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00:00Tag, you know, the level of the rookies are coming in at.
00:03You look at Hajar, you look at Bortoleto, you know, they've raised the bar in terms of expectations of a rookie.
00:09And I think that's the challenge now.
00:11You know, you'd have to say those two, for me, have been the two standout rookies in terms of their performance relative to their teammate.
00:18You know, Bortoleto now, I think I make that 10 out of the last 12 he's out-qualified, Niko Hulkenberg.
00:25It's been impressive.
00:26Yeah, it's really impressive.
00:27Impressive run for Gabriel Bortoleto.
00:30And, yeah, it is now 11-6 in Gabriel Bortoleto's favour as the dance moves are well and truly rocking.
00:39I think you were doing something similar, Karun, at the media party, weren't you, on Thursday night?
00:43I wasn't there. I don't know who you're talking about.
00:45Ah, yeah, yeah.
00:46Plausible deniability.
00:47Well, we did have a red flag looking to get this session back underway, hopefully soon.
00:53Haven't been given a time yet. The fifth red flag in this qualifying session, which ties it with the record from Imola and Sao Paulo from a few years ago.
01:03There is race control.
01:04Rui Marquez on the right.
01:05Claire Dubelman on the left, the race director and deputy race director, analysing every bit of the track.
01:11They see all the cameras we do, plus they have CCTV cameras.
01:15They can liaise directly with all of the marshals surrounding the circuit to make sure it is fit and clear to get us back up to qualifying speed.
01:25And figure out who will start the Azerbaijan Grand Prix from pole position.
01:29Yeah, I mean, Lando Norris, going to his mind at the moment, you know, in terms of the championship, 31 points, the deficit.
01:41And he's got to see every weekend as a race, as a must-win race, right?
01:48You know, when you've got that sort of a gap, he's got to look at every race as the opportunity to try and get a win on the board.
01:56Just focus on the wins and then the points will sort themselves out.
01:59Extra pressure on the drivers perhaps this weekend.
02:02It's the first race where the opportunity becomes available for McLaren to become 10 times world champions in Formula 1.
02:11They have to outscore Ferrari by 9 points whilst not being outscored by Mercedes by 12 or more and Red Bull by 33 or more.
02:22So a 1-2 will do it for McLaren at the end of Sunday's race.
02:27But then if it's not 1-2, it becomes a little trickier.
02:30But here we go, Q3 will resume at 5.37 local time.
02:36So we'll get a few more minutes of red flag conditions before we can go racing once more.
02:42Yeah, you can see the drivers getting ready to go out.
02:49I think that the risk of the weather is going to make sure that nobody wants to wait too long.
02:55So what's happening?
02:58As they wait to go out.
03:00One man not going out in this session will be gutted to miss the top 10 is Lewis Hamilton.
03:07He was out in Q2, knocked out in 12th place.
03:10Let's see what he had to say.
03:13Lewis, you did warn me yesterday it was only practice.
03:15So can you just help us understand the difference between yesterday's pace and today's and how the car was?
03:21Yeah.
03:23Honestly, I'm obviously so disappointed.
03:27Yesterday the car was feeling good.
03:28Today there was some direction that we ended up going, which on paper looked like it was the best place for us to be.
03:38And ultimately, I mean, our pace had been good.
03:42We'd been progressing.
03:43I was feeling really on it.
03:44Didn't make any mistakes.
03:46Didn't seem done any exit roads.
03:48It was just that we didn't have the right tyre on the end of the day.
03:51And stuff.
03:54You know, everyone ahead of me basically had the medium tyre on.
03:57But I lost the medium tyre on P2.
04:00And due to run the plan schedule and that coming in the back row.
04:05So did you not have one you could have done a hot pit stop?
04:09Yeah, the choice was I'm taking to take it.
04:12So there was no option to come in and do that, even if you had enough fuel on board you?
04:16Yeah, I think I wanted to, but they said that the warm-up was too long or something like that.
04:21So then we ran out of time and then we ran out of fuel.
04:23So not great, but we'll take it internal.
04:27As I said, there's been lots of post-stitching this weekend.
04:30I've really felt on it.
04:31But I honestly thought I think we're shooting for a point today.
04:34And so it's kind of a bit of a shock, but I'll take it on the chin and, you know, keep trying.
04:42Okay, so disappointing day then for Lewis Hamilton.
04:45Fifth time he's been knocked out from Q3.
