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Analysis: How George Russell Beat Lando Norris And Max Verstappen To British Grand Prix Pole Position

admin — Sat, 06 Jul 2024 15:47:19 +0000

George Russell is the form man in Formula 1 at the moment, as he grabbed a second pole position in four races to head an all-British top 3 in the British Grand Prix qualifying on Saturday. Russell finished 0.171s ahead of Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton, who qualified P2. McLaren’s Lando Norris slotted in third, despite being the favourite going into qualifying. His teammate Oscar Piastri qualified P5. It was a disappointing day for Max Verstappen by his standards, as he qualified only fourth. But how did Mercedes come out on top?

Wet weather the secret to Mercedes success

Not for the first time in 2024, the Mercedes came alive in cooler conditions. Much like the Canadian GP when Russell grabbed pole, a wet-to-dry qualifying session suited the Mercedes car during qualifying, making them the team to beat on the soft tyre runs.

Championship leader Max Verstappen went off into the gravel in Q1, and a possible loss of downforce from that incident meant that the Dutchman was never really in contention for pole.

With rain on the cards on Sunday, George Russell will be eyeing up a second successive win, after his Austrian GP success last weekend.

Watch out for Hamilton, Norris

Lewis Hamilton is an eight-time winner at Silverstone, and no driver drives the circuit quite like the seven-time world champion. Starting on the front row, Hamilton, for once in 2024, will not have to rue a poor qualifying result.

Lando Norris in the McLaren is likely to also take the fight to the two Silver Arrows. In recent weekends, the McLaren has been the fastest car on raceday.

Day to forget for Ferrari

Ferrari have abruptly fallen behind Red Bull, McLaren and Mercedes, proved by the fact that Nico Hulkenberg in the Haas outqualified Carlos Sainz. The day was even worse for Charles Leclerc, who failed to make it to Q3.

Lance Stroll (P8) also outqualified Fernando Alonso (P10) in the Aston Martin team.

Earlier in the day, Sergio Perez beached it in the gravel in Q1, meaning it was yet another Q1 elimination for the Mexican.

British GP Qualifying Top 10: 1. George Russell, 2. Lewis Hamilton, 3. Lando Norris, 4. Max Verstappen, 5. Oscar Piastri, 6. Nico Hulkenberg, 7. Carlos Sainz, 8. Lance Stroll, 9. Alex Albon, 10. Fernando Alonso.

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Max Verstappen Fights Off Valiant Lando Norris For Spanish Grand Prix Win, Lewis Hamilton Gets Podium

admin — Sun, 23 Jun 2024 14:46:37 +0000

McLaren driver Lando Norris fought right to the end, but it was Max Verstappen who won his seventh race of the season at the 2024 Spanish Grand Prix. The gap between the two drivers were separated by only 2.2 seconds at the chequered flag, after a valiant push from the British driver, to close the gap from more than eight seconds at one point. Mercedes finished third and fourth for the second consecutive race, but this time, Lewis Hamilton grabbed his first Grand Prix podium of 2024.

At the start of the race, George Russell went from fourth to first in the first turn, with an audacious move. Crucially, Verstappen also pipped pole-sitter Norris at the start. The Dutchman would soon overtake Russell on Lap 3, a move that would allow him to manage his pace and tyres at the front.

Ferrari duo Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz finished where they started, coming home in fifth and sixth. Leclerc was less than a second behind Russell at the end.

Home hero Fernando Alonso endured a race to forget, finishing pointless at a disappointing 12th place.

Russell was ahead of Norris and Hamilton for most of the race. However, Mercedes’ decision to put hard tyres on his final stint proved to be the wrong choice, as he slipped down the podium places.

Sainz also spent most of the race ahead of Leclerc, having overtaken him in Lap 2. However, he also fell victim to the hard tyres.

Oscar Piastri recovered from his worst qualifying of 2024 to finish seventh, while Sergio Perez got eighth.

And it was a bright day for French constructors Alpine, as both Pierre Gasly (P9) and Esteban Ocon (P10) finished in the points.

Verstappen continues to lead the championship standings, now going 70 points in front of everyone. Norris, however, has leapfrogged Leclerc to second.

The F1 circus next heads to Austria, for the Austrian GP, on June 30.

