SQ2 – Mercedes suffer a double exit
Magnussen was the first to head out on track as the 10 minutes of SQ2 began, off the back of a good session for the Dane in SQ1. The drivers were again running a mandatory medium tyre for this segment of Sprint Qualifying.
Most of the 15 remaining drivers seemed keen to put some early flying laps on the board and, while Perez led the way as the clock ticked down to five minutes, Norris then went fastest of all with a lap of 1m 27.597s.
Ricciardo – driving in an RB featuring a special “chameleon” livery this weekend – reported contact with the wall, but the Australian’s car appeared to have escaped unharmed. All eyes then turned to who was at risk of the elimination zone as the final minutes approached.
Verstappen joined the fray late in the session and slotted into fourth on his one flying lap, while the Mercedes duo were amongst those needing to improve. Ultimately neither Russell nor Hamilton were able to do so, leaving them in P11 and P12 respectively, and Hamilton – who clipped the wall on his lap – was also noted for a pit lane infringement.
The other drivers to fail to make the cut were Ocon in 13th, Magnussen in 14th and Tsunoda in 15th, with the RB driver seemingly making a mistake on his sole flying lap.
Knocked out: Russell, Hamilton, Ocon, Magnussen, Tsunoda
Olivia Martin is a dedicated sports journalist based in the UK. With a passion for various athletic disciplines, she covers everything from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis.
