F1 2026 Chinese GP Qualifying Full

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00:00:00The fast lane, Nico Hülkenberg, who started his Formula 1 career 16 years ago this very day

00:00:07and was a retirement from our sprint race earlier on.

00:00:10There's Valtteri Bottas, a 10-time pole position holder in Formula 1 in the Cadillac,

00:00:15who ventures out onto the circuit.

00:00:17His teammate earlier on lost the engine cover.

00:00:20It wasn't particularly easy to tell that he'd lost the engine cover

00:00:23because it's a dark, that side of the car is the car in shade when it comes to the Cadillac

00:00:31livery.

00:00:31But yeah, it wasn't just the barge board, which we did pick up.

00:00:34He also lost the engine cover on the back straight.

00:00:36So that's why there was so much debris.

00:00:38Yeah, it was almost like a skeleton car, wasn't it?

00:00:40Completely cut away on the backside.

00:00:42But actually, all credit to Cadillac.

00:00:44That was the same earlier on where they were first out onto the track.

00:00:49It's kind of a statement of intent.

00:00:51They've got a few seconds between them and finishing first.

00:00:54But I like the mindset, be first out.

00:00:58If you can't finish first, at least start first.

00:01:02And he's got a nice clear track ahead of him, Valtteri Bottas.

00:01:06I'm looking forward to seeing Cadillac's development over the year,

00:01:09even through this weekend.

00:01:10Can they get a bit closer?

00:01:12There's nearly two seconds, actually, from the pace that we saw from the Cadillac

00:01:17to the pace of the best Aston Martin.

00:01:18Bearing in mind that there was a good chunk between Alonso and Stroll.

00:01:22So they've got plenty to make up, but they've also got so much more to learn

00:01:27than everyone else.

00:01:28Their baseline is very, very young.

00:01:31They're starting this team from scratch.

00:01:34They're learning more with every single lap.

00:01:36Well, you could put Aston Martin in the same camp when they barely run the car as well this year.

00:01:40But, yeah, experienced drivers trying to lead the way and getting straight out on circuit.

00:01:44So six drivers are going to fall in the first part of qualifying,

00:01:47which goes back up to the traditional hour-long session,

00:01:50which means we had 18 minutes to start.

00:01:52And six cars will fall at the end when the checker flag waves

00:01:56and everyone completes their laps as Valtteri Bottas heads out.

00:02:01And if you head out first, you do tend to get the majority of the airtime.

00:02:04I'm sure it's a coincidence.

00:02:05Others still peeling out of the pit lane to begin their session.

00:02:09Valtteri Bottas had a huge chance to win this Grand Prix back in 2018

00:02:13when he was racing for Mercedes.

00:02:14It was a strategic call that day.

00:02:16The Mercedes went on by.

00:02:18The Red Bulls put the soft tyres on.

00:02:19And it was a Daniel Ricciardo special to roar through the field and take the win.

00:02:25He was overtaken at this very corner.

00:02:27Sorry for the bad memories, Valtteri.

00:02:28But he's back in Formula One after a year on the side.

00:02:33Hopefully he's not listening.

00:02:34Hopefully he's dialed in and putting the bad memories behind him.

00:02:37Great bit of wheel-to-wheel action on that day for the win for Ricciardo.

00:02:42And Perez didn't qualify yesterday.

00:02:44Had an issue with the car as well.

00:02:46So they've often been firing with one car so far.

00:02:49Bottas has left the pits.

00:02:51Perez still in the pits.

00:02:53Well, Lindblad, from the high a week ago in Melbourne to the disappointment of...

00:02:58We didn't actually see whether he could spun around or whether he just spun around.

00:03:02Had a look at it.

00:03:03He spun on his own.

00:03:04Right.

00:03:05OK.

00:03:05And then racing bulls were worried about clutch damage after that.

00:03:09So part of the car.

00:03:10What it means in the end is he says goodbye to that apex with a load, a load of push

00:03:14down at turn six.

00:03:14But in this new world of Formula One, well, he has backed out.

00:03:17But what I was going to say, we've learned that sometimes going, let's say, deep and being off the throttle

00:03:22for longer means you actually harvest a bit more energy.

00:03:25But he's decided there's too much understeer in that car.

00:03:28Tire prep, not quite where he needed it to be.

00:03:31He's got loads of soft tires to use as well.

00:03:33New softs.

00:03:34Because didn't obviously run at the end of the race there on the softs earlier on, where plenty of teams

00:03:39fitted a set of softs.

00:03:41And also those that ran into SQ3 yesterday burnt a set of softs doing so.

00:03:46So straight out on the softs for Lindblad and plenty of the other runners.

00:03:50A lot of them on used softs, though, whereas Lindblad is on the new softs.

00:03:55He's down on miles.

00:03:57So when you've only done two laps of practice and then a couple of laps on a medium tire in

00:04:01sprint quality, not the sprint even, it's difficult for him to catch up.

00:04:07The visuals of the body language of the cars, they're just more nimble, aren't they?

00:04:11You can really see the smaller, lighter cars and, well, running onto the outside curb there, dragging the underside, putting

00:04:20the dust up.

00:04:20What I find interesting is the difference in the attitude of the cars, actually, especially in that sector.

00:04:25So you've got seven, the left, into the right, into the double left, seven, eight, nine, ten.

00:04:30And when we rode on board with Antonelli yesterday and he was on his provisional pole up, it was amazing

00:04:35to see how much he was actually harvesting through the left, being very, very neat and tidy to get energy

00:04:40deployment on the back straight.

00:04:41Compared to a few others, they are, look like they're hustling more through that sequence, but they're kind of burning

00:04:47through energy from the battery at that.

00:04:49So everyone's trying to work out exactly when to, when to hustle it as much as possible, show the attitude

00:04:55of the car,

00:04:56and when actually is the best to be a little bit neat, be tidy, be smooth with your inputs and

00:05:00get the reward later on in the lap.

00:05:02Well, that's actually one thing about a sprint weekend.

00:05:04There was a lot of learnings came out of the Grand Prix in Melbourne where McLaren were going, OK, we

00:05:09now understand how Mercedes Grand Prix are using their energy.

00:05:12They now have that from the sprint.

00:05:15So they'll be crunching the numbers back and walking to try and make sure that they've got those learnings deployed

00:05:22in the Grand Prix tomorrow.

00:05:23Charles, Alex, scoffing at your double use of the word learnings again, DC.

00:05:27I would never scoff at DC.

00:05:28You, however, plenty of scoffing.

00:05:32Verstappen, Gasly, Leclerc, Hadjar, Lawson, Ocon and Hamilton.

00:05:37Hamilton with a used medium and Max Verstappen with a brand new medium tyre.

00:05:41Pierre Gasly with a used soft, Charles Leclerc with a used soft.

00:05:45So we're very much in early running territory.

00:05:48This is the driver who was on pole for the Grand Prix one year ago.

00:05:52Very deep into turn 14.

00:05:55Not acing it like he did in that final Q3 lap one year ago.

00:06:01So time left on the table for Oscar Piastri.

00:06:03Let's see how it stacks up compared to Lando Norris.

00:06:05He's ahead by four tenths of a second.

00:06:08And used soft tyres for both McLarens.

00:06:12Piastri, Norris, Verstappen, then Gasly, who was standout yesterday in sprint qualifying.

00:06:17And Hülkenberg slots in on a new soft, which is why he's taking his Audi up to second.

00:06:23Let's get a like-for-like comparison with the Brazilian driver Gabriel Bortoletto in the second Audi.

00:06:29Not exactly leaning it on the kerb, but sometimes needs and tidy is the fastest way.

00:06:34And Audi second and third.

00:06:35Both of the drivers running new tyres.

00:06:39Hülkenberg and Bortoletto behind our benchmark setter, which is Oscar Piastri.

00:06:43On board with Lewis Hamilton.

00:06:47Whoa.

00:06:48And he caught it.

00:06:50Just looks so low grip out there.