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Dominant Max Verstappen Wins Japanese GP In Red Bull One-Two

admin — Sun, 07 Apr 2024 08:25:43 +0000

Triple world champion Max Verstappen romped to victory at the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday, leading team-mate Sergio Perez to a dominant one-two finish for Red Bull. Verstappen failed to finish in Australia a fortnight ago but he was in control for the entire race at Suzuka after starting from pole and claimed his third win from four grands prix this season. The Dutchman finished 12.535sec ahead of the Mexican Perez, who came home in front of Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz in dry, sunny conditions. Verstappen said “the critical bit was the start, to stay ahead”.

“After that, the car just got better and better,” he said.

“Everything just went very well. It couldn’t have been any better.”

Sainz, who triumphed in Australia, took third ahead of Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc, who started from eighth on the grid.

McLaren’s Lando Norris, second in last year’s race, was fifth ahead of Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso.

Mercedes’ George Russell edged out McLaren’s Oscar Piastri for seventh, while Lewis Hamilton was ninth in the other Mercedes.

Verstappen was starting from pole for the fourth time in as many races this season and stamped his authority on the race from the off, leading Perez to the first turn.

He said this week that Suzuka was one of his favourite circuits and he has now won the Japanese Grand Prix three times in a row.

He was back to his breathtaking best after a brake issue in Melbourne saw him retire from a race for the first time in two years.

“It was a little hiccup the last race but I’m very happy that we’re back on top,” said Verstappen, who has taken an early stranglehold on the world championship.

Perez, who failed to finish at Suzuka last year, picked up his third runner-up finish of the season.

“I think we have a good momentum,” he said.

“Last year here was probably my worst weekend, so I think if we are strong here I think we can be strong anywhere else.

“It’s been a good weekend.”

Japan’s Yuki Tsunoda was 10th for RB, scoring points at his home grand prix for the first time.

Early red flag

The race was red-flagged on only the second lap after RB’s Daniel Ricciardo and Williams’ Alex Albon collided in a frenetic start.

Albon’s front wing clipped into the rear of Ricciardo’s car as they jockeyed for position and both slammed into the wall before getting out unscathed, but their race was over.

The action resumed from a standing start and Verstappen picked up from where he left off ahead of Perez.

Leclerc took over the lead after Verstappen pitted on his 17th lap, but the Red Bull driver was back in front four laps later.

Verstappen and Perez both consolidated their positions, leaving Norris fighting for third against the two Ferraris.

A late lock-up cost the McLaren driver his chance of a podium finish.

Sauber’s Zhou Guanyu retired with a gearbox issue on his 19th lap.

Williams’ Logan Sargeant skidded off the track to a standstill late in the race but resumed driving.

The championship resumes in a fortnight’s time with the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai.

It will be the first time the event has been held since 2019, before it was curtailed by the pandemic.

The Japan race was being held in April after being shifted forward from its usual late-season slot.

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Carlos Sainz Wins Australian GP In Ferrari 1-2 After Max Verstappen’s DNF

admin — Sun, 24 Mar 2024 06:07:34 +0000

Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz surged to victory at the Australian Grand Prix Sunday to snap Red Bull’s winning start to the season after three-time world champion Max Verstappen sensationally failed to finish. The Spaniard, who had appendicitis surgery two weeks ago and missed the last race, took the chequered flag 2.3 seconds ahead of teammate Charles Leclerc, with McLaren’s Lando Norris a bold third. It was Sainz’s third grand prix win and first since Singapore last year. But it was a disastrous day for pole-sitter Verstappen, who limped out with smoke billowing from his car after being passed by front-row partner Sainz on lap two.

“I have smoke, blue smoke, fire, fire,” the Dutchman said on the team radio before his first retirement in more than two years after what appeared to be a rear brake issue.

It was also a horror race for Lewis Hamilton in his inconsistent Mercedes, with the British seven-time world champion suffering engine failure on lap 17.

To add to Mercedes’ woes, teammate George Russell crashed heavily on the last lap with the car ending on its side. Russell climbed out unscathed.

Verstappen emphatically won the opening two grands prix of the season in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia in a Red Bull 1-2 and was hot favourite to make it three from three.

He had been aiming to match his own record set last year of 10 consecutive wins — one more than Sebastian Vettel in 2013 — and was unbeaten in his last 18 starts from pole position.

