After finding himself within 0.1-seconds of pole on four occasions in 2022, Sainz pulled it off to top F1 qualifying for the second time in his career after overcoming Leclerc's Q3 run one advantage by 0.065s.
Leclerc's initial best time in the final segment was a 1m34.624s that gave him the top spot provisionally ahead of Sainz, with Lewis Hamilton third after a blistering middle sector and Verstappen only fourth.
