Norris’ crash interrupted the first runs of all his rivals in Q3 apart from Piastri, who laid down a marker just before his team-mate lost control over the kerb at Turn Five and slid sideways into the wall.
When the session resumed, Verstappen went out on his semi-used tyres and took over top spot in his Red Bull from Piastri by just 0.001secs.
The four-time world champion came straight back in to switch to fresh tyres and, while he warmed up, first Russell – and then Piastri – took top spot.
But Verstappen signalled his intent with a blistering first sector, 0.123secs quicker than Piastri. Although the Australian was quicker in both the second and third sectors, the Dutchman had done enough to grab pole.
Verstappen said: “I definitely didn’t expect to be on pole here but the car came alive in the night and it was a lot more enjoyable to drive. The grip was coming to me. Around here a qualifying lap is extremely difficult. It is really satisfying.
“Tomorrow in the race it will be tough to keep them behind but we are going to give it a good go.”
Piastri said: “Max has done a good job, another high-speed circuit for them, where they seem to have a little more success. Our pace is good. It’s going to be a tough race, the tyres are softer than last year and we’ll see if that plays to our advantage.”
More to follow.
Leave a Reply