00:06:52Understeering a little bit in, but it was just a bit woolly.

00:06:56The Ferrari just missing grip on both axles.

00:07:00We are over two seconds away from what Russell did yesterday.

00:07:04So that's probably explaining why the grip level's not there for a few of them early on here.

00:07:09Could be an element of gusting wind as he went into that corner.

00:07:12Speed's peeling off, downforce reducing.

00:07:14Could he have gone long enough through the apex before then the rear came around on him?

00:07:19So there wasn't much to tell us that he was sliding until we saw the cat-like reactions.

00:07:25Yeah, you're right.

00:07:26But there's a tail as well at that point, which always means you've got reduced airflow over the car and

00:07:30your aerodynamic surfaces are not singing as best they can.

00:07:36Big moment for Sergio Perez onto the back straight.

00:07:39Great.

00:07:39It feels good.

00:07:40The car just had some snaps.

00:07:4260 on the braking.

00:07:47So it feels good apart from the fact that it snaps, which would suggest it's not good.

00:07:53But I like the positivity, particularly at the braking.

00:07:56So that's where everyone's trying to get the regen done as much as you can on the brake.

00:08:01So you kind of want to have it not that you're having to correct it, but using as much as

00:08:07you can from the rear axle on the deceleration and the way down the gearbox.

00:08:12Maybe a little bit too much.

00:08:13Again, with the grip level being low, we're two seconds adrift of what was managed yesterday.

00:08:18It's probably something that if you've got it a little bit twitchy right now, when the grip comes up, you'll

00:08:22start to mask those problems.

00:08:24Track temperature's only a couple of degrees, three degrees, maybe more than it was yesterday.

00:08:28We've had some other track action.

00:08:30But no obvious signs of oil, oil dust out on track.

00:08:38So surprised that a couple of degrees has saw them drop off in performance.

00:08:42It must be more the wind effect.

00:08:44Kimi Antonelli has the fastest first sector of anyone so far.

00:08:48George Russell is behind him on track.

00:08:50And if they complete their laps to the capability with that Mercedes, Lewis Hamilton is going to be momentarily down

00:08:56into the drop zone as a result of those issues.

00:09:00On his earlier runs, Russell takes the fastest first sector of anyone so far.

00:09:05It was a 1-2 lockout in the Australian Grand Prix qualifying session, a 1-2 in sprint qualifying yesterday.

00:09:14Antonelli's time is being compared to Franco Colapinto, as Colapinto is currently the 16th fastest driver.

00:09:19So Hamilton was also on a set of fairly used medium tyres, which will explain why he was struggling quite

00:09:26as much as it looked, even though he's reporting it's kind of OK.

00:09:28But given, I think, the tyre life, it was all over the place.

00:09:33He's out on new softs now.

00:09:35So that order is going to jump around as everyone starts finding their feet on fresh tyres.

00:09:38Yeah, actually, not a bad balance to have on older tyres that loosen the rear.

00:09:43You'll definitely bring it all in line with the fresh set.

00:09:47You'll pick up, relatively speaking, more on the rear.

00:09:50First effort in Q1, complete for Kimi Antonelli, who goes six-tenths of a second ahead of Oscar Piastri.

00:09:57Piastri used old soft tyres, Antonelli on brand new ones, his championship leader.

00:10:03Won only his second sprint race in his Formula One career earlier on.

00:10:07And he goes top of the pile by four-hundredths of a second.

00:10:12So now, in the drop zone, Alex Albon, Lewis Hamilton, the driver you're on board with, Fernando Alonso, Valtteri Bottas,

00:10:18Lance Stroll and Sergio Perez.

00:10:21Just hanging on to it, applying the power.

00:10:24So much power.

00:10:26And you drain the battery and use the internal combustion engine as well.

00:10:32Let's see where Alonso can go.

00:10:33Moves up to 17th, just behind his countryman Carlos Sainz, but ahead of Alex Albon in the Williams.

00:10:41Stroll is ahead of Bottas now as well.

00:10:43It's a tidy lap, actually, that from Fernando.

00:10:45Dragging everything from the Aston Martin that is really, really a long way off it in a straight line.

00:10:50The Honda Power Unit finding a bit of reliability this week, but they are down on performance.

00:10:56But, yeah, you can see Fernando hustling it away on the limit of grip there through that final sector.

00:11:00Everyone else will be out there trying to improve as well.

00:11:03Not least Lewis Hamilton on a set of stops.

00:11:05Here we go, sweeping through, turns 13.

00:11:08He's going to have a few cars to pick up a slipstream off as well.

00:11:12Struggled with weird grip a little bit as he was coming off of 13.

00:11:15Again, this sort of gusting wind around the racetrack and the deployment, full deployment off that turn.

00:11:22So, this is something we've actually seen, Jolene, with the Ferrari relative to the Mercedes.

00:11:26And it comes back to what you're saying about Antonelli yesterday in qualifying.

00:11:29It looked really like he was in a build lab.

00:11:31He was just so smooth.

00:11:32The Ferraris are having to hustle.

00:11:33We saw it from the moment the car hit the ground, actually, in Bahrain, as Hamilton does, leap up the

00:11:38order on those softs.

00:11:39The Ferrari is a car that looks a lot more on the edge.

00:11:43The Mercedes' traction is really good, and it allows the drivers to be very smooth and precise with their inputs

00:11:49generally.

00:11:50And that's all part of the feedback you then get with energy deployment, where you can use it when you

00:11:55want.

00:11:56You're not sort of jumping around by picking up the throttle and then having to back off it and blend

00:12:00out.

00:12:01You want to be clean and you want to be smooth, and you don't want to have wasted deployment around

00:12:05the lap, effectively.

00:12:06Let's see, Norris.

00:12:07Oh, Lindblad's got another issue, so it's not his weekend.

00:12:10Norris, easy flat through seven, brake, and then wait, and then wait.

00:12:14Not back to full throttle, because there's no need between eight and nine now.

00:12:17That will burn unnecessary battery.

00:12:19Leclerc did that yesterday and ended up derating halfway down the back straight.

00:12:23So you've got to be clever now with how you're driving the cars, and they're all working it out as

00:12:27they go.

00:12:29Feather the throttle, bring it in, bring it in, bring it in, and then go.

00:12:33Now you can't back out, otherwise it's all for a waste there.

00:12:36And that looked tidy from Norris.

00:12:39You're going to drain that battery down as he improves up to 203 miles per hour.

00:12:44So effectively, if you jump on the gas and then you back off it and you jump on again, you've

00:12:48just burned fuel for nothing.

00:12:51Burned energy for nothing.

00:12:52So that's what the drivers are all trying to understand.

00:12:55And Charles Leclerc was probably the one that most lost out at the end of yesterday's qualifying with it.

00:13:00Yeah, if you are going to be in that situation, you need it to be, let's say, a more energy

00:13:04-boosting part of the racetrack.

00:13:06So at least if you lift, you will go into a bit of recharge.

00:13:10But, yeah, look, they're having to be a lot more patient in the way they drive the apexes.

00:13:14Charles Leclerc, fastest of anyone so far.

00:13:17He goes over the line and immediately checks where he is on the big screen.

00:13:20The answer is P1, having used a new set of the soft tyres.

00:13:24Leclerc, then Russell, then Antonelli.

00:13:25Antonelli, Hamilton, Norris, Gasly, and then Oscar Piastri's first effort put him into this position.

00:13:32It's Albonz signs, Alonso, Bottas, Stroll and Perez in the drop zone at the moment.

00:13:37Leaning on the kerb of the 16th corner and going ahead of Pierre Gasly is Oscar Piastri.

00:13:41Four tenths of the pace.

00:13:43We've got the top six within a half a second.

00:13:46Mercedes with plenty more in the tank, I'm sure.

00:13:48They've only done one flying lap to everyone else's too.

00:13:50And the track's gripping up.

00:13:52At the bottom end, guys, four minutes to go.

