The first sprint qualifying session of the season had an unpredictable finish due to changing conditions at the end.
Following an eventful one-hour qualifying session characterized by wet conditions, Lando Norris secured pole position on the grid ahead of Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin. The session’s unpredictable nature led to a mixed grid lineup, setting the stage for an interesting sprint race day.
Sprint Qualifying 1
Amidst the backdrop of light rain at the beginning of the session, Red Bull’s Sergio Perez surged to the front with an impressive lap time of 1m36.110s on medium tires. His performance left his closest rival, Norris, trailing by over a quarter of a second. Despite the damp conditions, the track remained dry enough for drivers to stick with slicks throughout the session, adding an element of strategy and precision to their performances. However, as the session drew to a close, sparks from the cars ignited grass at the trackside, reminiscent of the challenge faced in the previous practice session.
Unfortunately, these are the drivers that failed to progress past the initial stage, Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon of Alpine, along with Alex Albon of Williams, Yuki Tsunoda of RB, and Logan Sargeant of Williams.
Sprint Qualifying 2
As the wait continued for the second qualifying session, the trackside fire from SQ1 caused a slight delay in proceedings. Meanwhile, ominous clouds loomed overhead, threatening heavier rain in the middle of the session. Despite the looming weather uncertainty, Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing seized the moment and set the pace with a lap time of 1m35.606s. His performance put him a tenth of a second ahead of Charles Leclerc of Ferrari. As the rain began to fall, the tension mounted, and the battle for grid positions intensified.
At the end of SQ2, drivers such as George Russell of Mercedes, Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen of Haas, Daniel Ricciardo of RB, and Lance Stroll of Aston Martin were among those eliminated from contention at this stage of qualifying.
Sprint Qualifying 3
In a display of skill and nerve, Perez set an impressive benchmark time of 2m00.455s, momentarily asserting a commanding lead over the pursuing pack. However, Bottas of Sauber swiftly closed the gap, securing the second spot just a hair’s breadth behind Perez with mere minutes remaining.
As the clock ticked down, Verstappen and Norris both had their moments off track, resulting in deleted times. Meanwhile, Alonso surged ahead to claim the provisional pole position with a time of 2m00.213s, edging out Perez by a slim margin of 0.162s.
In a dramatic twist, Hamilton unleashed an impressive time of 1m59.321s, leaving Alonso trailing by six tenths of a second. However, Norris emerged as the ultimate pole-sitter, despite initial concerns about exceeding track limits, with a stellar time of 1m57.540s.
With Norris securing pole position, Hamilton settled for second place, Alonso clinched third on the grid. Followed by the top three are Verstappen, Sainz, Perez, Leclerc, Piastri, Bottas, and Zhou Guanyu to the delight of his home fans.
After The Sprint Qualifying Session
What an exciting sprint qualifying session that was. It looked as if Perez was in the clear to finish in pole due to the amount of drivers struggling on the wet track along with the lack of time remaining. Not to mention the amount of lap time deletions going around. Once the cars came around to put down there final lap times, it was clear pole position was up for anyone to grab.
Originally, Norris faced a setback as his best time was disqualified for exceeding track limits at the final corner of his previous lap. This momentarily elevated Lewis Hamilton to first place on the grid. However, race control swiftly reversed their decision and reinstated Norris’ time, allowing him to reclaim his position at the front of the pack. While not as pivotal as full grand prix qualifying, this outcome holds notable significance as it marks the first time this season of a McLaren securing pole position. It also represents a return to form for the team since Norris last clinched pole in the sprint shootout during the Brazilian Grand Prix last year.
Norris after qualifying on pole:
“It was wild. I am extremely happy, big thanks to the team. It was tricky — I got a good final lap. I am happy, sad it is not for a proper qualifying, but good enough.”
Hamilton spoke after his highest qualifying finish of the season so far:
“It was very tricky, tricky conditions, not a lot of grip as you saw for everyone. But yeah, so happy. As soon as I saw the rain coming, I was getting excited.”
On his initial run, Verstappen veered off track at Turn Six, facing a similar challenge at the final corner during his second attempt. Despite these hurdles, he managed to execute a proper lap just before the checkered flag. However, his effort fell short of securing a spot on the front row of the grid for the first time this season.
Verstappen on his disappointing session:
“It was incredibly slippery — it was very difficult to keep the car on-track, and it never really switched on for me. — It was just like driving on ice. That’s why I think it was quite deserved where we are in qualifying, because it’s not really working for me in the wet, even though I think the dry we look quite good.”
The full results of sprint qualifying can be found here.
Thats a close on the sprint qualifying session. Up next is the seasons first sprint race.
