Verstappen recorded the fastest lap as the chequered flag waved to end the session, pipping George Russell to pole by just 0.055s.

Lando Norris was third, heading an all-McLaren second row with Oscar Piastri fourth.

Following the Sprint, Mercedes headed into qualifying with renewed vigour.

Russell had been fast in Sprint Qualifying and backed that up in the 19-lap race earlier in the day, harrying Piastri for second throughout.

Having started second, it highlighted the need for a strong starting spot for the grand prix proper.

While most opted for a sedate start to the session, with a conservative initial lap to get a time on the board, Verstappen threw caution to the wind.

He logged a 1:21.713s to sit more than three-tenths clear of the pack after his initial push lap in Qualifying 1.

Russell was similarly belligerent with his first flying lap, recording a 1:21.519s to go fastest – and an impressive 0.7s faster than team-mate Lewis Hamilton.

On his second lap, Norris all but matched Russell, though the Mercedes remained ahead, with Fernando Alonso surprising with the third-best time.

He was naturally shuffled back as others improved, though only to sixth in the final washup.

In the final minute, Liam Lawson sat on the bubble in 15th, which became 16th as Alex Albon improved as the chequered flag waved.

The New Zealander couldn’t improve to lift himself out of the bottom five, though team-mate Yuki Tsunoda did as he pushed Albon back into the drop zone and, with it, elimination.

Also out were Nico Hulkenberg, Franco Colapinto, and Esteban Ocon.

Russell topped the session, with the Ferrari pair of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz next, followed by Norris.

After topping Qualifying 1, Russell laid down the initial benchmark in Q2 with a 1:21.161s.

It was a strong start, faster than his earlier effort, and left him clear of the pack by two-tenths.

However, Verstappen soon went fastest.

The Dutchman’s first lap in the segment netted a 1:21.085s, a half-second improvement on his earlier best.

It was less than a tenth better than what Russell had managed, the Mercedes driver slipping to second and then third as Piastri split the pair.

Inside the final three minutes, Norris rose to the top of the timesheets, the first driver into the 80-second bracket with a 1:20.983s.

As the flag fell, eliminated were Pierre Gasly, Zhou Guanyu, Valtteri Bottas, Yuki Tsunoda, and Lance Stroll.

A late lap saw Verstappen reclaim top spot from Norris with Leclerc third.

Piastri progressed to Q3 in sixth, while Alonso, Kevin Magnussen, and Sergio Perez also made the grade.

As the final segment began, Verstappen remained in the garage as the nine other remaining drivers immediately headed out.

Of those, Leclerc was initially fastest from his Ferrari team-mate, Sainz as Kevin Magnussen held third for Haas ahead of Perez.

However, that was a result of some teams opting for two build laps.

A dropped wheel at Turn 4 cost Norris, the McLaren driver aborting his first flying lap as a result.

As he toured back to the pits, Verstappen headed out to begin his first flying lap of the segment.

It was good enough for provisional second behind Russell, just 0.045s slower than the Mercedes.

The final flurry began with just 70 seconds remaining on the clock.

Sainz was unable to improve and remained fifth, with Leclerc enduring a similar fate with third.

That became fourth and then fifth as the two McLaren drivers completed their laps, Norris the fastest of the two orange machines.

The biggest surprised, however, was Verstappen stealing pole position from Russell, who’d complained of being baulked by his Dutch rival on his preparation lap.

The result marked the Red Bull Racing driver’s first pole since the Austrian Grand Prix.

Third went to Norris, then Piastri, Leclerc, Hamilton, Sainz, Alonso, Perez, and Magnussen rounded out the top 10.