, Esteban Ocon, also dropped out in this phase after making a mistake in the final sector of his flying lap. Meanwhile, Red Bull driver Liam Lawson suffered multiple issues with his car, which prevented him from advancing to the next round of qualifying.

The other drivers eliminated in Q1 were Nico Hülkenberg and Kimi Antonelli. The Mercedes driver suffered some complications due to damage to the front of his car's floor, which caused sparks to appear and affected his performance on the fast lap, leaving him out of the next phase of qualifying.

During the second part of qualifying, there were several surprises. Gabriel Bortoleto, driving a Sauber, managed to overtake his more experienced teammate and also eliminated Kimi Antonelli, driving a Mercedes, highlighting his strong performance in this session. The performance of rookies Isack Hadjar and Jack Doohan was another big revelation, as both advanced to this stage of qualifying, leaving a positive impression on the grid. The session had a brief moment of tension when Lewis Hamilton spun, causing a yellow flag. Fortunately, it was not serious, and qualifying quickly resumed.

Those eliminated in Q2 were Isack Hadjar, who achieved a strong position in his first qualifying in the category, and Fernando Alonso, who suffered floor damage to his car, affecting his fastest lap. His teammate, Lance Stroll, also dropped out, leaving Aston Martin without representation in Q3. Jack Doohan and Gabriel Bortoleto completed the list of those eliminated in this phase, after a solid performance but not enough to advance.

In the final part of qualifying, there were two big surprises: Yuki Tsunoda, who achieved an impressive fifth place, and Alex Albon, who placed sixth, both beating the Ferrari drivers. Despite showing good pace throughout the weekend, the Italian team failed to stand out in the qualification.

The starting grid for tomorrow's race:

Norris

Piastri

Verstappen

Russell

Tsunoda

Albon

Leclerc

Hamilton

Gasly

Sainz

Hadjar

Alonso

Stroll

Doohan

Bortoleto

Antonelli

Hulkenberg

Lawson

Ocon

Bearman