As expected, McLaren started the year with a strong dominance. They put in an impressive performance in the first qualifying session of the season, but tomorrow's race is likely to be a completely different affair.
After the first fast laps of Q1, we saw names constantly changing at the top, until Lando Norris, George Russell and Max Verstappen got stuck there. There were no surprises, and in the end the first stage of qualifying ended in this order. However, Liam Lawson did not fare well, as he was the first to be eliminated and was forced to say goodbye immediately in his first Red Bull qualifying. So did the two Haas, Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Nico Hülkenberg, while also rookies Gabriel Bortoleto and Jack Doohan also ran laps worthy of Q2.
In Q2 we could already see a clear McLaren advantage, Oscar Piastri and Norris led the field. Behind them Verstappen and Russell caught up, followed by the two cars of Scuderia Ferrari. By the end of the stage the order was Norris, Piastri, Verstappen, the two Williams and Yuki Tsunoda also easily advanced, while the two Aston Martins, Isaac Hadjar, Bortolet, and Doohan were among the eliminated.
In Q3, the first attempts did not go well for McLaren, they lost the first lap of both their cars, so the first fastest attempts showed Verstappen, Russell, Leclerc in the order. Of course, the picture was deceptive, because McLaren still had serious pace, and it didn't take long for it to show. During the last shots, Lando Norris, who switched to hellish speed, easily pulled out of a tight situation and took pole position ahead of Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen, while Yuki Tsunoda and Alexander Albon also overtook the two cars of Scuderia Ferrari. Rough.
Photo: Reuters / XPB Images
