In the first Qualifying Session, the Haas continued to look good again, finishing in 7th and 8th. The Williams' took 3rd and 9th too. Out went Alonso, Ocon, Tsunoda, Stroll and Zhou. It seems that Aston Martin are going backwards in their progress, they are urgently needing Newey's input. Norris took 1st place comfortably.
In the second session, Red Bull messed things up for Perez by not sending him out soon enough to cross the line for a final hot lap, he qualified 13th. Hamilton was also out in 11th. Bearman beat his team mate, as Hulkenberg finished 12th whilst he went through. Colapinto was 14th and Bottas 15th. Norris again was fastest.
The final session brought a surprise though, with Piastri pulling a lap out to take pole. Norris aborted his final lap and held 2nd place. LeClerc also found something extra and got 3rd. Verstappen, once again, ran out of steam and came in 4th, ahead of Sainz, Russell, Gasly, Lawson, Albon and Bearman (another good drive by the new super sub). Piastri seemed to be contemplating a win but surely will need to give any points to Norris if he is in a position to do so.
The bumpy track made it hard for the drivers to see and Hamilton had found it painful. It wasn't known how this would affect the drivers and their vehicles during a long race. There was a lot of talk about possible wet weather and different tyre usage across the teams.
When the Sprint came, Alonso, Stroll and Zhou all started from the pit. Piastri admitted going to the grid that he probably wouldn't be allowed to win.
It was touch and go off the start. Norris made a great one but couldn't get past Piastri and Verstappen was nearly past LeClerc but he held him off. By lap 7, Norris was on the radio wondering why Piastri hadn't let him past already. Given that he had been complaining to the media about being asked about the Drivers' Championship; either he wants Piastri to help because it is important to him or he has given up and shouldn't be asking the team.
Nothing much happened for most of the race but with a couple of laps to go, Hulkenberg's engine blew and he pulled up at the side of the track. McLaren's hand was forced and Piastri was told to switch places with Norris before any action was taken to bring out a Virtual Safety Car, Safety Car or Red Flag, which would mean they couldn't maximise Norris's points. This proved wise as a Virtual Safety Car was called, which meant that the drivers had to hold position. This ended with a couple of corners to go. Piastri had allowed Verstappen to get too close during this and was nearly overtaken. It was important that Norris gave his team mate DRS.
Lawson, the Williams and Hamilton were unluckily just outside the pits. Before the race, everyone had said that Ferrari were streets ahead of Red Bull but this didn't prove to be the case in the Sprint, let's hope that they have more in the tank for the actual race.
As soon as the drivers were out of the car, a notice came from the Stewards that Verstappen was being investigated for a Virtual Safety Car Infringement. He also carries a five place grid penalty for an engine change. Perhaps the new engine is what helped him challenge Ferrari in the Sprint. We would see in Qualifying and, more so, in the Race, if Red Bull just needed a little power boost.
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