00:00It was a frustrating race for him, frustrating race for Charles Leclerc as well.
00:04The car's not where they want it, and that's not where he wanted it either.
00:07One of those curbs on the exit of Aquaminerale that we were talking about,
00:10how it entices the driver into using as much of the circuit as possible,
00:15and then you're eventually getting onto the gravel.
00:18A bit of traffic there for Fernando Alonso,
00:20and Ferrari drivers getting in the way through there.
00:23That was also Leclerc, wasn't it, on the exit of that corner,
00:26but this isn't what he says.
00:27A big crash will declare it.
00:33Yeah, you've got to have your wits about you on this circuit,
00:36and if you are going to go slowly, you've got to be looking in the mirror.
00:39He was looking in the mirror afterwards, and he said,
00:41I apologize that the hand goes up.
00:43I was in the way.
00:43We shouldn't really be surprised about that, shouldn't we,
00:45because this used to be his home track during his racing balls days,
00:49because that's where they did a lot of their testing miles.
00:53Check at the right height.
00:55I'm bottoming so much at the straights.
00:57It's like crazy.
00:58I cannot even keep the head straight.
01:00Okay, copy that, Gabby.
01:01I believe that's just a sort of back-to-backing ploy, tactic issue.
01:08Not that the parts haven't arrived yet,
01:11and I think they do have all the new parts,
01:12but yeah, just bear that in mind while they understand what exactly is going on,
01:18and hopefully Bermans and Carl will be back on the ground and out there soon.
01:20Thank you very much, Ted.
01:22Yeah, work being done there as Lando Norris goes fastest for McLaren.
01:27The speed that Oscar Piastri has brought to this season now, particularly in race pace,
01:32has made him think twice a little bit.
01:34So we're watching a replay there of Leclerc.
01:36So I saw this with Hamilton earlier on,
01:38where the car looked okay in the medium speed corners,
01:41the highest speed, say Piratella at the top of the hill turned nine.
01:44But when he got to this part here,
01:46the understeer he had to live with through the slowest speed on the track.
01:50It's the scattergun approach of bringing a little bit more frequently.
01:55I've got so much lift at the point to turn one.
01:59Is it a quick one to put a little shield or whatever?
02:05Yes.
02:07It just creates that deflection of the wind,
02:10and sometimes that can help,
02:11but it's a tailwind here today down the main streets,
02:14maybe it's a softer set of tyres than they had available to them last year.
02:18Out of Ravatsa, the final corner taken flat out for George Russell,
02:22half the second clear at the top for the Mercedes man,
02:26who are just heading towards the halfway point
02:29of this first practice session of the weekend.
02:32That lift is horrible.
02:41Already had one complaint from Charles Leclerc about his helmet lifting.
02:56We actually get to see it this time,
02:58and even having to hold his head down as it comes through the corner.
03:01It almost feels like he's being plucked out of the seat at one point.
03:03What about this for Yuki Tsunoda as it's getting caught
03:07in a bit of traffic heading through the Villeneuve chicane?
03:10Yes, it is.
03:12And you can see the second helmet there for Leclerc.
03:15The screen is just too small.
03:18It's like less than a meal.
03:21Okay, so we'll add a bigger one.
03:24And it's happened here with Lewis Hamilton.
03:27Oh, straight on at the variant Alta chicane.
03:29He's decided to do a bit of grass mowing there and bails out of it.
03:34And look at the grass getting absolutely all over that tyre.
03:39Isn't it lovely to see?
03:40Getting to the second Rivata.
03:43The car, to me, looks like it's getting better and better as the lap goes on.
03:47Goes fastest overall, 16.5.
03:50A half a tenth ahead of George Russell, I say.
03:53This is George Russell.
03:55And is he going to...
03:56Lots of bottom and out backware from Jimmy.
04:01Exit, turn four, entry, turn five.
04:05Yeah, that was a plume of smoke and dust being kicked up
04:08by the Mercedes bottoming out in front of the other one.
04:12So we're seeing this quite a lot throughout the grid.
04:14But what great teamwork as well from George Russell
04:16to be commenting on what he's seeing from the sister car out there.
04:19I've got a tear off, I think, under my lap, rear wing of lap.
04:23OK, Nico, copy that.
04:26Take a half a drift at the end.
04:28Pierre Gasly up to third in that LP.
04:31OK, doesn't want to stop.
04:35Well, some quick laps then being done.
04:36Just over 20 minutes left of this session.
04:39As I think we might see Albon flying over the coast.
04:42That was later in the lap.
04:43And he ran a little bit out wide.
04:44So losing more time there in the final sector.
04:47You push these tyres too hard,
04:49they're just going to fall away from you,
04:51even by the time he gets to the middle sector.
04:53So they're going to have to manage this,
04:56as well as managing traffic.
04:57Like, poor old Yuki Tsunoda's just had to compete with there.
05:01And he's given up.
05:01Oh, he's getting a bit frustrated, I think.
05:05The shake of the head there.
