Piastri’s pole came despite a major observer moment on the entry into turn four, which he estimated had cost him about 0.2 seconds and he described it as “very scary – turning left into a right-hand corner is never good, especially when you’re doing hundreds of kilometers per hour there”.
Given Verstappen’s troubles, the Dutchman was beaten by his teammate Yuki Tsunoda in qualifying for the first time this season, with the Japanese 0.009 seconds faster.
It may have appeared that Verstappen’s car had broken down when he set his fastest time.
He ran off the track outside turn four on his first attempt, and bounced violently into the gravel trap, the kind of incident that can cause damage to the floor of an F1 car, although he did not mention it in his interview.
He was also complaining about the car bouncing, along with profanity, during the radio session.
Verstappen said: “Not good. Very bad bounce from the first lap and very aggressive understeer which will turn into oversteer at higher speeds. Not exactly what you want. We tried to change a few things at the wheel but it never really worked.
“With this balance, there won’t be a lot of fun in the sprint. It will be more about trying to survive and then make some changes in qualifying.”
Although the title battle was overshadowed, arguably the star of sprint qualifying was Fernando Alonso, who led Aston Martin to fourth on the grid, an excellent performance for a team that finished eighth in the Constructors’ Championship.
“One of the best results of the year,” he said. “Tough circuit, high speed sections and the car was already P1 looking in the window in Q3. There was a bit of tension because of the traffic in Q2 but we made it to Q3 and then we put a lap together.
“Twenty-four years of experience, 44 years old, it has some disadvantages. I get a little more tired from jet lag, but I know the tracks, the tyres, and know how to figure everything out on Friday and then on Saturday, it’s true that we open the park firm and make some small changes to the cars and everyone gets to the top of the circuit.
Behind him, Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli was seventh, with Carlos Sainz’s Williams and Alex Albon sandwiching Leclerc.
Hamilton said almost nothing in his only media interview after the session.
Asked how difficult the car was, he said: “Same as usual.”
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