On Qually Day though, it looked like Mercedes would be very, very quick. There was no big drama on track but out went Stroll in last place (whose mechanics couldn't fix a problem on the car in time), Bottas (whose car is awful and will be retiring at the end of the year), Albon (who had a time deleted), Alonso (for no apparent reason) and Perez (because he is a poor driver and the Red Bulls are struggling).
There was nobody unexpected out in Q2, for a minute. It looked like both Alpines, both RBs, Zhou and Colapinto. Then the Argentinian smashed up his Williams and it made an awful sound, scraping along the track. Then Tsunoda made it through and put out Magnussen. There was a lot of damage and it was the last thing the team needed. It really doesn't matter if Sainz is an awful driver next year, as long as he doesn't smash it up.
In the final session, drivers started to make mistakes. Hamilton and LeClerc both had wobbles that lost them a timed lap. The track was getting quicker: Norris took pole, then Russell, then Sainz (Gasly splitting the Ferraris). It was up to Russell who had been out last and he got it. The top 10 was a jumble of teams. Russell took advantage of how quick the Mercedes were, then Sainz, Gasly continuing Alpine's strong streak, LeClerc, Verstappen struggling with the Red Bull one place ahead of Norris, crucially for the championship, Tsunoda, Piastri, Hulkenberg and lastly, Hamilton.
The line up looked to make a great race.
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