Key events
It has all settled down now. We know where we stand, and that is with George Russell on pole, with Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton splitting him from Kimi Antonelli. And Max Verstappen down in fifth, ahead of the two McLarens. It’s still the big seven.
Tomorrow, Dominic Booth will be with you for the race. For now, I’ll leave you with Giles Richard’s report on a remarkable qualifying session.
Oscar Piastri: “Not quick enough, unfortunately … We didn’t have enough to challenge George today. Little bit frustrating … Just losing that last little bit.”
Lando Norris came in sixth. “That was a good qualifying from us … P6, P7 is not where you want to be but I think our laps very close … It’s where we realistically are.” Everyone has been pretty happy, except Antonelli.
Lewis Hamilton looks pretty happy: “Very, very close between everyone. Small margins I think we’ve done a really really good job over the weekend.” He regrets his first lap in Q3 “so I had a lot to recover. But it’s a great to be up there with Charles. And It’s a long way to turn three.”
As Jamie Chadwick says: “George pulled it out of nowhere.” Russell “knew the rules and had the extra time to react”, Varun stresses.
Antonelli speaks and takes the blame for aborting his lap. “I don’t know why but I thought it was a double yellow … that was my mistake.” He thinks his lap would have been slower than Russell anyway. Karun Chandhok says that the light came on so close to Antonelli that it was an easy mistake to make.
An utterly bizarre qualifying session, with the key character in Q2 and Q3 arguably Max Verstappen. First, he sat in his garage and almost saw himself bumped out of the top 10. Then he turned on the speed, setting the fastest initial time, was overtaken, then crashed out.
Verstappen speaks. “I arrived to turn nine and immediately it was gone.” He reckons he would have had at best P3, though.
Max Verstappen is fine, by the way.
Bernie Collins has said Russell has pole, “case closed”. And that is good enough for me.
Looks as if Antonelli lifted completely when he didn’t need to, Russell got it right and just lifted, then the deletions of the in-lap confused the situation.
Russell had a big lift into the corner, once he saw the yellow. If a marshal had been waving double yellow then it would have been decisive. Anthony Davidson is showing the difference between single yellows and double yellows on the light panel. It is becoming clearer.
Jamie Chadwick, multiple W Series winner, says that Russell would have been aware had it been two yellows via his dashboard.
David Croft now says it was the in-lap that was deleted. Russell did slow down. The question is if it was double yellow.
Ferrari chief Frédéric Vasseur says that you need to have the data to be sure and they don’t have the data.
“There is still an element of confusion at the back of Ferrari,” says Ted Kravitz.
Russell ecstatic on the radio but no one really knows.
Wolff saying single yellow, 100m lift. Croft was saying double yellow. Wolff saying Antonelli should not have abandoned.
David Croft is showing the computer screen suggesting Russell’s time will be deleted.
Russell has pole!
Giancarlo Fisichella back to Russell. He says he has been cleared.
Lewis Hamilton now. “To have the two Ferraris in second and third is fantastic.” He thanks the factory for the upgrades.
Charles Leclerc is as expected happy. “To start second is a good place to start on … I didn’t think we’d be starting on the front row.”
George Russell is being interviewed as pole sitter. He says it was a single yellow.
The expectation is that Russell will lose his lap. Double yellow flags mean time is deleted. Antonelli had to pull out. Russell carried on. My guess is Leclerc gets pole. But I’m not a steward.
Russell was going fastest but his time will be struck out by the yellow flags.
Chaos! Verstappen crashes and it’s a Ferrari one-two! Yellow flags!
Ferrari come good. Hamilton fastest by 0.006! Then Leclerc pips him!
Hamilton going quickly, faster than Antonell’s time early on, as is Leclerc.
Never mind last chance saloon, here we have last chance single-seaters. Who will take pole?
Russell just 0.043 behind Antonelli is a triumph after his earlier struggles. Verstappen is 0.061 back. So tight.
Hamilton ran wide. He has no time and is down in 10th.
Antonelli goes fastest by 0.061 and Russell pulls it out to go second.
Verstappen 1:06.475! Fastest anyone has gone all weekend.
Norris is the first to cross the line for a flying lap: 1:06.9.
And here we go for Q3. As ever, there is more space on the track for the wheat, now the chaff has been discarded.
Bernie Collins and all the Sky team take their hats off to Hannah Schmitz, the Red Bull strategist who made that call. Quite how valuable it will prove will be shown in Q3.
It was all about having two sets of new tyres for Q3. Only Hadjar from the top teams won’t have two.
Just trying to imagine Verstappen’s reaction if he had gone out. Really doesn’t bear thinking about. Laurent Mekies admits it was a bit too close, “on the too risky side”.
Q2 exits – and Verstappen not among them
Out go Gasly, Bortoleto, Bearman, Hulkenberg, Ocon and Colapinto.
Karun Chandhok says of Red Bull “their appetite for risk is much higher than mine”.
Verstappen survives by 0.460! Pierre Gasly just fails to knock him out.
Hamilton edges ahead of Leclerc into fifth. Verstappen has stayed in the pits and is now in 10th!
Phew. Russell fourth fastest. Antonelli goes out. Piastri resting in second.
Russell looking for it, Wolff telling him to “just drive”.
Bortoleto, Colapinto, Bearman, Hulkenberg, Ocon and Russell in the drop zone. Lindblad is 10th if Russell can make a lap.
Ouch. Russell runs wide and has no time on the board.
