00:02Carlos Sainz with a Haas on the racing line, could be trouble for Kevin Magnusson.
00:06The Haas will sit away, could be puppy.
00:09DRS open, can Albon find something? No. This is nip and tuck for Russell to get through.
00:15Tsunoda goes in the first part of sprint qualifying, along with Sargent, along with Albon, along with Ocon,
00:21and the final question remains, will it be Gasly or will it be Russell? This would be a big shock.
00:27Mercedes have not been getting on well with this car, but they'd expect to be outside the bottom five.
00:33Down the hill we go, where's it going to be for George Russell? He's found something when he needed to,
00:38and Hamilton really leaning on the curb as well.
00:42Fire in turn five like this morning, basically.
00:46Copy that.
00:48And that will be a delay whilst we put the fire out.
00:52Gasly, Ocon, Albon, Tsunoda, and Sargent fall at the first hurdle.
01:00One corner to go, it's the left-hander with gravel on the outside.
01:03Pick your way through, hope you've got enough grip.
01:05Wait, wait, wait to get on the throttle, he did so.
01:08And now he cuts the beam, Norris set to 1.36-0 for everyone else to beat.
01:13His teammate is the first driver to try and take it away.
01:15Hauling the car away from the gravel trap, and Piastri goes over the line, Piastri goes faster.
01:21A reminder, if the rain comes down, this could be vital.
01:24This first push lap could be vital for who goes through and who goes out.
01:28McLaren 1-2, Sainz slots into third, two tenths down.
01:31And here comes Alonso, who's been quick so far.
01:34Fourth place for Fernando Alonso.
01:36Now Charles Leclerc looked good in the first part of sprint qualifying.
01:39Takes the route round the final left-hander, goes ahead of Piastri.
01:43Russell's going to complete his time.
01:45Where does the Mercedes go in this part of qualifying?
01:48Eighth position is the answer for one.
01:50The second one is about to appear down the hill,
01:53and Hamilton goes ahead of his teammate and the local hero.
01:57He's seventh, then it's Joe, then it's Russell, then it's Kevin Magnussen.
02:00Daniel Ricciardo is currently in the drop zone, along with Hülkenberg and Stroll.
02:04Here he is, the world championship leader leaning on the curb,
02:07completing the lap and going a tenth of a second quicker than Charles Leclerc.
02:13It is Red Bull, then Ferrari, then McLaren, then McLaren, or at least it was,
02:17because Perez has gone up to third position with a 1.35.7.
02:27That's it, the rain that was forecast has arrived.
02:30The grip will go away and no one will be able to improve.
02:34Russell will be eliminated in the second part of sprint qualifying,
02:37along with Magnussen, who is ahead of Hülkenberg, Ricciardo and Stroll.
02:43Listen to that.
02:44They've seen one of their own put it in the top ten.
02:47That is a big moment for Joe Guarniou.
02:51Loire Norris sliding, coming through turn seven.
02:54These things make a huge difference.
02:55Off into the barrier goes Charles Leclerc.
02:58So the drivers going out there ascertaining the grip level and finding there's not much at all,
03:04and they are adapting to the wet conditions on the intermediate tyre.
03:09This is pure driving talent on show now.
03:13Can you improvise with no knowledge of the track conditions?
03:16Can you pick a different line like Max Verstappen's doing now?
03:19He's not doing the traditional line.
03:21He's looking for the parts of the racetrack with grip,
03:22and Jolien, there doesn't seem to be anywhere out there that's offering him grip.
03:26Oh, he just couldn't get any power down coming out of turn three there.
03:30Brakes off line, coming down to turn six.
03:32That's OK.
03:34No, it's not.
03:34It's track limits immediately.
03:36Looked like he had so much margin until he tried to turn in,
03:39and the rear just went.
03:40So this lap won't count.
03:41It's just a sighter now.
03:42Well, if you can complete a lap with it pointing in the right direction,
03:45it might be good enough.
03:46Look at how slowly Piatri has to squeeze the throttle.
03:50He goes over the line.
03:51It's a two-minute lap.