04:49Won't progress.
04:50Meanwhile, Charles Leclerc also into the top ten.
04:53But he won't take no further part in this session, having crashed.
04:56The players only started outside the top eight once this season.
05:00Back in Imolo as we get closer and closer to Q3.
05:04Being resumed with seven minutes and seven seconds on the clock, Bernie.
05:10How do they attack those last remaining seven minutes?
05:14Yeah, they're already cooing at the end of the pit-lian hurry because you can't get push-cool-push in on this last run.
05:21There's not enough time to do two runs.
05:24Even with the pit-stop, I don't feel there's enough time to do two runs.
05:28So it's a fresh-cool-push and it's about getting that very important first lap in, that warm-up, like Lewis mentioned there.
05:36Can you get it?
05:37Now, a quick note on tyres.
05:38The Staffan is at the front of the line on a used set of medium tyres.
05:44They've only done an out-and-in lap, so maybe not that much of a disadvantage for him.
05:48The two of my parents have a new medium tyre available, so they're possibly ones to watch out for.
05:54But I kind of also see the RBs behind me on new softs.
05:58There's still a bit of a mix of tyres here, Harry, but I think you can only get it.
06:03That's what two push-ups in this session, if there's no more red flags.
06:07And that is a big if.
06:09I think it was Murray Walker who said F1 is if, spelt backwards.
06:14And that is exactly what Baku is delivering right now.
06:17We do not know what is going to unfold over the course of the next six and a half minutes or so.
06:23We're into that top ten shootout.
06:25The fight for pole position, with only nine drivers remaining in it.
06:29No Charles Leclerc, no Ferrari will be present.
06:33Three lap times were set before the red flag.
06:35And sitting pretty at the top, with the bankers in.
06:39The Williams of Sainz and the two racing bulls, who have been flying all the way through this session.
06:43Certainly fighting in that midfield pack and heading in at the moment.
06:46They're in a tight fight for sixth in the Constructors' Championship,
06:50with the likes of Williams and Aston Martin.
06:53Williams up in fifth at the moment.
06:55But we now focus on the battle for pole position over the course of the next six minutes.
07:00Yeah, Lando Norris on a brand new set of soft tyres, as is Oscar Piastri.
07:05So McLaren opting to go on the soft.
07:09And as we can see, on board here with Max Verstappen, confirming what Bernie saw earlier.
07:15He is on a set of mediums.
07:16So contrasting strategies there between McLaren and Red Bull.
07:21And Verstappen trying to get energy into the front tyres.
07:24He is right, turn 16.
07:25This is where you unleash the power.
07:28Get as good an exit as possible.
07:31And just soft hands here.
07:33Get a really, really precise line.
07:36Make sure you don't scrub any speed out of these little kinks.
07:40And then charge up to the line.
07:43So Verstappen, this is him starting.
07:47He's the first in the queue, as Bernie said.
07:49So it's the first indicator.
07:50No car in front.
07:51No slipstream in front for Verstappen.
07:54He's first in the queue.
07:56Oscar Piastri is last in the queue.
07:58He's just making his way round turn towards turn 13 now.
08:03As we ride on board with the Dutchman looking to try and throw a spanner into the works here in Baku.
08:10For pole position of which he hasn't claimed it here before.
08:14The best qualifying for him was second back in 2023.
08:17He's seen that front row.
08:19Tricky turn four.
08:20We've seen how quickly he can catch people out.
08:22Maybe a bit of rain there as well earlier on in this session.
08:25And he's a tenth, nearly two tenths up on Carlos Sainz's first sector from pre-red flag.
08:31Yeah, 35-6 for the first sector.
08:33If you compare that to what we saw from Piastri in Q2, which is a 35-2.
08:39So it's four tenths off what we saw in Q2.
08:42Now, some of that could be track.
08:43Some of that could be the medium tyre needing another lap to come in.
08:47We'll keep an eye on it as the session unfolds.
08:50Nando Norris out there too.
08:52Oscar Piastri just begins.
08:54His first flying lap of this session.
08:57Also going to be looking out for the two Mercedes.
08:59George Russell and Kimi Antonelli looking to have a clean session.
09:04Yuki Tsunoda too.
09:06Can Red Bull use their second driver to help this man here?
09:10He won't get any effect of a tow.
09:12Will Max Verstappen as Norris now goes fastest in the first sector.
09:15Yellow flag out.
09:16Is it Oscar Piastri at turn three?
