Summary

  • Piastri on pole, Russell 2nd, Leclerc 3rd, Norris 6th

  • Ocon crashes heavily in second session

  • Hadjar, Alonso out in Q2

  • Albon, Lawson out in first session

  • Click on the play icon to listen to radio commentary

  • Get involved #bbcf1

Live Reporting

Lorraine McKenna

  1. Who will take pole?

    Phew. Let's concentrate on these final runs for now. Fresh soft tyres for the top 10. Oscar Piastri is the man who holds the ticket to the pole seat at the moment.

  2. There seems to be a lot of confusion with lap times. It seems Alex Albon should've made it through to Q2 in P15, with Nico Hulkenberg losing his spot because of track limits.

    Meanwhile, Kimi Antonelli and Lewis Hamilton have lost lap times in the pole shootout. Antonelli slips to ninth, Hamilton to 10th.

  3. Get Involved

    #bbcf1

    Nulla Pax: Carlos did say it would take him five or six races to get into the feel of the Williams...here he comes.

    Keiron Standfield: Where has this Alpine been?

  4. Charles Leclerc is fourth, Lewis Hamilton is fifth, Kimi Antonelli has dropped to sixth and Yuki Tsunoda is sitting in seventh.

    Next comes Pierre Gasly, Carlos Sainz and four-time world champion Max Verstappen in 10th.

  5. Team radio - Verstappen

    "My brakes are just terrible. I can't brake at all. So bad."

  6. Piastri beats Russell's time

    This is shaping up to be Oscar Piastri's day. The Australian, on fresh rubber, beats George Russell's time by 0.131 seconds. McLaren team-mate Lando Norris can only manage the second row in third.

  7. Marc Priestley
    Former F1 mechanic on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

    The conditions are shifting not by a huge amount but enough to transform the performance of some of these cars.

    That's why we are seeing these shifts up and down the grid, if you can nail a lap you could find yourself with a decent chunk of lap time and a few grid slots further up.

  8. Russell goes top

    Max Verstappen says he brakes are basically rubbish. Kimi Antonelli goes quickest on his fresh rubber but is knocked down a peg by his team-mate George Russell.

    Max VerstappenGetty Images

  9. Marc Priestley
    Former F1 mechanic on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

    The McLarens still have a comfortable advantage out front but the real interest is going to be between the two drivers.

    At the end of that second part of qualifying it's Oscar Piastri with just his nose out front.

  10. This is Yuki Tsunoda's first appearance in Q3 for new team Red Bull, so what can he do tonight? It's not been a smooth qualifying so far but that fan did have a dream he was going to win in Bahrain.

    First time on the board for the Japanese driver is a 1:31.637. Max Verstappen is four tenths behind after a mistake...

  11. The Red Bull drivers are on used soft tyres, while George Russell and Kimi Antonelli are fresh daisies over at Mercedes.

  12. Go! Go! Go!

    Nico Hulkenberg followed the George Russell and Kimi Antonelli and joined the queue at the end of the pit lane following Esteban Ocon's crash but quickly realised Mercedes' decision to send their drivers out was "dodgy". He's also had his lap time deleted in Q2, so now he'll start behind Ocon.

    Pole fight!

  13. 'Red Bull seem to be in trouble'

    Harry Benjamin
    BBC F1 Commentator

    Max Verstappen is only two-tenths ahead of Yuki Tsunoda which is pretty good going for Tsunoda, but the bigger issue is that Red Bull seem to be in trouble.

  14. The was a great lap by Pierre Gasly. The Frenchman was third in Q2 and just 0.189 seconds away from Oscar Piastri's top time. Lando Norris was second, George Russell was fourth and Kimi Antonelli fifth.

  15. Out in Q2

    11. Jack Doohan (Alpine)

    12. Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls)

    13. Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber)

    14. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)

    15. Esteban Ocon (Haas)

  16. Yuki Tsunoda is just safe in P10, leaving Jack Doohan to exit stage left in P11.

    The Red Bulls are through to the pole fight, but Max Verstappen fared no better in ninth place.

  17. Marc Priestley
    Former F1 mechanic on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

    That is decent from George Russell who is under pressure but also very good from Kimi Antonelli.

  18. George Russell goes above team-mate Kimi Antonelli and into third on the timesheets. Lewis Hamilton completes his lap but that updated Ferrari isn't knocking on the door of the front row slots just yet. Pierre Gasly is, however; the Alpine driver is third fastest.

  19. 'Hadjar flying the flag for Racing Bulls'

    Marc Priestley
    Former F1 mechanic on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

    Racing Bulls' Isack Hadjar has been more than a match for his team-mate Liam Lawson who is a little bit more experienced - he's been the guy who has been flying the flag for that team and it seems like that is the same again today.

  20. Two minutes to go

    Oscar Piastri leads the pack with a 1:30.454 in the McLaren. The likes of Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen and George Russell need to get a move on, as Kimi Antonelli books his spot in the pole shootout.