00:13:54And Arvid Lindblad may well give everyone else behind a chance to sneak through into Q2.

00:14:00He is in a faster car.

00:14:01The Racing Bulls has had a little bit more performance, more downforce than the likes of Williams.

00:14:07And if he's got an issue that he can't actually get back out onto circuit,

00:14:11he's going to be very, very vulnerable sitting there in 16th.

00:14:14And the likes of Albon or Sainz could be in a shootout to try and oppose him in a minute.

00:14:19Yeah, they're the only guys, I think.

00:14:20I know Alonso is only four tenths away, but it just feels...

00:14:26The Astons are just in a test session on their own.

00:14:29Oliver Behrman in seventh place.

00:14:32Gasly had that position in sprint qualifying.

00:14:35Max Verstappen on an out lap.

00:14:37His team mate as well, Isaac Hadjar, on an out lap.

00:14:40They've only run on new medium tyres.

00:14:43It's the first time they've put the softs on in this session.

00:14:46Three minutes to go.

00:14:46They're currently fourteenth and fifteenth.

00:14:49Linblad is on an out lap, according to our information.

00:14:52So Alonso's lap is actually not too bad.

00:14:54The one that he's done so far, 19th.

00:14:56But one tenth away from Carlos Sainz, his compatriot.

00:15:00And he's within half a second of being the man to knock Linblad out.

00:15:04But Linblad's back out on circuit.

00:15:06So possibly there's more in the Racing Bulls car to try and deflate those hopes of those behind.

00:15:14So he's called back to the pits with a potential issue.

00:15:18Cooked the clutch, was Alan Femaine's description of what happened earlier in the sprint race,

00:15:23after trying to spin the car around as quickly as possible.

00:15:25Yeah, we actually do recall, it looked like he overshot at that moment.

00:15:30So he may be blindingly fast behind the wheel,

00:15:33but he hasn't had enough spins in Formula One to donut himself back into the field.

00:15:38It's not really something you practice for.

00:15:40Well, the good thing is you don't get a chance to do that in Melbourne.

00:15:42If you're donating your way back in the field, you're usually in the hedge somewhere.

00:15:45So here you get a chance to do it.

00:15:48And yeah, overcooked it.

00:15:50But a sprint's the best time to overcook a clutch, I'd say.

00:15:52Yeah, another box tick in his rookie season.

00:15:5718 years of age, the driver who last year became the youngest ever winner in Formula Two.

00:16:0117 years of age when he triumphed in Jeddah.

00:16:04Max Verstappen is down there at the moment in 15th.

00:16:07Isaac Hadjar by default out-qualifying him last week when he spun into the gravel in the first part of

00:16:13qualifying

00:16:14and then came roaring through the field from 20th position into the active aero straight zone.

00:16:20One of four available to him on the circuit.

00:16:23This is his first run on soft tyres in Q1.

00:16:27Yeah, we're just looking at Lindblad.

00:16:28Not too bad in that first sector.

00:16:30A couple of tenths, maybe three max away from the fastest, which is Russell.

00:16:36So we'll keep an eye on how his lap...

00:16:39Well, actually getting him confused with Albon, excuse me.

00:16:43Yeah, Albon has a personal best in the first sector, as you would expect with the Red Bulls.

00:16:47They've put on softer tyres, so they both have personal best in the first part of the lap.

00:16:51Can Albon, Sainz, Alonso do anything about Lindblad?

00:16:56Sole rookie in the field, currently in 16th place.

00:16:58Albon's the first to have a shot, and he is improving around this lap.

00:17:02Sainz is going quicker in the other Williams.

00:17:03They're both desperate to get this car through into Q2 just to run it again

00:17:07and see if they can pick off any stragglers further on into qualifying

00:17:11as we watch Max Verstappen harvest in towards Turn 11.

00:17:14That's the Mercedes trick then from yesterday.

00:17:17It will pay him back on the exit of this corner.

00:17:20So here he goes, waiting, then feeds it in,

00:17:22and now he's got the battery where he wants it by harvesting in towards Turn 11.

00:17:26So you're still into a trade-off as Sainz finds more time in the middle sector.

00:17:30This is looking good for Sainz.

00:17:31Yeah, it was very audio visible.

00:17:35The early lift into that turn manages to spot his braking nicely into the final hairpin.

00:17:44So Albon improves to 16th place.

00:17:46He drops Lindblad into the elimination zone.

00:17:48Hajar goes up to 7th.

00:17:50Like-for-like comparison then with Max Verstappen,

00:17:53who goes into 4th with the fastest final sector.

00:17:55So that was well judged.

00:17:56Final sector, all straights and a hairpin.

00:17:58Let's go to Sainz now.

00:17:59Can he get past his teammate?

00:18:01Can he get himself into the next part of qualifying?

00:18:04Carlos Sainz to 14th to knock his teammate out.

00:18:08And now Arvid Lindblad needs an epic final couple of corners of this racetrack.

00:18:14That's what he's looking for.

00:18:15Alonso personal best.

00:18:17Sector 1 and 2.

00:18:18Lindblad out of the final corner.

00:18:20How much has he got?

00:18:21Currently down.

00:18:22In 18th.

00:18:23That's good enough for 11th.

00:18:24Colopinto now to the drop zone.

00:18:26Colopinto and Bortoleto both on faster laps.

00:18:29So they could respond and this could end up being Sainz.

00:18:31That was the Aston Martin of Lance Troll.

00:18:33This is the Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso.

00:18:35Alonso 2 seconds off the pace.

00:18:37And now we've got Colopinto and Bortoleto.

00:18:40Colopinto needed that.

00:18:42The Argentinian driver finds his way through.

00:18:44So Bortoleto responds.

00:18:46And after all of the action, the Williams are demoted once again.

00:18:51Sainz might be clear by about 4 tenths of a second to Alex Albon.

00:18:56But he's going out in the first part of qualifying with him as well.

00:18:59Alonso is the lead gaggle of those scrapping at the back.

00:19:02And Bottas will be delighted to be ahead of an Aston Martin.

00:19:07Cadillac weren't expecting that at the start of the campaign.

00:19:10They thought they'd be scrapping amongst themselves.

00:19:12And over the line goes Valtteri Bottas.

00:19:15Twentieth quickest.

00:19:16The back row will be Lance Troll and Sergio Perez.

00:19:19They're the six to go in the first part of qualifying.

00:19:24Well, they made a fight of it.

00:19:26And they've put some other cars under pressure.

00:19:28Had to respond right at the end of that qualifying session.

00:19:31But, yeah, the difficulties continue for Williams.

00:19:36Martin as well.

00:19:38Terrible!

00:19:42Alex Albon, Carlos Sainz, long-term project at Williams with the hope that the new rules could bring something different.

00:19:51And instead, Formula 1's fifth fastest team from last year has stepped back into the drop zone.

00:19:58And they're included in a conversation that they're out in the first part of qualifying, along with Cadillac and Aston.

00:20:09The order in full.

00:20:11Charles Leclerc ahead of George Russell.

00:20:12Then it was Kimi Antonelli ahead of this man's teammate.

00:20:15It was Max Verstappen in fourth.

00:20:17Lewis Hamilton in fifth.

00:20:18Then it was Norris in P6.

00:20:20Impressive laps under pressure for Gabriel Bordeleto and Franco Colopinto.

00:20:24Bordeleto in seventh.

00:20:25Piastri in eighth.

00:20:26Hadjar in ninth.

00:20:26Colopinto in the top ten.

00:20:28Then it was Behrman, Gasly, Lindblad.

00:20:31Again, another young driver responding under the pressure of having to improve and making it work.

00:20:36Ocon, Hülkenberg and Lawson.

00:20:39Lawson getting through by a couple of tenths.

00:20:41He's one of the stars of the sprint race earlier on.

00:20:43Confirmation then that in the drop zone, Sainz, who was only 1.1 seconds back.

00:20:49So not miles off at all.