05:06I sensed a bit of frustration from Yuki at that point.
05:10And was it Nico Hülkenberg up over the crest of the hill?
05:15And he finds the Ferrari.
05:18I think, is that Lewis Hamilton there?
05:20Well, it's always just slow-speed stuff anyway at this point.
05:22It's so dangerous when he goes up the hill,
05:24it goes to slow Hamilton.
05:26Yeah, copy that, Nico.
05:27I think what he was mostly complaining about there
05:31was he wasn't on a push-lap anyway,
05:33but the Ferrari of Hamilton made his life more dangerous as well
05:38because there's nowhere that he could go.
05:40So if he had a car suddenly bearing down on him,
05:43well, Nico can't get out of the way
05:44or even go faster at that point.
05:46So that's where you look at Alex Albon through turn two.
05:50Fire, wow.
05:52If you take too much of that right-hand kerb of turn three,
05:56look at how the car sparked and hit the deck there as well.
06:00Really upset the balance,
06:02and he had to release the steering wheel at that stage
06:04in order not to spin the car.
06:08You ask a little bit too much, and it will spit you out.
06:11And here you are punished immediately for that one
06:14with the gravel and the walls so close.
06:16Even Charles Leclerc there through the top chicane
06:20finding the gravel and a bit of traffic
06:23here in the form of Pierre Gasly as well.
06:26It is Alpine, and that would have slowed
06:28Charles Leclerc in the Ferrari down,
06:30dragging it through the dust.
06:32And once again for the Williams of Alex Albon,
06:36a bit of a messy lap for Albon,
06:37if that was on the same lap,
06:38coming in to the pit lane.
06:42This is Albon downhill into Rivazza.
06:47And running off the track,
06:49just can't get it turned in.
06:50A bit of dirty air as well from the car ahead.
06:52And on the exit here of Rivazza 2,
06:54Albon doing a bit of rally driving,
06:57something that his teammate's father would be proud of.
07:00But, you know, it's that track.
07:02You have to push it.
07:03You find lap time by being brave on the brakes,
07:06not respecting the grab as much as you should.
07:11Good afternoon, everyone.
07:16Now, it's positive pressure.
07:18You know, it's one of our home races.
07:20We have a home race here for...
07:22This is a really difficult track.
07:28You know, at this track,
07:29ideally, you want to have a good gap ahead of you.
07:31Something in the region of six or seven seconds.
07:34If all the cars are on track,
07:36with the lap times that they're doing now,
07:38they have 3.8 second gap between them.
07:40So the gap between them is much, much smaller
07:43than they would all ideally like.
07:45Oh, and another slide from Max Verstappen
07:49in his FP1 session.
07:50I must say, in Melbourne,
07:51I thought he would hit the ground.
07:52Oh, there's an off here.
07:53Oh, and that is Gabriel Bortoleto,
07:57who has found the wall.
07:59Is that coming into turn 18?
08:03Turn 18.
08:04Yes, this is the first one.
08:07Car enters okay.
08:09Yeah, you just turn into the car,
08:10like I thought, on the kerb,
08:11on the entry kerb.
08:13So it's the exit kerb of Ravatsa 1,
08:15and you stay on that kerb
08:17until you turn in to the second part.
08:20And if you haven't got the rear stability
08:21that you need in the car,
08:23I'm guessing that the rear tyres
08:24were pretty hot as well.
08:26I don't know how many laps
08:27he had done in succession.
08:28Hi, Chris.
08:29Okay, mate.
08:30Are you okay, mate?
08:31Yeah, I'm okay.
08:32I'm okay.
08:33Okay, I think it was just the front wing.
08:35As the grandstands then,
08:37filling up nicely throughout the course
08:39of that session,
08:39will continue to do so
08:41as we go towards FP2
08:44in a couple of hours' time.
08:46But at the end
08:46of the first practice session
08:48of the day
08:48to kickstart this triple header
08:50and our first visit
08:51to Europe this year,
08:54it's Oscar Piastri fastest.
08:5632,000th of a second ahead
08:58of Lando Norris.
08:59Carlos Sainz looking good
09:00for Williams in third
09:01with Russell up in fourth.
09:02A lot of work going on
09:04for Ferrari's Hamilton
09:05and indeed Charles Leclerc.
09:06Pierre Gasly up in SIG.
09:08Actually had it coming together
09:09with an animal, I'm told,
09:10out on track,
09:10so it had to pit.
09:11Max Verstappen seventh
09:12ahead of Alex Albon.
09:14The Williams looking good too
09:15with Gabriel Bortoleto
09:16crashing out at the end
09:17ahead of his teammate, though,
09:18at the end of the top ten.
09:20Stroll.
09:20Leclerc Antonelli Alonso,
09:22Liam Lawson the top 15
09:24with Yuki Tsunoda.
09:25Franco Colopinto returns
09:26to Formula One in 17
09:27with Oliver Behrman in 18
09:30and Isaac Hadjar 19
09:32with the Haas of Esteban Ocon
09:3520th and last.
Comments