09:18Has Piastri gone off?
09:19We'll have to wait and see.
09:20His teammate Lando Norris is still making his way around.
09:23I think Piastri's in the wall.
09:25Oscar Piastri, the man leading the championship, is in the wall.
09:28The red flag is out.
09:29No one is going to set a lap time.
09:32And that's for the man who sits 31 points clear in the championship on the weekend when
09:38McLaren need a 1-2 to seal their Constructors' Championship win for 2025.
09:45They're a car down in Q3.
09:48Piastri will not be on pole position.
09:50Piastri will not be on pole position.
09:51Wow.
09:52I can't think of the last time he saw Oscar Piastri make a mistake.
09:55He's on a tremendous run, isn't he, of 62 starts in his Grand Prix career, 34 races
10:03in a row.
10:04He scored points more than half of his whole career and he doesn't often make mistakes
10:09in qualifying, but that is a big whack into the barrier at turn three.
10:12He hasn't started outside the top four all season.
10:16The man who won here last year in fantastic style has found himself in the wall at turn
10:22three and here is him heading towards it now.
10:25He wasn't even close to the apex there.
10:28Thump of the steering wheel and just way too much speed.
10:32Couldn't get the car stopped in time and was also just a bit too quick to then bail out
10:37of it.
10:38I think he'd committed to turning into the corner and at that point he he couldn't bail
10:43out and go up the escape road and look at the energy there, the car lifting up into
10:48the air as it struck the barrier.
10:50Max Verstappen was, as we said, the first car in the queue, but even he didn't make it
10:55to the line.
10:56So nobody set a lap time on that particular run.
11:01And now we have three minutes, 40 seconds to go as Oscar Piastri sitting on the outside
11:08and hopefully the marshals will help him get into the medical car and get back to the pits.
11:13He looks okay, which is good news.
11:15But now this could be a big moment for Lando Norris to seize the initiative in terms of the
11:21championship battle.
11:22I was just saying, wasn't I doing the red flag?
11:24He's got to just focus on getting the polls, getting the wins and let the championship sort
11:28itself out.
11:29But if we do get a run and everyone gets a time on the ball, Piastri ends up 10th, Norris
11:35hopefully on the front row for him, that could make a big swing in the championship
11:40battle.
11:41Ted, down to you.
11:42While all that happened, Carlos Sainz was in the pits.
11:44He came in for a tire change and was just about to go back out there.
11:48All right.
11:49We'll see what happens with Sainz.
11:50But I'm looking down to the McLaren pit wall.
11:52They can barely believe what's happened, Karun.
11:54Oscar Piastri does not make mistakes like that.
11:57Arguably, that's the first mistake Piastri's made since he went wide in the rain in Melbourne
12:02on race one, isn't it?
12:03Yeah.
12:04And he left and he ended up P9 on that race.
12:08And Lando won.
12:09What an opportunity this hands to Lando Norris to try and get a lap if anybody can get laps
12:14in.
12:15Should we get out to Bernie?
12:16Bernie, what's the scene down here on the pit wall down your end?
12:19Absolutely incredible scenes up here at the sharp end.
12:22Well, it's windy down this end.
12:23The sun is back out.
12:25But there's no action, as you know, Ted, because everyone's coming for the red flag.
12:29I was having a quick look at the telemetry.
12:31And what I did was I compared Max Verstappen's lap that he nearly set against the last lap he
12:37did in the Q2 session.
12:39And actually, he's a little bit slower into that turn three corner.
12:43And he obviously is able to manage that.
12:46And then his lap goes on to be a little bit slower than it was in Q2, but not significantly.
12:51A few tenths down.
12:53When I look at Piastri's lap, Piastri in this run against Piastri before, Piastri was actually
13:00a little bit quicker into that turn three.
13:03Braked a little bit later than he had in Q2.
13:06And maybe that was just too much for the conditions that we're seeing now.
13:11I'm just literally comparing with Verstappen to Verstappen and Piastri to Piastri.
13:16But it looks like Piastri maybe thought the grip was a little bit higher.
13:19And he had got away with braking later in turn one and turn two.
13:24It just was too much to push that little bit more into that turn three section.
13:29Just from looking at the numbers on the data.
13:32I'm sure I can do a much better analysis from the driver's point of view on the Skypad later.
13:37Yeah, we'll wait and see that. Thanks, Bernie. Thanks, Ted.