00:20:52Albon really frustrated.

00:20:54He was a really dejected character in the pen speaking to the media earlier on.

00:20:59Alonso Bottas out qualifying stroll and his teammate Sergio Peltz.

00:21:05Two-time winner around here.

00:21:07Fernando Alonso, two-time world champion as well.

00:21:10And Alonso back into the garage.

00:21:13The only driver left on the grid who was taking part in the inaugural race here in 2004.

00:21:20Max Verstappen seemingly a lot happier than he was yesterday in sprint qualifying.

00:21:27Looking a little bit more on the driver that we've known across the last decade in Formula 1.

00:21:32Yeah, that was an encouragingly close first part of qualifying.

00:21:35We haven't maybe seen everything as yet, but it puts a smile on some of the driver's faces.

00:21:41Yeah, it was a good lap.

00:21:42It was a good lap, Carlos.

00:21:44That's all the car, isn't it?

00:21:45Let's go back and have a look at what we can do for tomorrow.

00:21:52Carlos Sainz in conversation with James Vals.

00:21:56Remember, Carlos Sainz had an option to go to Audi, chose Williams,

00:22:00and they'll be trying to fight back through to the sharp end of Formula 1.

00:22:04But a tough start to the campaign.

00:22:06Williams, Aston Martin and Cadillac, their teams are out in the first part of qualifying.

00:22:14Okay, let's get some more analysis now.

00:22:17Ruth is down in the paddock.

00:22:19Thank you, Jake.

00:22:20See, well, that Q1, I think the only thing that we did expect from that was that the bottom six

00:22:26would be that bottom six.

00:22:27But great strategy by all of the teams to run three sets of new softs to try to claw their

00:22:33way through to Q2.

00:22:35Now, Q2 is going to be really interesting because the teams at the front are going to be trying to

00:22:40save two new softs to the Q3 shootout.

00:22:43So we could expect some jeopardy going into this session.

00:22:46The only team that looks really comfortable out front now is Mercedes.

00:22:50One single run on one soft tyre.

00:22:54They can afford to go out again in this session.

00:22:56They've got the margin.

00:22:57Everybody else incredibly close to that cutoff.

00:23:00But they're all playing it different ways.

00:23:02Red Bull used a medium before running a one set of softs.

00:23:05We had Leclerc on a used set.

00:23:08And going into this session, it's going to be critical for those midfield teams to see whether or not they're

00:23:13going to use two new sets of mediums to try to get out one of the leaders.

00:23:17It looks also like Red Bull have made a step up in performance with their setup.

00:23:20We saw Max up on high stands going into that session.

00:23:24So you can't count them out either of taking one of the top ten spots in this final shootout.

00:23:32Thank you, Ruth.

00:23:33Ruth Buskin having a look at all things strategy for us and picking out that Mercedes indeed just ran the

00:23:40one set of soft tyres in that part of qualifying.

00:23:44Gabriel Bortoletto once again showing that he's enjoying the machinery.

00:23:48Two sets of soft, but good enough to get through into seventh as we now make our way into Q2

00:23:53in a few moments' time.

00:23:55Where we'll decide the top ten shootout and we'll decide who lines up from 11th to 16th on the grid.

00:24:03You could easily hear the flip side of the coin at Williams.

00:24:07One driver, when you haven't got the car, it's about doing the best and showing that you're getting the most

00:24:14out of it.

00:24:14And when you've got one driver there, really, really happy with his lap and Alex Albin, very frustrated.

00:24:19He had issues yesterday with the rear axle, struggled to stop the car and struggle with the balance.

00:24:25He actually ended up having a big front lockup that derailed his lap.

00:24:29Again there, I don't think he quite put it all together right at the end of that one.

00:24:34It's forever been the case though, I don't doubt that Alex had some adventures on that lap.

00:24:39But if you're half a tenth slower than your team mate, very difficult to go, whoop-dee-woo, I'm happy

00:24:44with that.

00:24:45You know, you know the car has more potential in it.

00:24:48So, yep, contrasting, psychological, I'd say, results from that particular qualifying.

00:24:55But you've got to reset now.

00:24:57And also, in terms of who needed this era to change the team's fortunes the most, Carlos Sainz is a

00:25:03multiple Grand Prix winner.

00:25:05He's taken many, many podiums in Formula One.

00:25:08Alex Albin, on the other hand, has only taken two.

00:25:12Sainz has taken 29.

00:25:13So, Albin's waiting for that return to the front.

00:25:16Just not happened for Williams at the start of this year.

00:25:18I still think collectively there's a really strong driver line-up as well.

00:25:22It's so frustrating to see the gains that that team have made for the last couple of seasons.

00:25:27And then it unravel at this stage.

00:25:29James Vowell's obviously coming over the radio there to Carlos saying,

00:25:32look, we know it's not you, it's about sorting the car out.

00:25:35And hopefully they can and get themselves back in the midfield fight.

00:25:38Because Sainz wasn't miles away from it there.

00:25:40I think it really was dragging the most of the performance.

00:25:43But they're just not there.

00:25:44On the other side, I think Aston Martin were further away than I was expecting them in the end.

00:25:50And credit to Bottas for jumping one of them.

00:25:53Yeah, Valtteri Bottas was the quicker Cadillac driver all the way through last week

00:25:57until qualifying and then Sergio Perez found something on him.

00:26:00Bottas, his aim tomorrow will just be to finish.

00:26:03He's not done that in either sprint or the Grand Prix so far this year.

00:26:06Green light at the end of the pit lane.

00:26:08Time for Q2 in Formula One for Grand Prix qualifying.

00:26:12The second round of the year at Shanghai International Circuit.

00:26:15Charles Leclerc on track and in your picture.

00:26:18Yeah, Landon Orris, I think we go out, we saw him go out on a set of scrubbed tyres.

00:26:22Staffan's gone out a brand new set of the soft compound.

00:26:27So wanting to get a feel and get a time early in the session.

00:26:31Yeah, they've got three sets of new soft to use.

00:26:36The front guys, they used them in sprint qualifying yesterday.

00:26:40So most of the field, you're right, DC, have gone out on a scrubbed set and they're going to bolt

00:26:45on a new set later on.

00:26:47But Max and Isaac Hadjar, the two Red Bulls, have gone straight out on a new set.

00:26:51And that's either going to mean that they've only got one set for Q3, should they make it,

00:26:54or they're going to wait in the garage if they do a good enough first lap here.

00:26:58So a little bit of pressure to give themselves a fair crack at Q3.

00:27:02They need to deliver on this first run.

00:27:04The instant at turn 15, potential impeding, no further investigation.

00:27:08So good news for Gabriel Bortleto and Isaac Hadjar.

00:27:11Did we see that?

00:27:11We did not.

00:27:13We didn't need to, which is the good news.

00:27:15It's not going to affect things as we make our way into the second part of qualifying.

00:27:19Both drivers listed taking part.

00:27:22And we are watching Kimi Antonelli.

00:27:24So in sharp contrast, when they were last out,

00:27:27Mercedes is going to work on the U-soft tyres nice and early in this part of the session.

00:27:32It reminded me of that incident yesterday.

00:27:33Lando Norris into Kimi Antonelli at turn one and said,

00:27:38I was on a push lap.

00:27:39And they went to go and see the stewards afterwards.

00:27:41And then Lando explained that he was on a sort of pushing build lap instead.

00:27:45Yeah.

00:27:45And now you ask.

00:27:47Not so much of a push lap.

00:27:48It was push for a build.

00:27:50Yeah.

00:27:51So unsurprisingly, nothing came of that.

00:27:54You've got to sort of save your shots at calling the referee to give a penalty.

00:28:00Save them for when they really count.

00:28:03Lando Norris immediately with the racing driver's instinct to get on the radio.

00:28:07But nothing coming of that.

00:28:08And if you peed a driver on a lap, that doesn't really count.

00:28:11You wouldn't expect that.

00:28:12Although we did see...

