Cloudiness of the sky. Dry. Air +27…28С, highway +43…44С
Friday during the Formula 1 sprint weekend is hectic and fast: an hour practice session and a 45 minute qualifying for the sprint. It’s tough for the teams, it’s not enough for the spectators, but these are the rules.
In the morning Verstappen showed the best time, but it was difficult to interpret the results – everyone was working on different programs, with different tires, everyone was trying to catch up with the car in time.
Pirelli brought three ‘soft’ compounds to the podium: C3, C4 and C5 in the Hard, Medium and Soft roles. The softest compound wears out quickly, but offers a clear speed advantage.
In the evening, the stands were almost completely filled with Max Verstappen’s “orange army” – they only expected the victory of their idol, but in some stands there were also fans of other teams, in contrast to their diversity.
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In the first session everyone, as required by regulations, went to Medium. Hamilton was the first to complete the first fast lap, but was thrown off the track and the attempt was canceled for a violation. A total of twelve laps were canceled in the first session.
Yuki Tsunoda completed a fast lap and spun on the final corner of the track, resulting in a brief yellow flag.
Verstappen showed the best time and completed a lap in 1:05.690. Ricciardo, Hulkenberg, Bottas, Zhou and Albon, who were unexpectedly ahead of Sargent, dropped out of the further fight.
In the second sessioneveryone went back to Medium. Verstappen drove faster at the first attempt, his rivals also improved – the first eight fit in four tenths, but no one could stay ahead of Max.
On the second attempt, Verstappen, Russell, Piastri and Sainz did not enter the track. Leclerc, Norris and Hamilton aborted the attempt and returned to the pits, while the rest continued to fight.
Perez and Stroll had to cancel their fastest lap because they exceeded the track boundaries.
Verstappen topped the protocol and lapped in 1:05.186. Magnussen, Stroll, Alonso, Tsunoda and Sargent did not qualify for the final.
In the final The riders were able to install Soft, but were in no hurry to get on the track and missed the first three of the eight minutes – there was only one more attempt.
Hamilton left first, followed by Russell and Piastri, after which the rest left the pits. Oscar was in no hurry to leave the pit lane, causing a traffic jam. Leclerc turned to the side and stopped, then continued, but did not have time to start a fast lap.
Verstappen again showed the best time: 1:04.686.
Max Verstappen won sprint qualifying for the second time this season and the eighth in his career, in which he will share the front row with Lando Norris, Piastri and Russell will start from second, Sainz and Hamilton from third.
Sprint Qualification Results
| Pilot | Team | 1 session | Session 2 | Session 3 | ||||||
| M | Time | Kr | M | Time | Kr | M | Time | Kr | ||
| 1. M. Verstappen | Red Bull | 1 | 1:05,690 | 5 | 1 | 1:05.186 | 3 | 1 | 1:04,686 | 3 |
| 2. L. Norris | McLaren | 4 | 1:05.786 | 6 | 7 | 1:05.561 | 4 | 2 | 1:04.779 | 3 |
| 3. O. Piastri | McLaren | 6 | 1:06,081 | 8 | 3 | 1:05.379 | 3 | 3 | 1:04,987 | 3 |
| 4. D.Russell | Mercedes | 2 | 1:05,764 | 3 | 2 | 1:05.325 | 3 | 4 | 1:05,054 | 3 |
| 5. K. Sainz | Ferrari | 3 | 1:05,781 | 6 | 4 | 1:05.435 | 3 | 5 | 1:05.126 | 3 |
| 6. L. Hamilton | Mercedes | 13 | 1:06,504 | 6 | 6 | 1:05,539 | 4 | 6 | 1:05.270 | 3 |
| 7. C. Perez | Red Bull | 8 | 1:06.256 | 6 | 8 | 1:05.612 | 5 | 7 | 1:06.008 | 3 |
| 8. E. Okon | Alps | 9 | 1:06.343 | 6 | 9 | 1:05.686 | 3 | 8 | 1:06.101 | 3 |
| 9. P. Gasly | Alps | eleven | 1:06.465 | 6 | 10 | 1:05,757 | 3 | 9 | 1:06.624 | 3 |
| 10. S. Leclerc | Ferrari | 7 | 1:06.149 | 6 | 5 | 1:05.526 | 4 | 10 | – | 2 |
| 11. K.Magnussen | Hare | 10 | 1:06,387 | 5 | eleven | 1:05,806 | 3 | |||
| 12. L. Walk | Aston Martin | 5 | 1:06.037 | 5 | 12 | 1:05.847 | 3 | |||
| 13. F. Alonso | Aston Martin | 12 | 1:06.487 | 6 | 13 | 1:05,878 | 3 | |||
| 14. Yu.Tsunoda | RB | 15 | 1:06.557 | 6 | 14 | 1:05,960 | 3 | |||
| 15. L. Sargent | Williams | 14 | 1:06.518 | 6 | 15 | – | 3 | |||
| 16. D. Ricciardo | RB | 16 | 1:06.581 | 6 | ||||||
| 17. N. Hulkenberg | Hare | 17 | 1:06.583 | 6 | ||||||
| 18. V. Bottas | Sauber | 18 | 1:06,725 | 6 | ||||||
| 19. A. Elbon | Williams | 19 | 1:06.754 | 6 | ||||||
| 20. G.Zhou | Sauber | 20 | 1:07.197 | 6 | ||||||
Source: F1 News
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.
