00:00And the Qatar Grand Prix is go!
00:04Good reaction time for Lewis Hamilton.
00:07George Russell putting the pressure on Max Verstappen.
00:09Hamilton got the launch off the line, goes around the outside, he's hit his teammate!
00:12Lewis Hamilton turns into George Russell and the Mercedes collide at the first turn.
00:18Three into one did not go and the wheel came off there for Lewis Hamilton.
00:23The wheels come off for Mercedes, Max Verstappen leads,
00:26contact between Russell and Hamilton, absolutely dramatic start in the first couple of corners.
00:32We will probably need a safety car intervention, scrappy start at the beginning of this one.
00:37Yeah, and Hamilton unsurprisingly gets that extra drive off those tyres,
00:41picking up a bit of a distant tour there from Max Verstappen as well.
00:45He then gets a little bit of a squeeze from his teammate, but goes brave on the brakes,
00:49but just shuts the corner down. I'm sorry, he just didn't leave enough space.
00:55Come on! What the hell?
00:58This would be interesting. I think Russell momentarily loses a little bit of grip as well and washes wide.
01:03Oh, barely. I mean it is, you're right DC, is Hamilton really turning in, going aggressive on the soft tyre,
01:09but it's his error there and he's taken out his teammate, which is just worst case scenario.
01:18You know, Lewis is exceptional in wheel-to-wheel combat, but I think he got it wrong today.
01:23And that is a Nico going straight through. He must know what he's done here.
01:28Suddenly you're looking at the back of a McLaren thinking, I wasn't close to these guys, was I?
01:32I don't know, but that's where Carlos Sainz should have started.
01:35And we go across the line and we begin lap five on an already dramatic weekend.
01:40Here in Qatar it is Verstappen, then Piastri, then Alonso, Leclerc, Ocon, Norris, Gasly, Tsunoda,
01:46HĂŒlkenberg and Alben the top ten, looking to the inside there.
01:50Car 22, Yuki Tsunoda up against his old teammate Pierre Gasly, hangs onto it around the outside.
01:58And now Yuki Tsunoda in the Alfa Tauri had been on the attack on the restart
02:03and HĂŒlkenberg trying to go the long way round and he does so in the Haas.
02:08HĂŒlkenberg was so disappointed yesterday to be taken out at this corner.
02:12Today, though, it's a better result for him and he's up to eight.
02:14Here's Russell once again, Perez on the hard tyre is struggling.
02:19Russell around the outside, did he make it work?
02:21He did make it work!
02:22And that's the compound advantage and a tidy pass for George Russell
02:26who manages to go the long way round and take 13th place.
02:30Now on board with Alonso.
02:32That's what a big dose of Overseer looks like as he commits to the corner
02:36and those fast hands, but there's no question that takes him beyond track limits.
02:41As we join George Russell on that pass on the Alfa Romeo, door wide open.
02:47He just slots it in there quite nicely. He's a man on the move.
02:52Great move for Lando Norris as he fights his way by,
02:56trying to score his most podiums ever in a Formula One season.
02:59As he, through he went and he's looking to be on the podium for the fifth time this year.
03:05That is George Russell making a pass once again and fights his way back through.
03:10This was the attempt, DC, as he tried to go the long way round.
03:14Yeah, he just got a little bit squeezed on that entry phase.
03:17And I guess, you know, feisty George Russell will be a bit angry with that
03:21because he was lining it up, wasn't he, as he entered the corner
03:24and then got a little squeeze on the entry phase.
03:31If Russell can go around the outside, this time he does, and he's up to seventh place past the Alpi.
03:35Yeah, nice move there from Russell.
03:38Here comes Fernando Alonso into the pits. He comes to hit his marks.
03:42He's going to be under threat from Lando Norris on the evidence that we've seen of that stint.
03:47Each of these stops for McLaren have not been really that good for the drivers.
03:53They've put them out just in a bit of traffic each time.
03:56But he's ahead of Alonso, and that's the big one for McLaren.
03:59Norris went another lap or two, and he managed to clear Fernando Alonso.
