Q2 – Verstappen flyer as Alonso exits
Ocon and Gasly’s Alpine team were the first out on track as the clock ticked down to 15 minutes of Q2, with the team enjoying an increasing number of Q3 starts of late.
“I had a lot of bounce,” said Sainz after recording a lap in the Ferrari, a comment that may raise some concerns for the Scuderia. Meanwhile, the competition between the remaining competitors intensified as Verstappen returned to the lead in an impressive time of 1 minute and 4.577 seconds, half a second ahead of Russell and Piastri.
While Sainz finished second, his compatriot Alonso appeared to struggle to get out of the elimination zone, after he reported that he “almost crashed” his Aston Martin in turns seven and ten in a flying lap.
There was a problem for Hulkenberg, with the Haas driver set to be investigated after the session after he got ahead of Perez in a crowded pitlane queue. Not ideal for the German, who was given a time penalty in the sprint race earlier in the day after an incident with Alonso.
Despite his earlier flyer, Verstappen returned to the track on new rubber and improved his time with a lap of 1 minute 04.469 seconds. Furthermore, Hulkenberg moved up to ninth, but right-back duo Ricciardo and Tsunoda found themselves in 11th and 14th, while Magnussen, Gasly and Alonso also failed to qualify.
Out of the race: Ricciardo, Magnussen, Gasly, Tsunoda, Alonso
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