13:403 minutes 41 then stopped on the clock.
13:43Now, Max Verstappen has just been noted for a red flag infringement,
13:47but I think it'll be very much in the same style as Kimi Antonelli.
13:51Red flag, Max.
13:53Oh, I can't make pit entry.
13:56Yeah, that's OK.
13:59Yeah, I think that will be the same as Antonelli's indiscretion.
14:02Just too late to make the correct entry into the pit lane.
14:06Six red flags so far in this qualifying session.
14:09That's a new record in one qualifying session.
14:12I mean, we have been going a long time.
14:14It's now...
14:15This qualifying has been going for an hour and 45 minutes.
14:17That's longer than the Grand Prix.
14:19You've got dinner reservations to make, haven't you, crew?
14:21It's fine.
14:22It's only with Simon Lazenby.
14:23He's a very powerful man.
14:24He can push the table backwards.
14:25Yeah.
14:26Well, yeah, that is the situation we find ourselves in right now.
14:31At the moment, it's Carlos Sainz with the only lap time...
14:35Well, the only pole...
14:37With one of the three lap times on the board,
14:39with the two racing bulls cars behind.
14:41The last time a Williams car was on pole position,
14:43we've got to go back to 2014 to the Austrian Grand Prix
14:46with Felipe Massa.
14:48So, Bernie, 3 minutes and 41, what's possible?
14:52What's possible?
14:54What's possible?
14:55Well, it's just going to be...
14:56Try and get out.
14:57Get that out lap done.
14:58And it's going to be a single lap for anybody.
15:01That's all that's possible at this stage of qualifying.
15:04But it is worth looking at what tyre sets people have available.
15:07It's been a very mixed obsession.
15:09I'm sure the tyre men in the garage have been very, very busy
15:12moving sets around.
15:14But actually, Norris still has two new sets of soft.
15:19And Verstappen actually has three new sets of soft.
15:22Because we've seen so much running on the medium tyre.
15:25Norris actually has a new medium as well,
15:27whereas Verstappen does not.
15:29So, there is games to be played in terms of what tyre is still going.
15:33But amazingly, given all the running that we've done,
15:36there's still new sets available for the drivers that we think are going to be
15:40potentially, if we get any laps on the board, in contention for pole.
15:44And the only other thing to come in on Verstappen's red flag infringement,
15:47Verstappen was slightly earlier.
15:49The red flag came slightly earlier for him relative to pit entry
15:53compared to Antonelli.
15:54I've not looked at the onboard, but it was slightly earlier.
15:58So, it is a slight difference.
16:00But he was doing, let me check the speed, 325 kph at the point the red flag came out.
16:07And he did appear to slow almost immediately.
16:10So, like Corinne said, I don't think there's going to be anything doing there.
16:14But it was earlier in the straight from Verstappen relative to the Antonelli one earlier.
16:18Yeah, you're right, Bernie.
16:19We were watching the onboard as it happened a little bit earlier,
16:22but I think it will go the same way as Antonelli.
16:25As we get a look at Oscar Piastri's crash once more,
16:29who's now made it back to the pit lane and the garage helmet off.
16:33And this could be a massive turning point in the championship for Oscar Piastri
16:37in this fight between himself and his teammate for their first world championship.
16:42Yeah, I mean, he was on the soft tyre.
16:44I wonder if he expected more grip from the soft tyre.
16:48You know, we heard Bernie offering us a fascinating insight that,
16:52you know, Verstappen recognises perhaps less grip and braked a bit earlier.
16:57Piastri tried to go in a bit deeper.
17:01I don't know, maybe the fact that he'd gone under the soft,
17:05maybe he was expecting it to slow down more and get him in the apex
17:09because he was some way, he wasn't even on the curb, was he?
17:12He was, you know, there was definitely, you could see asphalt
17:16between the white line and the front left of his car.
17:19So he wasn't even close to making the corner.
17:22No, a rare, rare mistake.
17:25FIS stewards update on what we were just talking about a moment for Verstappen.
17:30And you can see it there now.
17:31No further investigation for that red flag infringement as we expected.
17:37The clean up operation still in action for Oscar Piastri's McLaren.
17:41Well, looks like some McLaren supporters there.
17:43Not too disheartened that they've only got one car left in it,
17:46but enjoying all that Baku has to offer.
17:50And what has been a chaotic qualifying so far here in Azerbaijan.
17:54We just saw shots a few moments ago.