00:28:14We did see a couple of years ago a guitar back to staffer giving a one-place penalty.

00:28:18Anyway, let's consign that to the history books.

00:28:20And watch Kimi Antonelli around the final corner of the racetrack.

00:28:23George Russell's going quicker in the first sector.

00:28:27You'll be intrigued to see in this session whether Antonelli can get closer.

00:28:31Remember, if he takes pole today, youngest ever driver in the history of the championship,

00:28:35to take a Grand Prix pole.

00:28:36He's already got a sprint pole in his career.

00:28:39And George Russell rather sticks that topic of conversation in the bin for a bit.

00:28:43He's four tenths quicker on old soft ice.

00:28:46Well, he's...

00:28:47Meanwhile, we'll see what Antonelli can deliver as Leclerc out of the final turn.

00:28:52And, well, there is where he opens the timing.

00:28:56It was interesting to see Antonelli still using a lot of the exit curb out of the final turn.

00:29:00That's where he actually went over and lost some time at the restart in the sprint earlier

00:29:05as we join Hadja with a big opposite lock moment.

00:29:09Quite late on the exit of the final hairpin.

00:29:11Remember, this is new tyres for the Red Bulls.

00:29:14Hadja and Verstappen, and it's not a great time considering that for Isaac Hadja.

00:29:19Max was also not rapid in the first part of the lap.

00:29:22He's missing bits in the middle, so it's not coming to the Red Bulls right now.

00:29:26The world champion Lando Norris goes into fifth position past Hadja for those to run.

00:29:31And let's see how Piastri stacks up.

00:29:33Piastri goes behind both as McLaren do not have the performance.

00:29:38Either the understanding of the Mercedes power unit at the moment

00:29:41or the chassis performance.

00:29:42They're behind both Mercedes and Ferrari with the chassis performance,

00:29:47and they do not know how to exploit the power unit like Mercedes do at this stage of the season.

00:29:53Hülkenberg goes into ninth.

00:29:55Russell is topped by three-tenths of a second.

00:29:56Hamilton is ahead of Charles Leclerc.

00:29:59Remember, last year, 19-5, Charles Leclerc out-qualified Lewis Hamilton across the season,

00:30:04so that's unusual in their time as teammates.

00:30:07And we saw that yesterday in sprint qualifying.

00:30:09Antonelli, with more time to find later on,

00:30:12Verstappen found himself fifth fastest,

00:30:15and he used a new tyre to do so as over the line

00:30:18and into sixth position, Oliver Behrman.

00:30:22Ever since he got to the second half of the season last year,

00:30:26a driver full of confidence,

00:30:28personal best in Grand Prix racing of fourth last year,

00:30:32and he's sixth in the order at the moment, six-tenths off.

00:30:36Big wheelie from Bortoleto,

00:30:38long way off the final hairpin,

00:30:41so he's obviously had quite a dump of power.

00:30:45You mentioned Hadjar oversteering on this exit here.

00:30:48Let's see how Lindblad gets on.

00:30:51He's on the edge of spinning up those rear tyres,

00:30:53but that looked pretty good from Lindblad,

00:30:55not having to correct the car like he was out of the final turn there.

00:31:00Runs to the line and goes 12.

00:31:03But Red Bull don't look like they've really moved on

00:31:05from where they were yesterday.

00:31:07When you consider that's new tyres with Behrman on new tyres,

00:31:10he split them yesterday.

00:31:12He's splitting them again right now.

00:31:14Gasly out-qualified the Red Bull,

00:31:16so let's see how this out-team goes.

00:31:19Always lively when we join Pierre Gasly trackside

00:31:22on a qualifying lap.

00:31:26The one-time Grand Prix winner.

00:31:28He started on a Formula 1 front row

00:31:30on one occasion in his career.

00:31:34Had a couple of races with Red Bull for a long time.

00:31:38Half a season with them,

00:31:39but for a long time he's been a midfield rider.

00:31:42And he gets ahead of Hadjar and Piastri.

00:31:46Colopinto had a good lap earlier on to get into Q2,

00:31:49but at the moment he's a couple attempts back

00:31:51on his teammates' effort.

00:31:53Currently in 13th.

00:31:55Colopinto still chasing things in the second Alpine.

00:31:59Lawson feeding in the throttle.

00:32:00A couple of cars ahead will just unsight you,

00:32:02especially when one's not doing the same bit of track as you,

00:32:04heading off to the pits there.

00:32:05Looked like he was slightly wide of apex.

00:32:08Looks almost like he was understeering.

00:32:10Well, he's ahead of his teammate, but not by much.

00:32:14In the hundredths of a second between Lawson and Lindblad.

00:32:16Yeah, for the future of his career,

00:32:18he needs to be in front of Lindblad.

00:32:21He's not going to be a lot,

00:32:22because clearly there's a lot of speed with Arvid,

00:32:24but that's exactly what he needs to be.

00:32:27Really by more than a couple of hundredths, I'd say,

00:32:29given Lindblad's struggles so far

00:32:31in terms of mileage this weekend.

00:32:34One hour of practice for everyone,

00:32:35but just two flying laps for Arvid Lindblad.

00:32:38No time in the sprint.

00:32:39Racing Bulls still with a competitive enough car,

00:32:42but they're not quite where they were in Melbourne.

00:32:45Lawson using old tyres, according to our tyre graphics.

00:32:49That would explain the gap,

00:32:51because you wouldn't expect it to be a couple of hundredths,

00:32:52given the weekend that Lindblad's had so far.

00:32:55Yeah, that makes a little bit more sense.

00:32:56Same is true for a lot of the frontrunners,

00:32:59which includes Oscar Piastri in the McLaren 10th place,

00:33:02under pressure in theory,

00:33:04but in reality hasn't used new tyres.

00:33:06There's also Pierre Gasly there not on new tyres,

00:33:09so a great lap from him to get ahead of Oscar.

00:33:12That is a shiny new set for him this time as he heads out.

00:33:15Plenty of time on the clock.

00:33:17So McLaren throwing no caution to the wind,

00:33:21not waiting for the last little bit of track evolution,

00:33:24making sure that they're nice and safe out there

00:33:26and are in control of their own destiny.

00:33:28Yeah, they should be comfortably able to make it through

00:33:30into the top ten shootout,

00:33:33but it does feel early.

00:33:35You know, other than getting some clean track,

00:33:40and there's always a risk, of course,

00:33:42that you're starting a lap as others are coming out of the pits.

00:33:45The problem is, when you've only done a banker lap and up a tenth,

00:33:48it doesn't take much for you to wait for the better bit of track

00:33:52and end up having a yellow flag

00:33:54because someone's had a spin or a breakdown,

00:33:57a mechanical somewhere,

00:33:59or even a little bit of traffic,

00:34:00and suddenly a McLaren is needlessly under pressure.

00:34:03We know the field spread is bigger this year.

00:34:05That McLaren qualified third yesterday in the hands of Lando Norris,

00:34:09so we know they've got the pace to comfortably be through.

00:34:15Piastri winding up,

00:34:16getting the battery into the state that it needs to be.

00:34:20Lando Norris out there as well.

00:34:22The two Ferraris are on the circuit.

00:34:24They're the only ones at the moment,

00:34:25so running early in the final stages of Q2.

00:34:29Still five minutes to go.

00:34:30And we still have Hülkenberg, Ocon, Colapinto, Lawson, Lindblad,

00:34:35and Bortleto in the drop zone and also in the pits.

00:34:38So an old set of tyres, not at peak grip,

00:34:42for Oscar Piastri leaves him at risk.

00:34:45And he is a driver with six Formula One Grand Prix pole positions.

00:34:48And he started that record here last year

00:34:51when he took his first and went on to win the Grand Prix.

00:34:55A little bit of weaving there

00:34:56just to try and maintain the temperature in those tyres,

00:34:59creating friction.

00:35:00They get all that information available to them on the steering wheel

00:35:03so they'll know where they are on pressures, surface temperatures.

