Q2 – Piastri fastest, Perez eliminated

Norris picked up where he left off in Q1, setting a time of 1m30.007s in the early stages of Q2, several tenths faster than Leclerc and teammate Piastri, while Hamilton, Perez and Verstappen – the latter experiencing a wild moment on the final corner – all had lap times deleted.

Hamilton made amends next time, breaking the 1m30s mark with a time of 1m29.929s, while Russell in third pushed Norris into a Mercedes sandwich – the Silver Arrows seemed to spring to life despite further complaints from Russell over the radio.

Hülkenberg was in sixth place at this point, ahead of Tsunoda, Sainz, Perez and Magnussen, leaving Alonso, Albon (who also complained about declining grip levels), Colapinto, Ocon and Verstappen in the relegation zone ahead of the decisive second races.

As the climax of Q2 approached, Verstappen and then Piastri – with a time of 1m29.640s – moved into the lead, placing them ahead of Leclerc, Hamilton, Norris and Sainz, while Hülkenberg, Russell, Tsunoda and Alonso ultimately secured the final spots in the pole position shootout.

This meant another painful early exit from qualifying for Perez, who struggled to finish 13th behind Albon and Colapinto. Magnussen returned to the race and – after being banned for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix last weekend – finished 14th, with Ocon completing the order in Q2.

Eliminated: Albon, Colapinto, Perez, Magnussen, Ocon