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Having been quickest in all
three free practice sessions and the first two parts of qualifying, Lando
Norris was pipped to pole by team-mate Oscar Piastri in Q3. The Australian
was just 12 thousandths of a second quicker (1’08”662 to 1’08”674,
equivalent to 74 centimetres). This is the fifth career pole for the
championship leader, all of them coming this season. For McLaren it is pole
number 173, its third at this circuit.
The second row of the grid
features two Honda-powered cars, with the Red Bull of Max Verstappen third
in 1’08”925 ahead of Isack Hadjar in the Racing Bulls with a 1’09”208, the
Frenchman’s best ever qualifying performance.
The Pirelli Pole
Position Award was presented to Piastri by Julio Cruz. The retired
Argentinian footballer won four championships, three Italian Supercoppe and
two Coppe Italia in 2003 and 2009 with Inter Milan. He bid farewell to the
game a year later when he was playing for Lazio. During the presentation,
“El Jardinero” as he is known, wore the special Inter Milan edition of the
Pirelli Cap, celebrating 30 years of a partnership between the Italian side
and Pirelli, one of the longest and most important collaborations in the
world of football. Only 1995 of the caps were produced, recognising the year
in which the partnership began.
THE DAY ON TRACK
In the third free practice
session, a further six drivers used a set of Hards, producing competitive
runs: Colapinto and Gasly for Alpine, Ocon and Bearman for Haas and
Hulkenberg and Bortoleto for Sauber. The McLaren and Ferrari drivers
scrubbed-in a set of C2 over one lap. Soft was the only compound used in
qualifying. The C4 proved it could deliver maximum potential on its first
flying lap. Those who equaled their first time on a second run managed it
thanks to track evolution, which was even significant within individual
segments of the decisive session. |
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MARIO ISOLA - HEAD OF F1 AND CAR RACING
“On a track where overtaking is definitely difficult, qualifying takes on
even more importance than usual in deciding the race result. While the
McLarens seem to have the edge over the rest of the field, their two drivers
are separated by almost nothing, just 12 thousandths of a second in fact.
It’s very close behind this pair, with the remaining 18 drivers all within
the same second. Therefore, all the ingredients are in place to produce a
closely contested, unpredictable race, with the changeable weather adding
another unknown factor to the mix, as well as the possibility of Safety Cars
always present on a track where mistakes are always punished.
“Although simulation shows that the two-stop strategy has a slight advantage
in terms of overall time, we are well aware that the teams will try and make
only a single pit stop, because track position established on the opening
lap is all important. Therefore we believe that a strategy based on a first
stint on the Medium and a second with the Hard is the most likely, as it
allows teams to cover for the possibility of rain or a Safety Car. For those
opting for a two-stop the most likely choice is to use all three compounds,
also because only McLaren and Aston Martin have two sets of Hards available.
“The increase in the pit lane speed limit from 60 to 80 km/h will have a
significant impact on the time lost during a pit stop, dropping from around
22 seconds to 19 or 20. But that’s not enough to make the two-stop really
attractive. As for the undercut, we saw here in Zandvoort last year that it
is very effective which is one more factor to take into consideration in
preparing for the race."
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