00:35:07And they just need to make sure the state of charge is correct

00:35:10as they then launch the lap.

00:35:12Not much to do.

00:35:15It's so complicated at this stage.

00:35:18We saw the fan fallout of Kimi Antonelli's Mercedes a week ago.

00:35:25And Landon Norris said he only hit it

00:35:26because he's got so much work to do on the steering wheel.

00:35:29He was looking down the part of the circuit

00:35:32where you'd normally be looking ahead.

00:35:33He was looking at the speed he was doing

00:35:35to try and work out where he had to brake for the Turn 3 hair tip.

00:35:38I mean, that's how difficult it is

00:35:40with the deployment being different lap to lap,

00:35:43almost corner to corner.

00:35:44You can't just know it's about 100 metres.

00:35:46And if I'm really brave, I'll brake at 95.

00:35:48It can change by 10, by 15 metres.

00:35:51And that's why sometimes you see people

00:35:52not even nearly making the corners.

00:35:59You heard on board the underside of the car

00:36:02scraping over the bumps through 7 and 8.

00:36:05Paul Piastri, who's a tenth and a half back on George Russell,

00:36:09will be comfortably what he needs

00:36:12to get through into the top 10 shootout.

00:36:14which is the minimum he expects

00:36:16every single time he turns up at a weekend.

00:36:18Charles Leclerc going very, very quick.

00:36:21Again, you can hear the bumps coming out

00:36:23of the long Turn 13.

00:36:24Now it's time to drain the battery all the way down.

00:36:27And then once you get rid of it,

00:36:29hope that you've got enough to get to the braking zone

00:36:32in Turn 14.

00:36:33The Active Aero shuts.

00:36:34And there's a couple of corners to home.

00:36:36Yeah, you can see as the Active Aero closed,

00:36:39also braking very quickly thereafter.

00:36:42You get a little dive in the front of the car

00:36:44and then they regen power into that battery so quickly

00:36:48that that gives them some final deployment

00:36:51in those final two corners.

00:36:53Now the lap time falling away for Piastri there.

00:36:57Charles Leclerc goes quickest

00:36:58and 6 tenths of a second between Piastri

00:37:01and Leclerc's effort at that stage.

00:37:03Hamilton looked good over one lap,

00:37:06but he's 800s in arrears to his teammate.

00:37:09Ferrari's first and third at the moment.

00:37:11Both Mercedes on outlaps.

00:37:12They'll get the right of reply.

00:37:14And over the line we go with Lando Norris.

00:37:18And he is ahead of his teammate in P5.

00:37:21If you're in the drop zone,

00:37:22it's time to start attacking the racetrack

00:37:26on new tyres if you've got them.

00:37:28Yeah, not much time left for them to do so.

00:37:31But I would say, again,

00:37:32I don't doubt Mercedes have a little bit more,

00:37:35but the consistency of the Ferraris delivering lap time,

00:37:39they seem to be on top of their systems

00:37:42a lot better than maybe McLaren.

00:37:43This is better from Ferrari, isn't it?

00:37:45I feel like they're closer.

00:37:47I still think Mercedes,

00:37:49when they wind it up on new tyres,

00:37:50they're going to put some distance

00:37:51between them and the rest.

00:37:53We'll see that in just a few moments' time.

00:37:55You can see on your left-hand side,

00:37:56Antonelli through the first sector

00:37:58and Russell's getting there as well.

00:37:59Although he's not doing it very quickly

00:38:01on this attempt.

00:38:03Ferrari looked much better off.

00:38:05Will they be able to pick off one Mercedes

00:38:08if one of them doesn't nail it in Q3?

00:38:12They've put it in a gap to themselves and McLaren.

00:38:16Nico Hogenberg has a wonderful record

00:38:18of making it through into the top ten shootout here.

00:38:20He's only missed out once

00:38:21in the last six runnings of the Chinese Grand Prix.

00:38:24That's the last year that we ran this race.

00:38:26He only made Q3 once last year.

00:38:28So pick your favourite stat.

00:38:30He's in the mix at the moment

00:38:31with Isaac Hajar.

00:38:33A tenth up, two-thirds of the way round.

00:38:35Your battery management is absolutely crucial.

00:38:38Have you, with the team,

00:38:40managed to define when you need to recharge?

00:38:43Do you still have enough around the final corner?

00:38:46And across the line,

00:38:47he's missed out by two-thousandths of a second.

00:38:50Hogenberg falls at the second hurdle.

00:38:53There are plenty going much quicker behind him as well.

00:38:55So that drop zone is going to shuffle around.

00:38:57I feel like Hajar's got to find some pace, and he is.

00:39:00Antonelli goes top.

00:39:01Isaac Hajar is on the brink at the moment.

00:39:03Plenty who could cause him a headache behind,

00:39:06including Gabriel Bortoleto.

00:39:07Bortoleto, his old sparring partner in Formula 2 a couple of years ago.

00:39:11This is the driver from Paris,

00:39:13who was third on the grid last week in Melbourne,

00:39:16and he remains in P10.

00:39:19Max Verstappen, in seventh as it stands,

00:39:21goes up to P6.

00:39:24Bortoleto is the next driver to come across the line in the Audi.

00:39:27He's been capable of real pace so far this weekend.

00:39:30Yellow flag is out.

00:39:32Bortoleto, I think.

00:39:33And he's gone all in at the final corner.

00:39:35And where is Bortoleto?

00:39:38The yellow flag is out to ruin the laps, and there he is.

00:39:41We pick him up, and he was having to give it everything into the 16th and final turn,

00:39:46and he's gone off and recovered to the pit lane.

00:39:50Yellow flag out, and everyone having to back out as per the racing rules.

00:39:54And it means that there's no improvement for Hülkenberg, Ocon, Colopinto, Lawson, Lindblad,

00:40:00and Bortoleto finds himself P16.

00:40:04Colopinto might yet be able to find something.

00:40:06Bortoleto's got out of the way,

00:40:08so we'll see if Gasly's still out there and clearly trying to improve as well,

00:40:13but might not need it.

00:40:14Colopinto's got a chance here to get a second Alpine through.

00:40:17Yeah, Gasly has a chance.

00:40:18Lawson, Lindblad, they were affected by that yellow flag.

00:40:21Gasly gets to P5.

00:40:23He's loving the Alpine around this circuit.

00:40:26Oscar Piastri's out there again.

00:40:28He's in eighth.

00:40:28Over to Franco Colopinto then,

00:40:31looking for a top ten appearance,

00:40:32and he misses out by five thousandths of a second.

00:40:37Tight, tight margins, and he's P12.

00:40:40Yeah, I've got to imagine that Bortoleto has dipped a wheel on the way in,

00:40:44because where he ended up,

00:40:45that's not like he's committed to the corner and then gone wide into the gravel.

00:40:49So he must have been over the right-hand curve,

00:40:51which has taken him down towards the tit lane.

00:40:54It's a raised kerb as well,

00:40:56so it can unsettle you as you turn the car in,

00:40:59getting greedy on the way in.

00:41:03George Russell saying on the radio,

00:41:04something's not right with the car.

00:41:06He's got major understeer.

00:41:08It feels like the front wing is broken.

00:41:09His first sector time was miles off, wasn't it?

00:41:11Yeah, we saw him on a lap, but it was slow, as you said.

00:41:15Let's see what happened to Bortoleto then.

00:41:17Let's have a look on the right-hand side on the way in.

00:41:19Is he getting on this kerb?

00:41:22Only a little bit,

00:41:23but it was maybe enough just to unsettle him

00:41:25with a huge amount of entry speed as well.

00:41:27Went a long way, went all the way to the barrier.

00:41:28Yeah, that's going to be a tasty amount of gravel rash

00:41:32as he's bounced his way through.

00:41:34And then, well, enough of contact

00:41:37for them to have some concerns about the gearbox there

00:41:40as you punch the drive shaft towards the internals.

