Q2 – Piastri fastest, Perez knocked out
Norris picked up where he left off in Q1 by posting a 1m 30.007s in the early stages of Q2, a few tenths up on Leclerc and team mate Piastri, while Hamilton, Perez and Verstappen – the latter experiencing a wild moment at the final corner – all had lap times deleted.
Hamilton made up for it next time around, breaking the 1m30s mark on a 1m 29.929s, with Russell going third to put Norris in a Mercedes sandwich – the Silver Arrows appearing to come alive despite further complaints from Russell over the radio.
Hulkenberg was up in sixth at this point, from Tsunoda, Sainz, Perez and Magnussen, leaving Alonso, Albon (who was another to complain about grip levels disappearing), Colapinto, Ocon and Verstappen in the drop zone ahead of the decisive second runs.
Verstappen and then Piastri – on a 1m 29.640s – moved to the fore when the Q2 climax approached, placing ahead of Leclerc, Hamilton, Norris and Sainz, as Hulkenberg, Russell, Tsunoda and Alonso ultimately secured the final spots in the pole position shootout.
It meant another painful, early qualifying exit for Perez, who struggled to P13 behind Albon and Colapinto, with Magnussen 14th on his return to action – having been hit with a ban for last weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix – and Ocon completing the Q2 order.
Knocked out: Albon, Colapinto, Perez, Magnussen, Ocon
