Q1

Qualifying kicked off with sunny weather and an incredible atmosphere from the fans. This was also the first qualifying session under the new flexi-wing regulations. The green light at the end of the pit lane signaled the start of the session.

The first drivers on track were Franco Colapinto and the Haas duo of Ocon and Bearman. The first measured lap times came in around the 1:14s. Albon was now in second place, with Lance Stroll holding first. But it was only the start, and the majority of the drivers were still in the pits. The time range soon dropped into the 1:13s.

With 13 minutes left, everyone headed out on track, creating traffic for drivers already running laps. Nico Hülkenberg took provisional P1, while Tsunoda slotted into fourth. But the lead didn’t last long as Lawson went fastest. Carlos Sainz, after his first timed lap, was in fourth.

Lando Norris then took the lead with a half-second gap to second. George Russell was very close but missed out on the top spot by just 0.007s. Oscar Piastri put in a great lap to take provisional pole. Alonso delivered a decent lap, moving up to fifth, faster than Lewis Hamilton, who was in sixth. Charles Leclerc moved into fourth, and Albon, who finished FP3 in 19th, was now impressively in fifth.

Max Verstappen completed his first measured lap and jumped into second place. With six minutes left, the bottom five were Hülkenberg, Ocon, Sainz, Tsunoda, and Bortoleto. Most drivers returned to the pits. But as the clock approached four minutes, they went back out with fresh soft tyres.

Colapinto suffered a technical problem at the end of the pit lane, blocking several drivers lined up behind him. Carlos Sainz was one of the first to get around him and rejoin the track. Meanwhile, Nico Hülkenberg improved to ninth, and his teammate moved up to seventh.

Antonelli tried to push but wasn't successful, ending up in fifth. Sainz began his measured lap, needing to deliver as he was down in 19th. He improved, but only to 13th. Lawson managed to improve to seventh.

Colapinto didn’t finish Q1 due to the technical issue with his car. At the chequered flag, Ocon moved up to 15th, pushing Sainz down to 16th. But then Ocon’s teammate came through and finished in 12th. The drivers eliminated in Q1 were Hülkenberg, Ocon, Colapinto, Tsunoda, and the home hero Sainz, who finished 18th.

Q2

The second qualifying session began with Albon setting the first lap time, followed by Bearman. But that didn’t last, as Verstappen took the lead, with Bortoleto in second and Lawson in third.

Gasly moved up to second place, while Hadjar improved to third. Lando Norris then took the lead from Verstappen. Alonso put in a fantastic lap and moved into third. Leclerc soon beat that to take third from Alonso, and Hamilton followed, bumping his teammate down the order.

Oscar Piastri took the top spot with a 1:11.998. Antonelli was in ninth, while his teammate Russell sat in fourth. With six minutes remaining, most drivers returned to their garages.

In the final three minutes, the drivers at risk of elimination were Bortoleto, Lawson, Albon, Stroll, and Bearman. Albon managed to improve to 10th. Bortoleto only improved to 11th. Hadjar, ready to attack, moved up to sixth and was the first to cross the line after the chequered flag.

Lawson stayed in 13th. Albon dropped to 11th and was at risk. Stroll returned to the pits and didn’t finish his run, staying in 14th. Bearman wasn’t able to improve and remained in 15th. Gasly was in 10th. The order remained unchanged as the top five stayed in the pits.

Albon was unable to improve and ended Q2 in 11th, missing out on Q3.

Q3

The final part of qualifying began with all drivers heading out immediately. Piastri set the first time and took the lead. Antonelli briefly held second before Russell surpassed him. Verstappen, with the fastest third sector, improved to third, splitting the Mercedes drivers.

Gasly finished his lap in fifth before Hamilton moved up to fourth. Lando Norris then took provisional pole from his teammate. Leclerc slotted into fourth, with Russell improving to third.

The only drivers without a time were Alonso and Hadjar, but that soon changed. Alonso started his measured lap and improved to P5. With three minutes remaining, the drivers returned to the track.

Hadjar improved to P5, pushing Alonso to sixth. But that didn’t last long, Gasly went faster and took P5. Norris improved his time at the front, but his teammate Oscar Piastri snatched pole position.

Antonelli finished in fourth. Hamilton improved to third, but Verstappen quickly reclaimed P3. George Russell took fourth, pushing Hamilton down to fifth.

Leclerc ended the session in seventh, with Gasly in eighth, Hadjar in ninth, and Alonso in tenth.