00:41:44Wasn't on an exceptional lap.

00:41:46He was improving.

00:41:47I don't think it would have been enough to get through.

00:41:50It was a little bit adrift of his team-mate,

00:41:52so probably giving it a Hail Mary right at the end

00:41:54just to see, can I find something magic here?

00:41:57And the outcome is this.

00:42:00Well, at this point,

00:42:02the drivers are not that used to going through gravel

00:42:05in modern Formula One,

00:42:06but you mentioned earlier,

00:42:09we first came here in 2004,

00:42:10so there are areas,

00:42:11that's the famous gravel that Lewis Hamilton gets stuck in

00:42:14when he's back in his McLaren days.

00:42:17And the drivers are heading out onto the circuit,

00:42:19shiny new Pirelli tyres attached to the car.

00:42:23Lewis Hamilton has looked a lot happier

00:42:25with this type of Formula One regulation set.

00:42:28If you consider that he had a couple of wins

00:42:32in the ground effect era,

00:42:34but we'll be used to seeing him win week in, week out.

00:42:37Look at low-speed corners there.

00:42:39The Ferrari is very quick,

00:42:41and it's Russell!

00:42:42Stopped!

00:42:42Jumping top right.

00:42:43Looks okay now.

00:42:45It's not.

00:42:47Just take boost.

00:42:48I've got a massive engine break in here.

00:42:52So you've got the new hazard lights on the car for this year,

00:42:55but the crowd in consternation,

00:42:58the dominant man so far,

00:43:00two wins from two in Formula One 2026,

00:43:04is static.

00:43:05He's not out,

00:43:06he's not done,

00:43:07but David Coulthard,

00:43:08Mercedes need a reset,

00:43:10or we are going to have a new pole sitter,

00:43:12a new name at the front.

00:43:13Well,

00:43:14the upside of modern Formula One,

00:43:16he has the ability,

00:43:16if he can reset,

00:43:18to start that car

00:43:19using its own electrical energy.

00:43:22He's moving.

00:43:22Yeah,

00:43:22he is moving.

00:43:23Had a look out of the commentary box,

00:43:25and George Russell

00:43:25has got a fix

00:43:26from the team.

00:43:28Now,

00:43:29reported a problem.

00:43:32Still not happy.

00:43:36Single gear,

00:43:38no acceleration.

00:43:39This might be a limp mode

00:43:41to get him back to the pits.

00:43:43Long way to go.

00:43:44Yeah,

00:43:44long way to go

00:43:45when you are at this,

00:43:46as DC describes,

00:43:47a safe mode

00:43:48just to crawl back.

00:43:50The door swings open

00:43:52for a moment of Formula One history.

00:43:55The youngest ever Grand Prix pole position holder

00:43:57is 21 years of age.

00:43:58I cannot skip the ears.

00:44:00She took it fast.

00:44:04Well,

00:44:04first I'll get him home,

00:44:05get him back to the pits.

00:44:07That's going to take

00:44:07a couple of minutes,

00:44:08so,

00:44:09so unless he can find

00:44:11another reset

00:44:12whilst he's out on track,

00:44:13it may well be

00:44:14he needs to come back

00:44:15into the pits

00:44:16and be plugged

00:44:16into the umbilical

00:44:18and see if that

00:44:20refires the system.

00:44:21He's not out of it,

00:44:22but he is going to have

00:44:23a compromise Q3.

00:44:25There is a major headache

00:44:26for Mercedes to solve

00:44:29and Kimi Antonelli

00:44:32two clean laps here

00:44:34could rewrite the record books.

00:44:36Monza 2008,

00:44:38Sebastian Vettel,

00:44:40the youngest driver

00:44:41to ever take

00:44:42a Grand Prix pole.

00:44:44Kimi Antonelli is 19 years of age.

00:44:48Can he find two clean laps

00:44:50up against the Ferraris

00:44:52and put his name

00:44:53at the front of a Grand Prix field

00:44:55for the first time

00:44:56in his young,

00:44:58young Formula One career?

00:45:00That is what is now on offer

00:45:02for the boy from Bologna

00:45:04who was rushed through.

00:45:07Skip Formula Three,

00:45:09had a single year in Formula Two.

00:45:10Toto Wolff did not want him

00:45:12in a midfield team,

00:45:13wanted him in the

00:45:14Mercedes Works team.

00:45:15And can he now

00:45:17carry the team's colours

00:45:18to the front?

00:45:19The time to beat

00:45:20for everyone out there

00:45:21is a 1.32.

00:45:233.22.

00:45:25If they can't,

00:45:26Antonelli

00:45:27rewrites the record books

00:45:28over

00:45:29to Ferrari.

00:45:31And they've looked much better

00:45:32this weekend

00:45:33compared to last.

00:45:34They were scrapping

00:45:35for sprint victory

00:45:35earlier on

00:45:36and it's Charles Leclerc

00:45:37across the line.

00:45:38He's three-tenths

00:45:40of a second away.

00:45:41The gap,

00:45:42the Q3 gap

00:45:43reappears.

00:45:44What about Lewis Hamilton?

00:45:45Magic around this track

00:45:47in the past

00:45:47and he

00:45:49is six-tenths

00:45:50of a second away.

00:45:51The top three

00:45:52all setting that time

00:45:54on new

00:45:54Pirelli tyres.

00:45:56Can George Russell

00:45:57get out

00:45:57or will it be

00:45:58Antonelli's

00:45:59day in the sun?

00:46:01Yeah, well,

00:46:01Russell's just making his way

00:46:02into the pit lane.

00:46:04His team out there

00:46:05ready to

00:46:06pull him back

00:46:07into the garage.

00:46:07There will be enough time

00:46:08assuming this is

00:46:10an electronic reset.

00:46:13The only other thing

00:46:14that could explain

00:46:15not being able

00:46:15to shift gears,

00:46:16of course,

00:46:16is a hydraulic issue.

00:46:18Lewis Hamilton

00:46:19fighting his teammate.

00:46:20He's having lively moments

00:46:22all weekend long.

00:46:23We go through nine

00:46:24and ten.

00:46:25He's dropping

00:46:25all over the place.

00:46:26Yeah, we saw that

00:46:27earlier in this session

00:46:28but it came,

00:46:29let's say,

00:46:29there.

00:46:30He went into

00:46:30the Overseer moment.

00:46:31That was on power.

00:46:33He's corrected.

00:46:34Taken him out

00:46:34onto the car.

00:46:35picked up some dust,

00:46:36kept his foot in

00:46:37and there's further movement

00:46:39and then when he's

00:46:40break down into ten

00:46:41it was tidy there

00:46:43for Leclerc.

00:46:46You can see him

00:46:47fighting the wheel

00:46:48of acceleration.

00:46:52That is the sound

00:46:53of a turbocharged engine

00:46:55of Pierre Gasly.

00:46:5750-50 split

00:46:58between electrical power

00:46:59and the internal

00:47:00combustion engine

00:47:01in Formula 1

00:47:02in 2026.

00:47:04Gasly

00:47:04just been swinging

00:47:05for the fences

00:47:06all the way through.

00:47:08He's coming up

00:47:09to the 16th

00:47:10and final corner

00:47:11of the racetrack

00:47:11and it's used

00:47:13a set of tyres

00:47:13for him

00:47:14so he's going to have

00:47:15one punchy run

00:47:16later on.

00:47:16That's to get his eye in.

00:47:17That's why

00:47:18there's a 1.7 second gap.

00:47:20Lando Norris

00:47:21fully attacking on.

00:47:23This is new tyres.

00:47:24This is second

00:47:24on the grid

00:47:25for Norris

00:47:25who came alive

00:47:26in the top ten

00:47:27shootout yesterday

00:47:28and does so once more.

00:47:30Piastri

00:47:31slightly on the back foot

00:47:32so far.

00:47:32You come to Q3.

00:47:34You come to the front row.

