Marhabaan, MiniFans! After all that happened in Japan, with Verstappen claiming a dominant win and hoping to carry the momentum forward, McLaren needs to prove why they’re they current team champions. The practice sessions seemed to aim in that direction, but as we all very well know, nothing is decided until the checkered flag is waved.
The first drivers on track all sported green as their team colours, as both Aston Martin and Hulkenberg most likely weren’t making it through, so at least they wanted to make the most of the time they had with softs. They’d soon be joined by half the grid, but not before Alosno had enough time to briefly enjoy topping the sheets, but no one with any chance at doing good was truly trying to get the most out of the car, as they were waiting for the track temperature to come down. That wasn’t true for Tsunoda, though, as he was still tryong to prove his worth in the second Red Bull seat, but it wasn’t long lived due to the stewards deleting his time.
The clock wasn’t being too benevolent with anyone, but times got closer as it ticked down. Red Bull was in a bit of a pinch, as an unusual mistake from Verstappen and the deleted laptime from Tsunoda left them at the very bottom, joined by Ocon, who could only leave the pits when half the session was over. As it’s been the norm lately, McLaren was at the top with both drivers before the second stint came around, with most drivers lining up in the pitlane for a second chance with a better track. Eyes turned to both Verstappen and Tsunoda, as they had only one chance to score a lap good enough, which they both grasped in different ways: Verstappen shot up all the way to third, while Tsunoda barely made it through in the end. The eliminated drivers in Q1 werw Albon (P16), Lawson (P17), Bortoleto (P18), Stroll (P19) and Bearman (P20).
Q2 was barely underway when it was red flagged due to Ocon crashing and hitting the barriers. Once the driver was confirmed to be okay, the restart procedure kicked off and everyone lined back up in the pitlane waiting for the lights to turn green. Antonelli was first in line, mimicking his position in the timing tower, but he and his teammate were soon being investigated for not following the race director’s instructions. When the frst stints were coming to an end, both Verstappen and Hamilton surprised by coming into the pits with no time set, but they weren’t the only ones not to set a time, as up to six hadn’t crossed the finish line.
The second Q2 stint was were the excitement was. Only Piastri, comfortably settled at the top, remained in his garage, letting the rest fight it out by themselves. Places were exchanged as drivers improcvd their lap times and kept rising or falling, depending on when their rivals stopped the clock. Red Bull was yet again on the wire, with both drivers barely making it through in ninth and tenth, as both Sainz and Gasly easily scooted into Q3. The eliminated drivers in Q2 were Doohan (P11), Hadjar (P12), Alonso (P13), Hulkenberg (P14) and Ocon (P15).
In a bit of an unusual situation, Verstappen was the second out,only behind Tsunoda, but with used tyres, as he only had one fresh set for Q3, which he’s save for the second stint. Both Red Bull drivers’ times were slower than what they had set in Q2, getting easily overtaken by the rest of the top teams. The surprise from the first stint was Russell, as his time managed to split the McLarens, but there still was a second and last chance to decide the final positions, especially after all the deleted lap times for exceeding the track limits.
With fresh sets of softs fitted on every single car, the drivers left the pitlane in formation, opening up enough gaps so as not to have problems with dirty air. Russell presented his candidacy to pole position since the first sector, painting it in purple, Antonelli preceded him, stealing first away from the McLarens, but Russell soon pushed him to second. Leclerc joined the party, splitting the Mercedes as everyone waited for the papaya cars. Piastri managed to set the record straight, shooting up to first while his teammate could only be sixth due to a lap that didn’t allow him to do any better.
After Japan, McLaren needed to prove that their car and driver combination is superior to everyone else on the paddock, The Mercedes scared them in Q3, but Piastri managed to push everything aside and go down to the line to score an incredible pole position, while his teammate could only be sixth, making his job for Sunday that much more difficult, as his old rival, Verstappen, would be starting from seventh and he never backs down from a fight.
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