03:52It's a two-minute 2.5 for the rest of the field to beat.
03:56Perez is looking good to get on terms with it.
03:58So is Lando Norris.
04:00Carlos Sainz just trying to rotate that scarlet Ferrari through the spray,
04:04through the rain, and to third position.
04:07Lando Norris, can he beat his teammate?
04:09Lando Norris goes to third place.
04:11Does anyone have a time at the moment?
04:13Perez does.
04:14Perez goes to the top of the field.
04:16He switched on those tyres.
04:17He found a good lap, and it's two seconds clear of the rest of the field.
04:23Fernando Alonso has been off the road earlier in this session,
04:26and he finds himself in fifth in the moment.
04:29Three minutes to go.
04:31Perez is heading to a sprint pole as it stands.
04:59He's soaring away at the steering wheel, left and right.
05:03Can he find a time?
05:03Can he? Oh, he's off.
05:05He's off at the final corner as Oscar Piastri takes second place.
05:09Verstappen couldn't find the grip, couldn't find the way round.
05:12That one counts for the moment, but it was off the road.
05:14It won't count overall.
05:15Wait for the Papaya McLaren.
05:17Lando Norris goes off in the background.
05:19Sainz improves to fifth.
05:20Norris at the end, tried to keep it on the road.
05:23And even though he put two wheels in the gravel,
05:25he's improved to the front row.
05:27Extraordinary.
05:28And whilst they're struggling to keep it pointing in the straight line,
05:31Perez goes quicker still.
05:32It won't count for Norris because he went all four wheels off the track.
05:36As weird as it is, he bounced through the gravel.
05:39He's going to have that lead.
05:40Alonso's done it.
05:42Alonso fights his way to the front of the field with less than a minute to go.
05:48Absolutely balmy scenes.
05:49The grip is still there for them if they can keep it on the island.
05:53Leclerc now fighting his way.
05:55The traction's so difficult coming out of turn 14.
05:58Then you've got to stop it for this final left-hander.
06:00Leclerc has done that.
06:01He drives to the line.
06:03Charles Leclerc cuts the beam, goes to third with the fastest final sector.
06:08Piastri's on for a personal best.
06:10So is Sainz.
06:11So is Hamilton.
06:1212 seconds to go.
06:13So Hamilton, if he gets through here cleanly, will get a lap on the board.
06:17But more importantly, he will be the last driver to cross the line.
06:20Oh, he's got it!
06:22He's got it!
06:23Piastri going to try and improve here.
06:26Currently in fifth.
06:27He's on for a personal best.
06:29Where does that personal best take him?
06:30That is an important point about being last over the line.
06:33Piastri does not improve his position.
06:36He stays in fifth.
06:37That will leave him vulnerable to this man.
06:39There are cars still going quickly.
06:42Max Verstappen's found a time at last.
06:44Max Verstappen keeps it within the lines.
06:47Sainz goes to fourth.
06:48But what about Lando Norris?
06:49He's got it!
06:50Lando Norris.
06:51The last time we had a sprint qualifying session at the front of the field.
06:55But Lando Norris finds himself at the front.
06:58No!
06:59Norris' time is deleted because he was off the road at the lap before.
07:04Lewis Hamilton, who got that lap in late.
07:07Look at the front row for the first sprint of the year.
07:10Lando Norris' time will be reinstated, is the message on my screen.
07:15Hold on then.
07:16Hold on.
07:17Lando Norris' time.
07:18Wow, this is fascinating stuff.
07:19Lewis Hamilton is across the line.
07:22And Norris now goes back to the top of the times.
07:25Extraordinary!
07:26They deleted Lando Norris' previous time
07:28because they said he went off at the final corner of the racetrack.
07:32Oh, that was absolutely wild.
07:34The man whose time we thought was deleted
07:36has been reinstated back to the front of the field.
07:40And he's gone from the bottom of the pile back up to first.
07:43After all that, I can tell you,
07:46it's Lando Norris P1 for the opening sprint of the year.
07:49Wow, that was ridiculous!
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