This weekend we’re back in a more normal format than last weekend. Three qualifying sessions determine the starting grid.
Q1 had its share of surprises with an exclusion zone just a second away from the lead. It seems that at this track all single seaters are very close together in terms of performance.
There were no major scandals in Q2, apart perhaps from Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes failing to stay in the top 10. A rather rare vision of the seven-time world champion hitting the wall to avoid a slowing Haas. His passage through the pits to change wings interrupted his effort and he will only start 13th.
Q3 is the session that generated the most conversation. In fact, at this circuit most riders wait until the last moment to set a time as the surface improves towards the end of the session. Verstappen had no choice as his first attempt almost ended up in the wall.
Except that when the second try started for almost everyone, Charles Leclerc made a straight turn and hit the wall. Not a huge accident, but enough to show a red flag with just over a minute and a half to go. The session couldn’t be resumed in such a short time so the positions stayed the same and we experienced some surprises. Leclerc will start seventh but could have taken pole if he had stayed behind.
We find ourselves with a Perez who has been on form since his win in Baku and will be looking to take the championship lead while his teammate and current leader, Max Verstappen, will start from ninth place.
Alonso signs a front row restart and knows the two-time world champion. His aim will be to take the lead from the first corner to try to claim his first win in almost a decade…
Sainz qualifies very well and joins a completely Spanish-speaking top 3. We’ll see if he manages to overtake the race as it seems unlikely he’ll be worried about the laggards.
In fact, the two drivers behind him are Magnussen and Gasly. La Haas signed a place, certainly a bit of luck like he did in Brazil last year and I don’t think he can keep it knowing that Verstappen and Leclerc will come back very quickly. Gasly already has more of his place here but as for Magnussen it will be difficult to hold his own against the two riders who struggled here last year.
In short, a very nice race awaits us!
