Lewis Hamilton lands first Ferrari pole

Hamilton will be joined on the front row by Max Verstappen in a session in which McLaren fumbled.

The fastest car through much of the session, they were powerless when it mattered at the end of SQ3 as Hamilton stormed through to the surprise pole.

Verstappen was also able to get the better of the best of the McLarens, Oscar Piastri, with the top three split by less than a tenth.

As Sprint Qualifying began, Mercedes was the first team on track, Kimi Antonelli ahead of George Russell with the pair completing a build lap before embarking on a push lap.

Also on-track early was Jack Doohan, who was forced to sit out the final stages of Free Practice 1 with a power unit issue, a new Renault unit in the back of his car for Sprint Qualifying.

He managed a 1:33.129s with his first timed lap, two-tenths shy of team-mate Pierre Gasly.

They were among a handful of midfield runners to post early times, the first front-runner to record a lap was Max Verstappen, who logged a 1:32.329s to take provisional pole.

He quickly slipped to third as both Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton piloted their Ferraris quicker, the trio split by a tenth.

Norris was also among that gaggle on his first timed lap as Piastri raised eyebrows with a 1:31.723s, half a second faster than Hamilton.

Fernando Alonso squeezed himself between Piastri and Hamilton to slot into second with an impressive lap from the driver who recorded fastest lap in last year’s Chinese Grand Prix.

Liam Lawson’s initial lap was a confidence builder, a 1:32.729s proving just four-tenths slower than Verstappen in the lead Red Bull.

That left the pair seventh and 14th, respectively, ahead of the final flurry at the end of Sprint Qualifying 1.

In the bottom five were Yuki Tsunoda, Carlos Sainz, Oliver Bearman, Gabriel Bortoleto, and Esteban Ocon.

Doohan found himself on the bubble before he improved to eighth with just under 90 seconds left in the segment.

As the chequered flag waved, Lawson found himself eliminated, as were Doohan and Gasly for Alpine.

Joining them was Esteban Ocon and Nico Hulkenberg, Lawson 20th and last.

The New Zealander had aborted his final lap after a lurid slide on his final lap – which had been deleted for track limits as he slewed sideways exiting Turn 8.

Doohan meanwhile suffered traffic, according to Alpine, which curtailed his chances of a better lap.

Norris kicked off SQ2 by banking a 1:31.174s out of the box to sit a comfortable four-tenths clear of Verstappen.

Piastri was almost two-tenths away from his team-mate with his first lap with a 1:31.362s.

At Mercedes, Russell was struggling.

Both he and Antonelli had again headed out for a build lap before a flying lap, Russell complaining that he couldn’t get the tyres switched on.

That was reflected in his lap time, a 1:32.131s leaving him the better part of a second away from Norris.

Half the field opted for only a single flying lap, Yuki Tsunoda among their number.

He rose to fourth best, aided by a slipstream down the back straight from his Racing Bulls team-mate Isack Hadjar seconds before the chequered flag waved.

The McLaren pair were comfortable enough to watch on from the garage as Mercedes scrambled to escape the cut.

Antonelli was able to do so with the fourth best time, becoming fifth when Russell improved to second when it counted.

That pushed Alonso out of SQ3, the Spaniard joined on the sidelines by Oliver Bearman, Carlos Sainz, Bortoleto, and Isack Hadjar.

Piastri was faster than his teammate through the middle third of the lap, recording a 1:30.929s, easily faster than Norris’ 1:31.393s.

The Brit lost time in the final sector after a slide coming onto the back straight, a result that meant he haemorrhaged time all the way down the back straight.

Inside the final three minutes, other teams ventured out.

Hamilton went fastest of anyone through the first sector, carrying that pace through the middle part of the lap too.

That translated to provisional pole by 0.08s over Piastri with little more than a minute remaining.

A second effort for Piastri was no better while Norris aborted his lap.

It left Verstappen as the only driver left who could challenge for top spot.

He came close, splitting Hamilton and Piastri to sit second by 0.018s to join the Ferrari on the front row.

Piastri will start third ahead of Leclerc with Norris sixth behind Russell.