Q2 – Verstappen storms to the top
There was already drama in the pit lane as Q2 got underway, with Williams noted for an unsafe release after Sainz was nearly sent out into the path of Verstappen. The stewards subsequently decided that no further investigation was necessary.
All of the remaining 15 cars were back on track, the exception being Bortoleto who was out of the session following his earlier crash. With everybody again running the soft tyre, Verstappen initially went quickest before Leclerc displaced the Dutchman on a lap of 1m 12.928s.
Norris then bettered that to slot into P1 – but the McLaren man did not stay there for long as Antonelli quickly moved ahead, the Mercedes racer’s effort of 1m 12.778s giving him an advantage of 0.141s from Norris. Elsewhere, Hulkenberg, Albon, Gasly, Lindblad and Colapinto were at risk as the order continued to evolve at the halfway mark.
While Verstappen had moved closer in P2 – sitting just 0.062s behind Antonelli – the Italian went even faster to extend his gap further. Meanwhile his team mate Russell did not look quite as comfortable, sitting in P8 some six tenths adrift of Antonelli.
A pit lane incident involving Albon and Lindblad had been noted by the stewards, while Hulkenberg would be investigated after the session for failing to follow the Race Director’s instructions. Back on the track, the German was on the bubble in P10 – before soon being pushed down into P11 by Lawson.
As the session entered its final two minutes, Gasly had escaped the danger zone by slotting into 10th – just as Verstappen shot to the top on a 1m 12.499s, with the other Red Bull of Hadjar an eye-catching third.
Russell could not improve on P8, but the Mercedes driver looked to be safe as those at the bottom struggled to move forward, putting Albon, Sainz, Hulkenberg, Colapinto, Lindblad and Bortoleto out of Q2.
Knocked out: Albon, Sainz, Hulkenberg, Colapinto, Lindblad, Bortoleto