But while Verstappen was favoured to win, the Ferraris had proved highly competitive in practice and qualifying on the fast and flowing Albert Park track.

Despite not being fully fit, Sainz topped Q1 and Q2 to fire a warning shot before Verstappen pounced in Q3.

“P1 baby, P1 baby, it’s amazing. Life’s a rollercoaster at times, said Sainz, whose seat at Ferrari is to be taken by Hamilton next year.

‘Wasn’t easy physically’

“Very happy, I felt really great out there. Of course it wasn’t easy physically, but I was lucky I was more or less on my own out there and I could manage my pace.”

On a fine day, Oscar Piastri in the other McLaren was fourth ahead of Sergio Perez in the second Red Bull. Fernando Alonso was sixth ahead of Aston Martin teammate Lance Stroll.

RB’s Yuki Tsunoda was eighth, with Haas pair Nico Hulkenburg and Kevin Magnussen rounding out the top 10.

“It feels good mostly for the team of course, first and second didn’t happen since Bahrain 2022,” said Leclerc.

“Carlos has had an incredible weekend to come back from his surgery, he’s done an amazing race.”

Verstappen made a clean start and pulled clear of Sainz when the lights went out, with Norris holding onto third as they jostled for position.

But his lead didn’t last with Sainz opening his DRS on lap two to slice past and take the lead.

“I just lost the car — really weird,” Verstappen said on the radio, before smoke started pouring out and headed to the pits and retirement.

The race took on a different characteristic with Sainz leading from Norris and Leclerc with Perez down in sixth.

The pit stops began on lap eight with Hamilton coming in, followed by his Mercedes teammate George Russell, with both having started on soft tyres to the mediums of almost everyone else.

Sainz pitted on lap 17.

With the stops done, Sainz had a 2.6sec lead from Leclerc at the halfway mark, closely followed by Piastri and Norris.

With no Verstappen to contend with, the Spaniard gradually built the gap as Norris passed Piastri to move into third.

Leclerc pitted again as his tyres began failing and he came back out in fifth on hards, but with fresh rubber quickly surged back to second.

Sainz also pitted again and retained a narrow lead to cruise home in front of 130,000 fans.

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Max Verstappen On Pole Ahead Of Carlos Sainz At Australian Grand Prix

admin — Sat, 23 Mar 2024 06:50:38 +0000

Dominant three-time world champion Max Verstappen clinched a third straight pole of the season on Saturday at the Australian Grand Prix as the flying Dutchman targets a record 10th consecutive win. In overcast conditions at Melbourne’s Albert Park, Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, back in the car barely two weeks after appendicitis surgery, came second in tense qualifying and will keep the Red Bull ace company on the front row.

“A bit unexpected today, but very happy — both (Q3) laps felt very nice,” said Verstappen, who is looking to repeat his feat from last year when he won in Australia from pole.

“A bit of a tricky weekend so far, Ferrari seem very quick in the long runs so that makes tomorrow exciting.”

The Dutchman knocked out his rivals with a flying lap of one minute 15.915, 0.270 secs ahead of Sainz.

Sergio Perez in the other Red Bull will start third alongside Lando Norris, who scored a surprise fourth in his McLaren.

The 2022 Melbourne winner Charles Leclerc in the second Ferrari was fifth with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri sixth on his home track.

Mercedes’ George Russell came seventh ahead of RB’s Yuki Tsunoda and the Aston Martin pair of Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso.

But there was disappointment for seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton who missed Q3 and will start in 11th.

“It’s been a tough couple of weeks, a lot of days in bed waiting to see if I could be here today,” said a relieved Sainz, who missed the last race in Jeddah for his surgery.

“To put it on the front row after leading through qualifying, I was almost not believing it.”

But despite his best efforts, he could not topple Verstappen, who won the opening two races of the season in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, both from pole.

The 26-year-old is chasing a 10th straight victory to match his own record set last year, while Red Bull are attempting to score a third straight 1-2 finish for the first time in the team’s history.

Sainz topped Q2 from Verstappen and Leclerc with Hamilton — an eight-time Australian pole-sitter — a key casualty.

His loss was Tsunoda’s gain as the only interloper outside of the big five teams joining the Q3 ranks.

