Verstappen set a fast time of 1 minute and 27.241 seconds in the first part of the final qualifying session, leading Leclerc by 0.141 seconds. Carlos Sainz followed closely behind in the other Ferrari.
On their last attempts to improve their times, none of the top three drivers could beat their earlier laps. Leclerc had a particularly difficult final run.
Sergio Perez improved his time in the last session, moving up to fourth place. Lando Norris finished fifth after using medium tires in his first run in the final session.
Oscar Piastri slipped to sixth place after the second run in Q3. Mercedes drivers George Russell and Lewis Hamilton secured seventh and eighth places, respectively.
Due to a shortage of new soft tires, both Mercedes drivers had to use medium tires for their last runs. Only Hamilton managed to improve his time with the medium tires.
Nico Hulkenberg finished ninth, and Yuki Tsunoda secured the last spot in the top ten. In a late incident, Sainz was cleared of blocking Hulkenberg at Turn 17.
In the second part of qualifying, Russell’s late improvement pushed Lance Stroll out of the top ten. Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon from Alpine failed to set faster times in Q2.
In Q1, Fernando Alonso barely made it through, finishing 0.01 seconds ahead of Valtteri Bottas. Logan Sargeant was eliminated in 17th place, just behind Bottas.
Daniel Ricciardo, who performed well in the sprint race, was knocked out in 18th place. He complained of lacking a rear grip. Kevin Magnussen and Zhou Guanyu finished in 19th and 20th places, respectively.
Magnussen encountered traffic on his last lap in Q1, while Zhou faced a post-session investigation for moving in front of Ricciardo before the pitlane opened and for crossing the pit exit line late in Q1.
Several drivers will be investigated for driving too slowly during their out laps, but they are not expected to receive grid penalties. Ricciardo’s penalty from the Chinese Grand Prix means he will start Sunday’s race from the last position.
