Max Verstappen improved on his second lap, but it was not enough. In the first sector he had a moment of understeer and as a result he was behind the times for the entire lap. He was briefly in tenth place, but Lawson was just a little faster than the reigning world champion.
Verstappen expressed his displeasure over the board radio:
'I don't know if you just saw that. That was shocking, a truly shocking experience.' Verstappen recorded the eleventh fastest time, but may have to go even further on Sunday during the race. He has faced several investigations by the stewards. His teammate, Checo Perez has spun in Sector 1 and finished the session in P13. This is the first time neither of the two Red Bulls have qualified for Q3 since the 2018
Russian Grand Prix.