Haas’ Kevin Magnussen also missed out in Q2, along with Valtteri Bottas in the Sauber, Esteban Ocon in his Alpine and Alex Albon in the sole Williams.

Sainz was also fastest in Q1 ahead of Perez and Verstappen.

Sauber’s Zhou Guanyu came last with RB’s Daniel Ricciardo, Pierre Gasly in the other Alpine and Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg also failing to progress.

Logan Sargeant was absent after his Williams was given to teammate Albon.

Albon crashed on Saturday and with no spare chassis Williams was left with just one car and opted for the Anglo-Thai driver over the American.

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Carlos Sainz Set For Australian GP Return After Appendicitis Surgery

admin — Wed, 20 Mar 2024 11:45:52 +0000

Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz came third behind the two Red Bulls in Bahrain GP.© AFP

Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz is set to be back in the cockpit at the Australian Grand Prix this week after recovering from surgery for appendicitis, the team said Wednesday. The Spaniard missed the last Formula One race in Saudi Arabia, with 18-year-old British reserve driver Oliver Bearman a late replacement. The teenage rookie finished an impressive seventh in his debut, driving with the cool aplomb of a seasoned campaigner to underline his huge potential. But Bearman is set to return to Formula 2 with Sainz fit again.

“Carlos Sainz is expected to be back in the car, having had to miss Jeddah with appendicitis,” Ferrari said in its race preview.

Sainz came third behind winner Max Verstappen and Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez at the opening race of the season in Bahrain.

Red Bull repeated the one-two feat in Jeddah, where Sainz’s teammate Charles Leclerc filled the podium.

“We expect to be front runners on this track, which could produce a similar pecking order to the one seen in Jeddah,” Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur said of Melbourne’s Albert Park.

“We intend adopting an aggressive approach with the aim of putting pressure on the team that’s won the first two races.”

Sainz is leaving Ferrari at the end of the season to make way for Mercedes’ seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton.

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Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz Out Of Saudi Arabia Grand Prix With Appendicitis

admin — Fri, 08 Mar 2024 12:27:52 +0000

File photo of Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz© AFP

Spain’s Carlos Sainz will miss the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix this weekend with appendicitis and will be replaced by 18-year-old British reserve driver Oliver Bearman, the Ferrari team said Friday.

“Carlos Sainz has been diagnosed with appendicitis and will require surgery,” the Italian team said in a statement.

“Oliver will therefore take no further part in this round of the F2 Championship. The Ferrari family wishes Carlos a speedy recovery.”

Sainz had been suffering for several days, but took part in free practice on Friday, ahead of the second race of the season on Saturday.

Bearman, who was to take part in the F2 race on the Saudi track, will finally compete in his first Formula One Grand Prix.

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Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc Pips Teammate Carlos Sainz For Mexico Grand Prix Pole

admin — Sun, 29 Oct 2023 04:44:05 +0000

A surprised Charles Leclerc admitted he did not expect his success on Saturday after he secured pole position ahead of team-mate Carlos Sainz as Ferrari locked out the front row for Sunday’s Mexico Grand Prix. In a chaotic and confusing qualifying session that seemed set to see Max Verstappen on pole again, Ferrari emerged in Q3 with a surge of pace that surprised almost everyone. The Monegasque clocked a best lap in one minute and 17.166 seconds to beat the Spaniard by 0.067 seconds, leaving newly-crowned three-time world champion Verstappen third for Red Bull.

“It’s two weekends in a row where we say that we don’t know if we have the pace,” said Leclerc. “People will start not believing us anymore! To be honest, I did not expect to be on pole today — I thought we were lucky after FP3.

“But once we put everything together it all went well. The new tyres gained a lot, but I am already focusing on tomorrow’s race. We may have pole position, but now we need to convert it into a win and obviously it is going to be very difficult.”

Sainz admitted: “It was a strange one. This whole weekend I’ve struggled to put a lap together then the first lap I put together in Q3 was P1 and suddenly Charles beat me by half a tenth, one tenth…

“I’m just struggling to understand where we can find half a second — and then we go half a second slower in the next lap. It’s very tricky with the tyres.

“The feeling with the car is very strange around this circuit, but we managed to put a good lap in when it counted,” he added.

