Overview
- Lewis Hamilton delivered Ferrari’s first pole of 2026 in a tight qualifying shootout on Saturday, beating George Russell by 0.009 seconds with Kimi Antonelli fifth on the time sheet.
- Max Verstappen and Liam Lawson each carry one-place grid drops for a collision in second practice, which will move Verstappen to fifth on the starting grid and Lawson to ninth after penalties are applied.
- Fernando Alonso was eliminated in Q1 after his Aston Martin stopped with a power-unit issue that triggered an 11-minute red flag and leaves him starting well down the order.
- Haas made a surprise change before qualifying by replacing Esteban Ocon with reserve Ryo Hirakawa, who made his grand prix debut and qualified 19th.
- Saturday’s result leaves Antonelli able to clinch the drivers’ crown with a ninth-place finish or better and highlights how steward penalties and reliability problems will shape team strategies and the race-day grid.