SQ1

The first part of Sprint Qualifying started with all drivers using the mandatory medium tyres. George Russell was the fastest, just ahead of his Mercedes teammate Antonelli. Max Verstappen set the early pace, but was quickly beaten by both McLaren drivers and Antonelli.

Meanwhile, Yuki Tsunoda had problems with his helmet and couldn’t put in a strong lap. Isack Hadjar’s time was deleted, but he managed to recover and place 12th, knocking Lance Stroll out of the session. In the end, Tsunoda, Stroll, Jack Doohan, Gabriel Bortoleto, and Oliver Bearman were eliminated.

SQ2

The second part of qualifying also used mandatory medium tyres. Antonelli was first to beat Verstappen’s time, but then Oscar Piastri went even faster. Lando Norris followed closely behind. Some drivers waited until the end of the session to do their laps, which made things exciting. Pierre Gasly hit the wall but still got a lap in.

Carlos Sainz made a mistake and went off at Turn 11, which meant he didn’t set a time and ended up 15th. Others who were knocked out included Nico Hulkenberg, Esteban Ocon, Gasly, and Liam Lawson. Norris ended the session on top.

SQ3

The final session lasted eight minutes and all drivers used mandatory soft tyres. Russell and Verstappen were the first on track, and Russell set a fast time. Verstappen then improved and went ahead.

But in the final minutes, Andrea Kimi Antonelli shocked everyone with the best time of 1:26.482. This gave him his first pole position in Formula 1, while making him the youngest in the F1 history to do so. Piastri and Norris tried to beat him, but ended up second and third. Verstappen dropped to fourth, with Russell fifth. Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton took sixth and seventh. The top ten was completed by Alex Albon, Hadjar, and Fernando Alonso.