Verstappen, who will be hunting a 51st career win in Sunday’s race, said: “It’s very difficult here…. It’s very low grip around here because of the altitude so when you try and push a little bit more it goes a bit away from you.

“We’re very close and it’s a very long race with a lot of laps to be raced. Of course, I would have liked to start first, but we’ll have a good slipstream into turn one so we’ll see what happens.”

After dominating all three practice sessions, it was a surprise to see the 26-year-old Dutchman unable to stay on top as Ferrari found a surge of additional pace in the final Q3 section of qualifying.

Daniel Ricciardo was fourth for Alpha Tauri ahead of local hero Sergio Perez in the second Red Bull, seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes and Oscar Piastri of McLaren.

George Russell was eighth in the second Mercedes ahead of the Alfa Romeo pair of Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu.

Three of the top ten — Verstappen, Hamilton and Russell — faced stewards’ investigations for infringements during qualifying, Hamilton for ignoring yellow flags and Russell and Verstappen for holding up the field in the pitlane.

It is Leclerc’s fourth pole position success this year and the 22nd of his career, but he is without a win this season and has struggled to convert poles to wins. His last victory was at the 2022 Austrian Grand Prix, the fifth of his career. (© Collings, 28 10 23)

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Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz Wins Singapore GP To End Max Verstappen’s Win Streak

admin — Sun, 17 Sep 2023 15:53:05 +0000

Carlos Sainz led from start to finish to win a thrilling Singapore Grand Prix on Sunday after a charging George Russell crashed his Mercedes from third place on the final lap. Lando Norris was second in a McLaren with Lewis Hamilton crossing the line in third. Championship leader Max Verstappen was fifth as Red Bull failed to win a race for the first time this season. Sainz controlled the pace of the night race brilliantly from pole position to take only his second career win, the first coming at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone last year.

It ended Red Bull’s hopes of sweeping every race in 2023 as Verstappen, who has won the last 10 races in a row, could only work his way up from 11th on the grid into the top five.

His teammate Sergio Perez crossed the line in eighth place.

“An incredible feeling, incredible weekend,” said Sainz.

“We nailed a weekend and nailed the race. We did everything we had to do. We did it perfect and we brought home a P1 that I’m sure all of Italy and Ferrari will be proud today,” added the Spaniard.

Sainz seemed set for a comfortable win until a virtual safety car 20 laps from the end gave the two Mercedes the chance to change to fresh medium-compound tyres.

Russell and Hamilton came out flying and soon reeled in and passed the second Ferrari of Charles Leclerc, who finished fourth.

But when they got on the heels of the top two they could not get past as Sainz cleverly kept his former teammate Norris within DRS range so the Englishman could defend second place.

“It was all about managing the beginning of the stints to make sure I made it to the target laps,” said Sainz.

“The safety car forced us to pit earlier than we wanted and I knew it was going to be a long stint on the hards.

“It was just quite tight at the end. We gave Lando a bit of DRS to help him and in the end it worked.”

‘Very generous’

Russell was all over the back of Norris until his challenge ended in the wall at turn eight of the final lap, handing Hamilton the final podium place.

“Carlos was very generous trying to help me get DRS. It helped my race and it also helped his,” said Norris.

“We did everything we needed to do and more. So super happy.”

Earlier Sainz got away cleanly from pole position with his teammate Leclerc using the softest compound tyres to overtake Russell, who had started in second.

When Logan Sargeant lost the front wing of his Williams after hitting the wall on lap 20 a safety car caused a flurry of pit-lane activity with all the leaders heading in for fresh rubber.

Leclerc was held up behind Sainz and he rejoined behind Russell and Norris.

Verstappen stayed out and moved up to second before the packed night race crowd witnessed the rare sight in 2023 of the runaway championship leader being passed comfortably by Russell, Norris, Hamilton and Leclerc on their fresher tyres.

Perez was the first Red Bull to pit, on lap 39, and dropped all the way to last place after he emerged. Verstappen stopped a lap later and rejoined down in 15th.

Just two laps later Esteban Ocon’s engine gave out causing a virtual safety car giving Mercedes the chance to dive in for fresh tyres.

With 10 laps to go, Russell swept past Leclerc with Hamilton following a lap later.

Russell had remarkably been the last non-Red Bull driver to win a grand prix before Sainz, in November last year in Brazil, before his race ended in dramatic fashion.