04:05Considering there's only 18 cars in this race, and well...
04:09Alonso off the road! He was off for a minor moment earlier in the Grand Prix.
04:13That's a major one. He's been through the gravel, and there is Charles Leclerc trying to punish the error, and
04:18he'll do so.
04:21Yeah, he turned in on the curb, and the rear said,
04:24No, no, not now. We're not giving you the grip you expect.
04:30And now Stroll up against Ocon is the battle we're looking at.
04:34And Ocon's going to fight away by now. These two get on pretty well.
04:38They still get on brilliantly at the edge of the corner.
04:40The curve inspected by the Aston Martin. Eighth place seized by the Frenchman.
04:47I don't feel well, man.
04:49You're the one making the call if you want to retire or not, Logan.
04:52There's no shame to retire if you're feeling unwell.
04:56Yeah, I need to stop.
04:57Well, at least the car is going to be in one piece.
05:01McLaren struggling to get out of Q1 at the start of the season.
05:04Now find themselves regularly troubling the podium.
05:08Piastri with a two-second stop. That's mighty handy for his quest for second place.
05:142.1. They are flying at the moment.
05:17It's going to be close.
05:17It's going to be so tight down the main straight.
05:20Out of the pits comes Lando Norris.
05:22Through goes Oscar Piastri though to maintain second position.
05:27Having come out of the pits, this is Logan Sargent easing himself out of the car.
05:32You can see him dripping from his race suit.
05:36Look at this. I think he was scooping some air. Look at that.
05:38He's just getting some air through his gloves.
05:40No, tap, tap, tap. Let's get on with it.
05:42He's in eighth gear.
05:44He's heading down to turn one.
05:48This is Gasly up against Lance Stroll.
05:51And that's the long way around. That's too long a way around that.
05:53He can't overtake you off the road.
05:55You'll have to feather back the throttle and give the position back there
05:58because you cannot overtake with all four wheels off the racetrack.
06:02Gasly, I was going to say he knows it, but he doesn't know it.
06:05As he shuts the door on Stroll.
06:08So Gasly checking the mirrors.
06:11Stroll being pursued by Perez.
06:13Gasly told to give back the position.
06:15We're very nearly going three wide.
06:17Gasly tries to give the position back to Stroll.
06:19But there's also Perez on the inside.
06:21Perez takes the pair of them.
06:23Or at least he will do.
06:24No, he won't. Stroll stays ahead.
06:25So Stroll fights there.
06:27And Perez carving left, carving right, trying to find a way back.
06:31He's soaring away at the back of the Aston Martin.
06:34And Lance Stroll turns in and keeps the place.
06:37And I thought we were heading to the gravel trap.
06:39But the Canadian driver hangs on to 9th.
06:43And now there's the opportunity for the Alpine.
06:46Trying to take the place back up against Perez.
06:48And behind the building we go.
06:50This time I think Gasly did keep all four wheels on the road.
06:53And Gasly gets through back into 10th position.
06:56But with that penalty hanging over him.
06:58Max Verstappen is almost home.
07:01He was second yesterday in the sprint.
07:03But this has been 57 victory laps to celebrate the title that he won yesterday.
07:09Max Verstappen wins the Qatar Grand Prix.
07:13And it's his 49th career win.
07:15Oscar Piastri with a dream weekend.
07:18Second in the Grand Prix today from 6th on the grid.
07:21And it's 10th on the grid to 3rd in the race for Lando Norris who finished 1.1 seconds behind
07:27his teammate.
07:27It has been incredibly hot, humid and heavy work out there.
07:33But no matter the conditions.
07:35Whether they be wet.
07:36Whether they be dry.
07:37Whether the stints be mandated by Pirelli and the FIA.
07:42Whatever format you throw at Formula 1 in 2023.
07:46Max Verstappen has an answer.
07:48Time for Mesa.
07:49Tuttle in Auguste.
07:51Still hit by Leia ĐșĐ°ĐŽ persons in the race for Lando Norris.
07:52You
Comments