SQ2 – Mercedes suffers a double exit
Magnussen was the first on track with the opening ten minutes of Q2, after a good session for the Dane in Q1. The drivers were once again using a mandatory medium tire for this portion of Sprint Qualifying.
Most of the remaining 15 drivers looked keen to put in some fast early laps, and while Perez was in the lead as the time ticked down to five minutes, Norris set the fastest time ever with a lap of one minute and 27.597 seconds.
Ricciardo – who was driving an RB car featuring a special 'Chameleon' livery this weekend – reported contact with the wall, but the Australian's car appears to have escaped unscathed. Then all eyes turned to who was in danger of the elimination zone as the final minutes approached.
Verstappen joined the fray late in the session and finished fourth on his only fast lap, while the Mercedes duo were among those needing to improve. Ultimately, neither Russell nor Hamilton were able to do so, leaving them in 11th and 12th respectively, and Hamilton – who struck the wall in his lap – was also noted for a pit lane violation.
Other drivers who failed to qualify were Ocon in 13th, Magnussen in 14th and Tsunoda in 15th, with the Team RB driver apparently making a mistake on his only flying lap.
Knockouts: Russell, Hamilton, Ocon, Magnussen, Tsunoda
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