17:56The rain looking like it was coming down a bit harder,
17:58but now there's bright sunshine.
18:00The track temperature, where are we looking at the moment?
18:0224 degrees, air temperature, 20 degrees.
18:05So this really is, the track is challenging enough,
18:08but the elements are playing their part this afternoon.
18:11Well, I mean, we came into the session thinking
18:13that we had five potential contenders,
18:15two Ferraris, two McLarens, and Max Verstappen.
18:18Well, both Ferraris are gone.
18:20Oscar Piastri's ended up in the barrier.
18:22So are we looking at a Verstappen versus Norris battle for Paul?
18:27Ted, what do you think?
18:29Bits of rain, little drops of rain.
18:32So maybe the Williams and Racing Bulls rain dance
18:36is starting to bear fruit.
18:38Nothing really, it's about the same as it was earlier
18:41when we had that drizzle,
18:43but maybe nothing to wet the track.
18:45But I just want to tell you that there is a little bit of rain
18:48coming down more than there was in the last three or four minutes.
18:51But Karun, come on, you're the racing driver.
18:53Put us into the head of Lando Norris.
18:56Put us into the head of that McLaren.
18:58Put us into the crash helmet and think,
19:00OK, I've got a great opportunity.
19:02Are we assuming that Oscar will start, what, ninth?
19:06It's between Leclerc and...
19:08Leclerc and Piastri will be ninth and tenth, won't they?
19:11We just don't quite know which order it'll be.
19:13I'm assuming the Yuki Tsunoda will get a lap in.
19:15But don't assume anything in this qualifying session.
19:17How many more people are going to crash?
19:19Expect the unexpected.
19:20That's right.
19:21How many more people are going to crash?
19:22You can see maybe on your screen
19:24some of that little drizzle coming down.
19:27But if you're Lando, do you think, look, I've just got to get somewhere in the top three,
19:32maybe a little bit of circumspection,
19:34and then I can just maximize this opportunity for the world championship
19:38that this race might present me, especially going in to the Singapore Grand Prix.
19:43What's he going to be thinking?
19:45Yeah, I think if you're Lando Norris, you're seeing the rain starting to come down.
19:50I think at this stage you want to get out there and just get a time on the board.
19:55If he can start on the front row, this is a track where you can overtake.
20:00This is a track where you can win from anywhere, even if you're not on pole.
20:06I think you can win from the top four even.
20:08So, but he needs to get a time on the board.
20:10And these red flags and yellow flags, they're not helpful for a man
20:15who has looked on tremendous form throughout free practice.
20:19And if he executes a lap and fulfills the potential of his car,
20:24he can be on pole.
20:25This man we're looking at on our screen, Max Verstappen is the biggest threat to him
20:29in these next three and a half minutes.
20:31So, yeah, if you're Lando Norris right now,
20:33I think you just want to get a time on the board.
20:36That's all you want to do and hope it doesn't rain.
20:39Well, there is that.
20:40But there is still light drizzle coming down in parts of the track.
20:43Carlos Sainz is the man who is sitting pretty at the moment.
20:46One of three to have lap times before the first red flag that we got.
20:50Q3 will resume in a couple of minutes' time.
20:53And we have this red flag because the man currently leading the championship,
20:58Oscar Piastri, clear of his teammate by 31 points coming into this weekend.
21:03Well, he has had a crash in qualifying.
21:05He is out of this session and he's speaking down in the pen.
21:09Oscar, just tell us what happened.
21:12I think we just braked a little bit late.
21:15I have not seen any data or anything, but it's normally what happens when you end up blocking a brake.
21:23It's a bit late.
21:24So, yeah, just disappointing.
21:26Obviously, I felt like the car was in a good place and, yeah, disappointing way to end.
21:31Were you expecting maybe a bit more grip on the soft?
21:34Was that potentially what happened?
21:36I mean, the first two corners were really good.
21:39And then I don't know if I just tried a bit too much or, you know, the rain has been around.
21:45So there's some corners, even in the outlap, that felt a little bit tricky.
21:49But I don't know if that was one of them necessarily.
21:52So, yeah, ultimately I need to go and have a look.
21:56But I think just a case of trying a little bit too hard and paying for it.
22:00We haven't seen you make many mistakes at all.
22:03So to turn this around tomorrow, we know you had a great race here last year.
22:07You know how to overtake around here.
22:08Can you still get the win, do you feel?
