As expected, McLaren started the year with serious dominance. They delivered an impressive performance in the first qualifying of the season, but tomorrow's race will likely be a completely different story.
After the first fast laps of Q1, we saw constantly changing names at the top, until Lando Norris, George Russell, and Max Verstappen got stuck there. There were no surprises, and the first stage of qualifying ended in this order. However, Liam Lawson did not fare well, as he had to say goodbye as the first stable dropout in his first Red Bull qualifying. The two Haas drivers, Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Nico Hülkenberg, also dropped out, while the rookie Gabriel Bortoleto and Jack Doohan managed to complete a lap that qualified them for Q2.
In Q2, we could clearly observe McLaren's superiority, with Oscar Piastri and Norris leading the pack. Behind them, Verstappen and Russell were close, followed by the two cars of Scuderia Ferrari. By the end of the stage, the order was Norris, Piastri, and Verstappen, with the two Williams and Yuki Tsunoda easily advancing, while the two Aston Martins, Isaac Hadjar, Bortoleto, and Doohan were noted among the dropouts.
In Q3, the first attempts did not go well for McLaren, as both of their cars had their first laps invalidated, leading to the fastest initial attempts showing Verstappen, Russell, and Leclerc. However, the picture was misleading, as there was serious pace left in the McLaren, and it didn't take long for them to show it. During the final attempts, Lando Norris, who switched to hellish speed, easily secured the pole position from a tight situation ahead of Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen, while Yuki Tsunoda and Alexander Albon also overtook the two Scuderia Ferrari cars. Incredible.
Photo: Reutres / XPB Images
