Norris scraped through in P10, beating Yuki Tsonda by just 13 milliseconds.
The drivers out in Q2 were:
11th: Yuki TSUNODA
12th: Liam LAWSON
13th: Nico HULKENBERG
14th: Valtteri BOTTAS
15th: Logan SARGEANT
Q3
With this session featuring the soft-compound tyres exclusively, it was game on for pole between Ferrari and Verstappen.
It was the dream start for the Scuderia as Leclerc bested Verstappen in his first run and then Carlos Sainz took the top spot to the delight of the Tifosi. At the end of the first runs, the top three were separated by just a tenth of a second – tense stuff!
With Hamilton seemingly struggling in ninth, Russell stunned fans by putting his Mercedes ahead of Albon, who’s been quick all weekend. The ten drivers used every bit of grip available from the softs as the positions on the leaderboard were constantly shifting, with Russell finishing ahead of Sergio Perez, bringing home yet another subpar qualifying result for the Mexican driver.
Both Perez and Russell eventually leapfrogged Albon in the order towards the end of the session but it was very impressive to see Williams driver in the top six yet again, demonstrating the Thai driver’s sheer talent.
Charles Leclerc opted not to have a tow for his final run, leaving the Monegasque to come an impressive yet disappointing P3, which he later regretted. Despite this, Leclerc was very grateful for the Tifosi’s unwavering support.