22:10I think the win is ambitious, but, you know, let's wait and see.
22:16We have both flying shakes out first.
22:19I think we can definitely make progress.
22:21The car's been quick this weekend.
22:22So hopefully we can use that to make some progress.
22:27Well, typical stoicism from Oscar Piastri.
22:31Then all is not yet lost as we still have the matter of doing 51 laps of racing on Sunday afternoon as they now come into the queue.
22:39Lando Norris at the front here.
22:41I think he's on a used set of soft tyres.
22:44But Red Bull, have they made, did you catch what they had?
22:47Yeah, they've gone for new softs.
22:48I saw Mercedes going for the medium and Carlos Sainz on the medium there.
22:53We can see Sainz just up ahead.
22:55The one on the right there, that is one of the Mercedes.
23:00I think that might be Antonelli.
23:03I can see.
23:04Yeah, there's Antonelli on mediums.
23:06I didn't see what Russell's got.
23:08And there are the Red Bulls.
23:09And they seem to be on brand new soft tyres.
23:12So they have opted for the new soft for this final run of qualifying.
23:17They have indeed.
23:19And it is Tsunoda right behind Max Verstappen as they come out of the pit lane.
23:24A really crucial three minutes of fast paced action to set a lap time in the first place for the majority of the now eight remaining drivers in this qualifying.
23:38No Charles Leclerc.
23:39No Oscar Piastri.
23:41We've got a Williams currently on provisional pole with two racing bulls behind.
23:46You can see them there.
23:47James Vaux, the team principal, on the far right, upright and ready for what is to come over the next few moments.
23:54And this is where you've got to play the risk reward.
23:56You know, do you chase the extra half metre on the brakes?
23:59Do you dare squeeze another 5% of throttle in case the grip may not be there?
24:06Or do you just put a lap together which gets you somewhere on the front two rows if you're Lando Norris?
24:12So, yeah, there's a lot going on in the mind of a driver at this point.
24:17This is a replay of Norris coming out of the pits.
24:19Russell on a new set of softs overtaking signs.
24:23Russell overtook me on the pit lane.
24:24I don't know if that's allowed.
24:26OK, Kapiel, report.
24:28We have seen that done a few occasions across this weekend so far.
24:33I think as long as he doesn't cross the white line where it becomes the firm white line on the exit.
24:37Yeah, the step in it in Brazil.
24:38Remember, he drove around the outside of all of those cars in the past.
24:42Carlos is just making sure that's reported and everything is clear for the stewards.
24:48It will be really a dash to the line.
24:51Lando Norris already there then, having clawed back a few points on his teammate in the championship last time out in Monza.
24:59He is out there alone now as he gets so, so close to the inside wall.
25:05They are not letting us get off easy so far here in Baku this afternoon.
25:09Lando Norris has a chance to put it on pole position, but equally he just has a chance to set a lap time that will put him ahead and give him the advantage over his teammate on race day.
25:19Yeah, look at the raindrops on the camera lens. The drivers will be seeing that on their visor.
25:23So then, psychologically, you're thinking to yourself, you know, how much is that affecting the grip on the track?
25:30Norris, big squirm on the rear of the car as he put the power down.
25:3535.5, Harry, is a good first sector.
25:38Hearing from Pitlane as well that it is spitting down there as he now threads the needle up and over the hill of the castle section.
25:458, 9, 10, 11, come at you quick.
25:48Now, you're heading uphill. There is elevation here. The screens don't always do it justice as you now travel at over 280 kilometers an hour.
25:56Approaching now the next corner where his teammate had the off and caused the red flag.
26:02He hits the wall as well. Lando Norris brushes the wall, but he lives to fight another day.
26:07It doesn't look like there's too much damage out of the last proper final corner for Lando Norris.
26:13But he's slower. He's slower. And Sainz is going faster at sector one.
26:17Verstappen is going faster than anybody in the first sector.
26:21Let's look at what this does in terms of lap time. Lando Norris has a 41.59 to beat of Carlos Sainz.
26:28Here he is up to the line and he's slower. He's not going to do it. He is 6 tenths, nearly 7 tenths down on the Williams of Carlos Sainz.
26:38Russell goes ahead, but he still can't pit Carlos Sainz. Russell fastest in the final sector.
26:43But what about Max Verstappen? Fastest of anybody in the first sector. Half a second up already.
26:50Lawson pops it up into second. He's only a tenth away in the racing balls as Antonelli can't pit the racing balls of the Kiwi.
