Q2 – Leclerc keeps Ferrari in the lead
As the second segment began, Norris was quickest on used soft tyres with a provisional time of 1m 29.941s, before Verstappen took the lead with a time of 1m 29.374s on new tyres, with team-mate Perez completing a one-two race for Red Bull.
Leclerc held on to fourth place behind Alonso, Hamilton, Sainz and Piastri, while Russell and Stroll remained in the final top ten and within Q3 range ahead of the second and decisive run. The only one who had not set a time at this point was Magnussen, who lost a lap after exceeding the track limits.
A blistering final lap saw Leclerc top the timesheets with an eye-catching lap of 1m29.165s, two-tenths ahead of Verstappen, while Sainz took third place ahead of Hamilton, Alonso, an in-form Hulkenberg, Russell and Perez.
McLaren secured the remaining two places in Q3 with Norris (who withdrew on the final lap) and Piastri in ninth and tenth place respectively, narrowly holding off Tsunoda’s RB and Stroll’s Aston Martin, who was unable to catch team-mate Alonso and join the battle for pole position.
Albon, Ricciardo and Magnussen were the slowest of the Q2 runners in 13th, 14th and 15th place respectively, with Magnussen also struggling to make an impression after his lap times were deleted, finishing around sevenths of a second slower than the other drivers while closing in on Haas and Hulkenberg.
Eliminated: Tsunoda, Stroll, Albon, Ricciardo, Magnussen
