He’s not wrong, he’s always up front, Max Verstappen with his trusty Red Bull-Honda. Even in qualifying for the Sprint race, a session called Shootout, the two-time world champion put all his opponents behind him. This time Ferrari wasn’t as forceful as it was in qualifying for the Grand Prix. Carlos Sainz, who at the beginning of the session encountered a problem that kept him in the pits, finished fifth while Charles Leclerc finished sixth. The Monegasque could be at risk of a penalty for having slowed down Oscar Piastri in his fast lap: Leclerc was returning to the pits slowly and Piastri had to slow down.
But there was also another questionable episode that saw Max Verstappen as the protagonist. The Dutchman has clearly hindered Lewis Hamilton launched in his fast lap. Kevin Magnussen had already slowed down in qualifying on Friday, but was not penalized. We’ll see if Verstappen escapes even on this occasion, which Mercedes hastened to define as ridiculous. The second time was signed by Sergio Perez, who finally found the front row again, albeit for the Sprint race.
Lando Norris, already among the best yesterday with the renewed McLaren-Mercedes, repeated himself in the Shootout obtaining the third time ahead of a surprising Nico Hulkenberg with the Haas-Ferrari. The two Aston Martin-Mercedes drivers, Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll secured the fourth row. But the smile seems to have disappeared from the English box which is experiencing a complicated weekend.
Difficult session for Mercedes with George Russell 15th due to a hydraulic problem and Lewis Hamilton 18th, due to the aforementioned slowdown of which he was the victim and also to having a time canceled due to track limits.
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#Verstappen #Perez #front #Ferrari #row #Sainz #Leclerc
