The return to work of Formula 1 has made it clear that there is not much room for surprise. Not a classification with rain, not some not so unexpected McLaren and surprisingly competitive Williams, much less the rest could prevent the usual, Max Verstappen, from taking one more pole position in his private account and confirming himself as the great favorite for win his ninth consecutive race of the year this Sunday.
The water looked like it was going to spice up qualifying a bit, and it was like that at the beginning of the session, but not at the end. It was a vibrant fight to see who was eliminated, with some surprises included such as seeing Lewis Hamilton out of the ‘top 10’ in a Q2 that almost also ended with Carlos Sainz at the stake.
The one who shone, as far as the current limitations that the Aston Martin maintains allowed him, was Fernando Alonso. Fifth place on the grid to comply with the constitutional habit of finishing in that area, although he will have a golden opportunity to finish higher if luck and to some extent performance are with him.
Q1: The wet track puts the pilots on alert
Without raining more than it had in the morning, the wet track conditioned the start of qualifying for everyone. Not surprisingly, the fastest in Q1 was a surprising Alex Albon who knew how to better read the track conditions to avoid falling where he usually does.
The constant changes at the head of the time table made it clear that it was going to be a batch only suitable for ready, which even led to fights on the track like one between Alonso and Hamilton that came to nothing. And also scares, like a Leclerc who almost ended up out at the first change, but without big surprises at the end.
Q2: Hamilton failure
While Verstappen chirped on the radio about some problems that, as it turned out, did not appear, the ones who did have serious difficulties were the men from Mercedes. Both George Russell and, above all, Hamilton, found it difficult to put the car in optimal performance, to the point that as the track conditions improved and the presence of dry tires was tested, the seven-time champion was the who was left out and will start this Sunday from a mediocre thirteenth position.
The one who did cross the cut, by little, was a Carlos Sainz who did not look entirely comfortable either, something that he already hinted at on Friday. Despite doing it ‘in extremis’, the Spaniard managed to get through to Q3 as well as Alonso who did comply for Aston Martin, something that Stroll did not do.
Q3: Verstappen is insatiable
Taking the best time in Q2 by half a second was already quite a declaration of intent for a Verstappen who had no mercy for his rivals either. One of those who ruled himself out was Charles Leclerc, due to an accident, while the same thing happened to Logan Sargeant and prevented Williams’ great Saturday with his two drivers in Q3 from ending with a good taste in his mouth.
Thus, as soon as Verstappen marked his return, everything was settled. Neither Russell nor Lando Norris could get close to the Dutchman’s time, let alone the rest. Alonso was third at times, but in the end he was even surpassed by an Albon who wants to make a splash this weekend and who will be the first enemy the Spaniard will have to get back on the podium. After Aston Martin’s, Sainz will look for a ‘top 5’ with which to start the second part of the World Cup in good condition.
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