Lights OutMediaLando Norris just took pole in a wet, rain-delayed qualifying session, with Russell second and Antonelli third. This top 10 isn’t Sunday’s official grid, and a few unexpected names showed up in it.
Verstappen was fastest in FP3 at 1:11.622, followed by Antonelli (+0.025), Norris (+0.131), Russell (+0.184) and Leclerc (+0.274). The soft tire only appeared about 15 minutes from the end of the session, and heavy rain arrived as it finished, which set teams up for a wet qualifying. Hamilton’s session ended early after he reported engine vibrations and smoke in the cockpit.
Q1 started in heavy rain and was red-flagged within about three minutes. After a long interruption, the session resumed with everyone on full wets, and times dropped sharply as the track evolved. Colapinto, Gasly, Stroll, Bottas, Pérez and Bortoleto were out in Q1, with Bortoleto hitting a barrier late in the session.
In Q2, Lawson moved to intermediates and briefly led the session by 1.6 seconds. That tire change really decided his session. Camara had an unfortunate crash at Turn 12, which brought out the second red flag, and he ended up 13th in his first F1 qualifying. Hamilton, Piastri, Camara, Lindblad, Sainz and Verstappen were out in Q2. It was Piastri’s second straight Q2 exit, and Verstappen did not run because of his penalty.
During Q3, the rain intensified with about seven minutes left, which closed the best window. Mercedes told Russell to abandon his last lap, and he was frustrated about it. He finished +0.204 behind Norris, with no time left to go again as the rain got worse. Norris set an early benchmark and held on. “It was about getting two laps in at the beginning and not making any mistakes,” he said, “and that’s exactly what we did, so it’s been a very good day.”
Behind the top four, Lawson was fifth, Hülkenberg sixth in the Audi, Hadjar seventh, Bearman eighth, Alonso ninth and Albon tenth. Once the penalties are applied, that group moves up the grid, which is why the midfield matters so much tomorrow.
Verstappen will start at the back of the grid because Red Bull exceeded the allowance for the combustion engine, turbocharger and exhaust, for a combined 30 places. Hamilton had an engine problem in final practice, and after Ferrari fitted a second new power unit, he will also start from the back. Leclerc takes a ten place drop after Ferrari exceeded the combustion-engine allowance, and Russell takes a five place drop for an engine change. Once the penalties are applied, Norris and Antonelli will be on the front row tomorrow, with Lawson third on the grid. Camara starts 11th, and Hamilton, Verstappen and Pérez fill the last three spots.
The forecast for Sunday is a 40% chance of heavy rain and thunderstorms.