Piastri storms to maiden F1 pole as pressure mounts on Lawson

It marks the Australian’s first grand prix pole, with George Russell set to join him on the front row for tomorrow’s race.

Jack Doohan was only 18th in a tough session for the Alpine driver, while Liam Lawson struggled once more and was 20th and last.

Championship leader Lando Norris was third fastest, while Sprint winner Lewis Hamilton was fifth, one place behind Max Verstappen.

Hot track conditions saw much of the field queue at pit exit well before the qualifying hour commenced.

They were there to bleed pressure out of their tyres before heading out, most on a used set of soft tyres.

Jack Doohan was among them, looking to bounce back from a tough Sprint earlier in the day.

The Aussie had a harmless spin on his first push lap, picking up too much throttle at Turn 9 to send his car around.

With the lap ruined, he returned to the pits without completing the lap.

Piastri did complete an early timed lap, shooting to the top of the timesheets with a 1:31.591s.

It left him a tenth clear of Lewis Hamilton, with George Russell third and Kimi Antonelli fourth after the first flurry.

Lando Norris had his first effort deleted for track limits at Turn 9, his 1:32.036s struck from timing.

With just under 10 minutes remaining in Qualifying 1, Verstappen banked a 1:31.424s to go fastest.

When Doohan did record a lap, it was a 1:32.511s, less than a tenth slower than Lawson did when he flashed across the line moments later.

For Lawson, the effort left him just over a second down on his Red Bull teammate.

Norris was the last driver to set a lap time, finally doing so with five minutes remaining to rise to seventh with a 1:31.933s.

He’d been fastest of anyone to the first sector but lost time around the remaining two-thirds of the lap.

With three minutes remaining in Qualifying 1, Esteban Ocon, Pierre Gasly, Carlos Sainz, Lawson, and Doohan found themselves in the elimination zone.

The entire field was covered by just over a second, making for a nervy finale to the opening segment of the session.

There were no such uncertainties for Verstappen, who remained in the garage comfortable with his earlier effort.

In danger in 14th, Leclerc rose to second as Yuki Tsunoda recorded a stunning lap to move on to provisional pole.

It didn’t last long as Isack Hadjar went quicker, before Norris topped the totem as the timing screens changed rapidly.

Doohan improved but not enough after he made a mistake at the final corner, progressing only to 18th.

It was a disaster for Lawson too, who was 20th and last, his 1:32.174s some eight-tenths away from his teammate.

Missing the cut were Pierre Gasly, Oliver Bearman, Doohan, Gabriel Bortoleto, and Lawson.

Qualifying 2 began with Russell going fastest, soon beaten by Piastri.

A strong lap from Norris propelled him to the top of the timesheets with nine minutes remaining, his lap 0.4s clear of this McLaren teammate.

Most opted for two runs, the second coming with three minutes remaining with all bar Norris venturing out.

Russell completed his final flying lap with 90 seconds left on the clock to sit fourth fastest as others wound up for their laps.

Hamilton went fastest through the middle sector but lost time in the final segment of the lap to only sit seventh.

Soon after, Verstappen improved, splitting the McLaren pair in second.

Esteban Ocon was pushed into the bottom five as Hadjar improved to fourth best, the Racing Bulls proving rapid as Tsunoda sat fifth.

When the flag waved, the five to miss out were Ocon, Nico Hulkenberg, Fernando Alonso, Lance Stroll, and Carlos Sainz.

Alex Albon snuck through, the Williams driver 0.03s the right side of the drop zone.

Verstappen opened Qualifying 3, though found Russell powering around him in Turn 1 as they exited the lane.

The Mercedes driver opted for a second build lap, while Verstappen was flying.

Fastest of anyone to the second split he recorded a 1:30.925s at the end of the lap.

It was a strong effort, though Piastri was going faster.

The Australian had gone purple in both the first and second sectors, ending the lap two-tenths faster than his Red Bull rival.

Hadjar and Tsunoda again impressed, the pair lobbing up in fourth and fifth for a time.

They were bumped when Hamilton, Leclerc, and Norris all improved.

Just 0.09s split the McLaren pair at the top of the timesheets as Russell split the two Ferraris to sit fifth.

After the initial flurry, Hadjar and Tsunoda had been pushed to seventh and eighth, ahead of Albon while Antonelli had his lap deleted for track limits at the final corner.

As he headed out for his final flying lap, Racing Bulls sent Hadjar out in the path of Verstappen, who had to take evasive action.

The Dutchman was rapid in the first sector, his effort matched by Norris who ran behind the Red Bull on track.

However, Verstappen lost time in the middle of the lap, as did his McLaren rival.

At the end of the lap, Verstappen couldn’t improve. Nor could Norris who remained second after aborting his lap.

That left Piastri on pole, the Aussie improving on his final lap.

Russell also improved to slot in second best, pushing Norris to third, Verstappen to fourth from Hamilton, Leclerc, Hadjar, Antonelli, Tsunoda, and Alex Albon.