George Russell dominated sprint qualifying to take pole for tomorrow’s sprint race ahead of Kimi Antonelli and Lando Norris.
Mercedes back at it again
It’s another 1-2 for Mercedes as driver George Russell topped every session by a significant margin to take pole, just ahead of teammate Kimi Antonelli in P2.
Russell seemed pretty much untouchable throughout the entirety of qualifying as he just became more and more composed and in the zone as the laps went on. Antonelli, however, though he drove some very strong laps, is under investigation after the session for the potential impeding of McLaren driver Lando Norris.
McLaren on much stronger form
After a weekend full of ups and down last time out in Australia, McLaren look to have found their groove as driver Lando Norris finished P3, with teammate Oscar Piastri finishing a strong P5. There is still work to be done at McLaren for sure, but the good laps set today can hopefully bring back some positivity to the team.
Hope for Ferrari
Though missing out on the front row, Ferrari drivers Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc qualified in P4 and P6 for the sprint, which is still a very strong outing for the team. Having been only a few tenths off the pace of Mercedes driver George Russell in SQ1, the gap appeared to grow between them throughout SQ2 and SQ3, leaving the prancing horses unable to snatch pole for themselves from the silver arrows.
Trouble down at Red Bull
Unfortunately for the team, Red Bull seem to be lacking pace so far this weekend as Max Verstappen only managed to qualify P8, with teammate Isack Hadjar in P10.
Verstappen could be heard on the radio during SQ1 saying that the gears shifts felt terrible, and it’s clear the driver remains rather unhappy with this year’s set up.
The rest of the grid
Cadillac are still trying to find their feet, and after a disappointing qualifying session, the team will be hoping to see some improvement as the weekend goes on. Valtteri Bottas qualified for the sprint race in P21, while Sergio Pérez didn’t take part altogether as his car suffered from fuel system issues.
Aston Martin are looking no better than they did in Australia as Fernando Alonso qualified in P19, with Lance Stroll in P20.
Haas driver Oliver Bearman drove some brilliant laps to qualify in P8, splitting the two Red Bulls. Bearman finished P8 in last year’s Grand Prix, and so he will hoping to replicate such a performance throughout this weekend.
Alpine’s Pierre Gasly did well to qualify in P7, however he is under investigation after the session for potentially impeding Max Verstappen.
Feature image courtesy of Formula 1