McLaren's Lando Norris and Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and George Russell completed Q3 on the theoretically slower medium as teams battle to mitigate overheating issues on Pirelli's softer C4 compound.
Even polesitter Max Verstappen said he struggled, with Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko commenting to ORF that the "incalculable" tyre characteristics mean "nobody had it under control", labelling Mercedes' move to mediums an "act of desperation".