“Extremely unfortunate for George,” said Hamilton. “We were pushing so hard to catch these guys and our tyres were so hot.

“But I know he will bounce back. He’s been phenomenal all weekend.”

Verstappen is still a runaway favourite to claim a third world title but the all-conquering Dutchman has still never taken the chequered flag in Singapore.

Red Bull had won all 14 races this season before Singapore but the Marina Bay street extinguished hopes of a clean sweep of 22 grands prix wins in 2023.

Verstappen had won 12 of the 14 previous races this season with Perez the only other driver to take the chequered flag.

Red Bull need to win six of the remaining seven races to beat the Formula One record of Mercedes in 2016, when Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton won 19 of 21 grands prix.

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Carlos Sainz On Singapore GP Pole After Verstappen’s ‘Shocking’ Qualifying

admin — Sat, 16 Sep 2023 18:46:48 +0000

Carlos Sainz took pole position for Ferrari on Saturday for the Singapore Grand Prix, but championship leader Max Verstappen will start from the back half of the grid after a “shocking” qualifying session Verstappen was eliminated in Q2 after finishing 11th fastest in an “undriveable” Red Bull and then escaped penalties that could have demoted him to last place. Verstappen faced stewards late on Saturday after being accused of impeding cars in the pit lane and twice more on the track as he tried to create a gap for his qualifying laps.

The stewards cleared the driver of one offence and issued reprimands each for the other two, meaning Verstappen retains his place on the sixth row. “I knew it would always be tough to put it on pole. But this I didn’t expect,” Verstappen told reporters after both Red Bulls were eliminated in Q2 for the first time since the Russian Grand Prix in 2018.

“Throughout the weekend we have been struggling. We tried a few more things on the car for qualifying and that tipped it over where it became undriveable again,” he added.

Sainz’s lap of 1min 30.984sec pipped the Mercedes of George Russell by 0.072sec and the second Ferrari of Charles Leclerc who was third, 0.007sec further back.

Sainz will start from pole for the second consecutive grand prix after also being fastest in Italy two weeks ago. “A bit like Monza really, we hit the ground running in FP1. I felt very confident all through the sessions and put it together in Q3,” said Sainz, who also topped the time sheets in Saturday’s third free practice session.

“I just focused on not doing any mistakes on that lap. Keeping it clean in Singapore normally pays off.”

Verstappen has won the last 10 races in a row and has a 145-point lead over Sergio Perez, who fared even worse as he spun on his final lap and could not improve on 13th. The Dutchman has never triumphed under the lights in Singapore and faces an almost impossible task to end the drought at the street circuit after a torrid weekend well off the pace.

“It’s just a shocking experience,” he said.

Russell will start from the front row for the first time since the Australian Grand Prix at the beginning of April.

Stroll survives huge crash

The Englishman was the last non-Red Bull driver to win a grand prix, in Brazil last year. “Really happy with this weekend as a whole,” said Russell. “I felt really confident in the car, the team did a great job with the strategy.

“We have an extra set of medium tyres tomorrow which nobody around us has. So to get to Q3 and be on the front row with a strategic advantage tomorrow is an exciting place to be.”

Perez won in Singapore last year from the front row but will make his 250th grand prix start in Sunday’s night race from the back half of the grid.

Verstappen has won 12 of the 14 races this season with Perez the only other driver to take the chequered flag but now the team’s prospects of a perfect season are under severe threat on a circuit where overtaking is near impossible.

The McLaren of Lando Norris will join Leclerc on the second row of the grid for Sunday’s night race “Everything was super close, Mercedes were really strong today too,” said Leclerc.

“Unfortunately I missed it just a little bit to gain a few positions. Carlos did a great job. We did not expect to be this competitive on a track like this. This is a good sign for the future.”

Lewis Hamilton and Kevin Magnussen were fifth and sixth respectively and will occupy the third row followed by Fernando Alonso, Esteban Ocon, Nico Hulkenberg and Liam Lawson.

Earlier, Q1 was brought to a premature halt by a red flag after Lance Stroll spectacularly crashed his Aston Martin entering the pit straight at the end of a hot lap.

A huge impact into the wall sent his car spinning across the track with wheels and bodywork flying. The Canadian was later given the all-clear by doctors after walking away unscathed.

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