26:59Max Verstappen up into eighth gear. That 2.2km run to the chequered flag will seem like a lifetime.
27:07The DRS flies open. He won't get the effect of a toe, but I don't think he'll need it.
27:12To the top and pole position for Max Verstappen here in Baku with no Piastri, with no Leclerc.
27:20His teammate Tsunoda a second adrift, but Yuki Tsunoda with a brilliant qualifying to get that second Red Bull up inside the top six and ahead of Lando Norris.
27:33What was Ted saying about golden opportunities? Lando Norris had it to get a big, big swing on Oscar Piastri.
27:40In the end, Max Verstappen seized the golden opportunity. McLaren seventh, McLaren ninth. Red Bull on pole.
27:49And Max Verstappen has set himself up for a second consecutive opportunity to take the win here.
27:55Liam Lawson. What a drive.
27:58And Carlos Sainz on the front row. What a grid we've got for tomorrow.
28:03Max Verstappen. It's his first career pole around the streets of Baku.
28:09That makes it six poles this season, the most of any on the drivers in the field.
28:15Let's hear what he had to say.
28:17Nice job, Max. Nice job. Pole position. Good effort.
28:24Yes. Yes, guys. Unbelievable. Very, very lovely that. It's such a beautiful qualifying for the Red Max.
28:33Whoo. Well done.
28:36You know what's interesting, Harry, is even before Norris had their moment of 15, he had already lost, just look at the sector times, he'd lost nine tenths in the middle sector to Max.
28:46So already, I know 15 is where he touched the barrier.
28:50He did really good. Really good. Amazing drop. Amazing drop.
28:54Difficult session. Thank you, guys.
28:56Ramos, Carlos. Well done. It's a brilliant, brilliant qualifying session.
29:00Wow, that was tough. Well done.
29:01Thank you, guys. Amazing. Thank you.
29:04And this is what Baku throws up, isn't it?
29:06Carlos Sainz, who has been teetering on the verge of a great result.
29:10Yes, we're not in the race yet. There are no points for being on the front row.
29:13But it's the two former Toro Rosso teammates who were nip and tuck back in their rookie year.
29:19Now Max Verstappen on pole with Carlos Sainz alongside his best start for Williams so far this year.
29:26And Liam Lawson at a time where his future is being decided with every race that goes by, putting it up inside the top three.
29:36That is going to be tasty for Sunday.
29:39And great result for Antonelli. Out-qualifying George Russell.
29:42And that is a very strong performance. He's not done it since the Miami weekend.
29:46So he should be very pleased with that. Mentally, a big, big session for the drivers.
29:51Two hours they had to stay 100% focused. And then deliver that final lap under pressure.
29:59Max Verstappen once again showing the world why he is the man for these high-pressure moments.
30:05And you know what? You can see how much that meant to him there because it wasn't a walk-over.
30:10That was a tough qualifying for all 20 drivers and those who are fighting at the very top in the championship.
30:17Showing that they can make mistakes and how costly they can be.
30:22And this is a grid that we end up with. But we know Baku and we've got 51 laps to get through.
30:29Four out of eight of them have been won from outside of the front row.
30:34Pole has only seen the podium four times across the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
30:41Carlos Sainz, though, will have the second best view in the house from P2.
30:45Williams' first front row qualifying performance since George Russell at Belgium back in 2021.
30:51But, of course, that was the race that never really got going.
30:53So the last time a Williams physically started on the front row.
30:57You've got to go back to Lance Stroll, Monza 2017.
31:02I mean, all we can. We have been saying the Williams' have looked competitive.
31:07And actually, Sainz, you know, he was fortunate. He did the time on that first run, didn't he?
31:12Before it went red, he got the time on the ball straight away, 41.59.
31:16I'm just looking at his last lap, Harry, of 41.86.
31:19That would have still put him fourth.
31:21You know, even if you take the conditions of the final run, he would have still been in the top four.
31:27So he's done a fantastic job. This was Lando at 15.
31:30Oh, I thought that was gone for a moment.
31:34Oh, I guess. Sorry, that is still the second sector, isn't it?
31:37Yeah.
31:38Because the sector comes after that. Yeah.
31:39So that's where he lost the ninth, the ninth tenth gap to Verstappen in the middle sector has come from that moment there.
31:47Rando Norris then in the end seventh behind Yuki Tsunoda.
31:51Isaac Hajar as well down in eighth position with no lap time set for Oscar Piastri or Charles Leclerc after they put it into the wall throughout the session in Q3.
32:04But what a result for Carlos Sainz with a front row with his old teammate Max Verstappen.
32:11We can hear from our qualifiers. They're speaking with Jamie Chadwick. Any moment now.
32:17Liam, you said it was going to be chaos before the start of that session. It was absolute chaos. It was a record red flag number.
32:23How was it from your point of view? Honestly, I can't even remember what happened. It was so busy. Obviously, it's still raining now. It was very busy.
32:33I said it would be, but I didn't expect it to be like that, honestly. But the car has been good all weekend and when it needed to be in quality, it was good.
32:42So massive thanks to the guys and girls. The team has been amazing this weekend so far, but obviously tomorrow is the important day.
32:48The conditions looked incredibly tough. We obviously spoke about the wind, but the rain at the end. Was it difficult to improve on that last lap?
32:53It's always sketchy because you see the rain coming on your visor and you can feel it and you can kind of see the gloss on the track.
33:00But because the tyres are still warm, you have grip. So you're trying to fight your brain and not back off and keep pushing. But it's definitely tricky.
33:09And the race tomorrow, who do you think your fight's going to be with? Do you reckon you can keep it in the top three?
33:13It's going to be a very hard race for sure. We have a great, great starting position, but obviously we're aware of who we're fighting around us and that's what we'll be focused on.
33:23Good luck tomorrow. Thank you.
33:26Carlos, I don't want to say I'm surprised to see you. We thought maybe there was going to be a pole position there, but how happy can you be with P2?
33:44Well, thank you everyone for the cheers. Yeah, very happy. Honestly, we've nailed the qualifying today. Every time being on the right tyre at the right time and putting together some very strong laps.
33:55Obviously, the moment that our top car was going to put a lap together, we were always going to be those four or five tenths behind like we are always.
34:03But it was only one of them, which was Max, no surprise. And for the rest, we managed to beat them. And yeah, we were in P2, which is great news.
34:14And how satisfying is that for you personally? It's been a tough few races through a lot of issues throughout your own fault. So finally to put a lap together in P2, you must be so happy.
34:22Yeah. Well, I've been putting good laps together this year in qualifying. It hasn't been my weakness or my issues at all. Again, today we proved that the speed on this car and this team is there.
34:35I'm delivering in qualifying when it counts. And unfortunately, just the year in terms of races and points is not going the way we want.
34:43But as long as the speed is there, which again today proves the points and the good races will come and I'm not worried.
34:51What's the aim for tomorrow? Thank you. Plan for tomorrow? Yeah. Plan for tomorrow? Try to stick it in the podium.
34:57I think I'm going to give it my best to give Williams the first podium. If it's possible, great. And if it's not, we will see.
35:05Good luck. Thank you. Max, a first pole position at Baku. An unbelievable lap in tricky conditions. How was it out there?
35:16Long qualifying to be honest with so many red flags. So it was very difficult to basically get your lap together because most of the time your tires are not really ready or again, a red flag happens.
35:26So especially Q3 with also a bit of rain around was a very difficult session. And then in the final lap, you just have to send it.
35:33I wasn't even on the best tires that I wanted. But because of all the red flags, you basically run out of tires. And yeah, I'm very happy with so far the how the weekend went, because I think, you know, from everyone, we're not too bad.
35:46And we just kept on improving a tiny amount. And then we were there in qualifying. And that's, of course, where it matters.
35:52You seem to unlock something after Monza. Do you think even despite the interruptions and the red flags and what have you, you still had a chance for pole today? Or do you think these conditions seem to suit you best?
36:02I think we definitely were in there for pole. Of course, yeah, Q3 is always a bit messy for everyone. But I'm just happy. It seems like since Monza, we're doing a better job. And I hope that we can continue in that way.
36:14And starting on pole position, it's a really short rundown into turn one. But surely your goal is just to take it home tomorrow.
36:19Yeah, still, again, long race. Of course, you want to have a good start. But even then, we just need to do our own race, look after our tires, because it's still quite tough on the tires around here, because of the softer compounds. And then we'll see what happens.
36:33Good luck. Thank you.
36:44Good luck.
37:14Good luck.
37:44Good luck.
38:14Good luck.
38:15Good luck.
38:44Good luck.
38:45Good luck.
38:47Good luck.
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