00:47:35The Australian driver

00:47:36on pole position

00:47:38a year ago

00:47:38steps forward

00:47:39when it matters.

00:47:40Now to the Red Bulls.

00:47:42Can Hadjar

00:47:43get up there.

00:47:44Sixth position

00:47:44and Max Verstappen.

00:47:47He's over the line.

00:47:49He goes ahead

00:47:50of his teammate

00:47:50and it's

00:47:51Kimi Antonelli

00:47:52with a two-tenth buffer.

00:47:54Oscar Piastri

00:47:55ahead of his

00:47:56McLaren teammate.

00:47:57We will get to

00:47:57George Russell

00:47:58in a moment.

00:47:59It's Ferrari,

00:47:59Ferrari,

00:48:00Red Bull,

00:48:01old tyres

00:48:02for Behrman and Gasly

00:48:03and there's no time

00:48:04on the board

00:48:04for the man

00:48:05who's topped

00:48:05every single session

00:48:06for seven days

00:48:07in Formula One.

00:48:08Is that about to change?

00:48:09George, yeah,

00:48:10well the wheels

00:48:10came off

00:48:11and they've gone back on.

00:48:13If they felt

00:48:13there was not a chance

00:48:15of getting that card out

00:48:17then they would have

00:48:18started their process

00:48:19already of trying

00:48:20to engage with the FIA

00:48:21to make the fixes

00:48:23but it looks to me

00:48:24as if they've done

00:48:25a kind of reset

00:48:26and it'll be one

00:48:27flying run

00:48:28for Russell.

00:48:32Oscar Piastri

00:48:33a reminder for you

00:48:34of what we've been

00:48:35telling you earlier

00:48:36in the session.

00:48:37This is where he began

00:48:38his run of pole positions

00:48:40all taken last season

00:48:41his third year

00:48:42of Formula One

00:48:43last year.

00:48:43He took six of them

00:48:44whilst battling

00:48:45for the title.

00:48:47He eventually finished

00:48:4713 points back

00:48:49in a three-way fight

00:48:51that went all the way

00:48:52to the last lap

00:48:53of the last race.

00:48:54It wasn't certain

00:48:55until Lando Norris

00:48:56came over the line

00:48:57in P3.

00:48:59So what car

00:49:00does George Russell

00:49:01have underneath him?

00:49:03In pre-season testing

00:49:03there were a couple

00:49:04of mechanical gremlins

00:49:05for Mercedes.

00:49:07They looked very

00:49:07very strong in Melbourne.

00:49:09George Russell

00:49:10taking victory

00:49:10earlier today

00:49:11in the sprint race

00:49:12but the main event

00:49:14is the Grand Prix.

00:49:15That's what we're

00:49:16setting the grid for

00:49:16and there's still

00:49:17work going on.

00:49:18Yeah, look

00:49:18those are the short stands

00:49:19they're thinking about

00:49:20putting underneath that car.

00:49:23That isn't a good sign

00:49:25but that said

00:49:26the blankets

00:49:27have been taken off

00:49:29and there's clear

00:49:32fervent chatter

00:49:33you can hear

00:49:34and see.

00:49:35That's the umbilical cord

00:49:36the connection

00:49:37from the car

00:49:38back to all

00:49:40of the main

00:49:40frame systems.

00:49:43So Russell

00:49:44has made Q3

00:49:45so it would be

00:49:4610th on the grid.

00:49:47Steering wheel

00:49:48changed now

00:49:48as they seek

00:49:49to find an answer.

00:49:51It seems like

00:49:52let's try everything

00:49:53let's throw everything

00:49:54at it.

00:49:55So the electronics

00:49:57on the steering wheel

00:49:58sometimes

00:49:59can have

00:50:00a different impression.

00:50:01Very expensive

00:50:02those steering wheels

00:50:03by the way

00:50:03it's not a

00:50:04cheap spare

00:50:05to throw at the car.

00:50:06No, not at all

00:50:07but just actually

00:50:08reflecting

00:50:08you could hear

00:50:09the engine running

00:50:09and I think

00:50:10that was very much

00:50:11a case of

00:50:11we were trying

00:50:12to engage a gear

00:50:13whilst on the

00:50:14short stands.

00:50:17Well Russell

00:50:18will go into

00:50:18a one time lapse

00:50:19situation

00:50:20he will stick

00:50:20to the sequence

00:50:21but will he have

00:50:22a car underneath

00:50:24him to attack?

00:50:25We will see

00:50:26whether Oliver Behrman

00:50:28can hang on

00:50:28to P8.

00:50:30Gasly did not

00:50:31have a new set

00:50:32of tyres

00:50:32he will get that

00:50:33we believe

00:50:33before the end.

00:50:35Well that's reassuring

00:50:36for both Haas

00:50:38and Alpine

00:50:38that once again

00:50:39like we saw yesterday

00:50:40Behrman and Gasly

00:50:41being in the hunt

00:50:43for that top 10

00:50:45not looking

00:50:46based on that

00:50:47that they're fighting

00:50:48the Red Bulls

00:50:49but they're certainly

00:50:49fighting each other

00:50:52Lando Norris

00:50:53emerges from

00:50:54the pit lane

00:50:54we're looking

00:50:55outside the

00:50:56commentary box

00:50:57window

00:50:57to see

00:50:58whether

00:50:59George Russell

00:51:00will take

00:51:01to the racetrack

00:51:02others forming

00:51:03up in the queue

00:51:05slowly trailing

00:51:06out onto the circuit

00:51:07Antonelli has gone

00:51:08Russell has not

00:51:10four minutes to go

00:51:13there's Marcus Dudley

00:51:14he's race engineer

00:51:15here are the Ferraris

00:51:18that didn't look

00:51:20like a face

00:51:21of someone

00:51:22that felt

00:51:22they'd solved

00:51:23the problem

00:51:23we're looking

00:51:24directly down

00:51:25into the Mercedes

00:51:25garage from

00:51:26our commentary

00:51:27boxes

00:51:27all of the other

00:51:28cars go out

00:51:29to start

00:51:29their prep

00:51:30laps

00:51:30no movement

00:51:32from Brussels

00:51:33Mercedes

00:51:34ticking down

00:51:37the team

00:51:38continuing to look

00:51:39at the side

00:51:40of the car

00:51:40as you look

00:51:42at Max Verstappen

00:51:43taking to the circuit

00:51:44currently in sixth position

00:51:45a second away

00:51:46from Antonelli's

00:51:48benchmark

00:51:50Antonelli

00:51:50will know

00:51:51that two tenths

00:51:53puts him

00:51:53close

00:51:54but not certain

00:51:55Piastri

00:51:57six pole positions

00:51:58in Formula One

00:51:59Lando Norris

00:52:00knows how to get

00:52:00there as well

00:52:01sixteen times

00:52:02he's been

00:52:03at the front

00:52:03and still

00:52:05Russell remains

00:52:06in the garage

00:52:09Antonelli

00:52:09going early

00:52:11so

00:52:11you can see

00:52:12there

00:52:13his personal best

00:52:14couple of front rows

00:52:15including last week

00:52:17and he hopes

00:52:18to repeat it

00:52:19once again

00:52:22this is his best chance

00:52:25still not seeing

00:52:26any movement

00:52:27in that Mercedes

00:52:28garage

00:52:28or Russell

00:52:34yeah

00:52:35now there is

00:52:36now Russell's car

00:52:37is being dropped down

00:52:38so

00:52:39a split moment

00:52:41for the two

00:52:41Mercedes

00:52:42Russell ventures

00:52:44into the pit lane

00:52:45Antonelli

00:52:46goes across the line

00:52:47he will have

00:52:48two runs

00:52:49at this one

00:52:50Russell

00:52:50will have one

00:52:51the 19 year old

00:52:54versus the championship

00:52:55leader

00:52:56a pole position

00:52:57on the line

00:52:58and Antonelli

00:52:59has been put

00:52:59in the shade

00:53:00a little bit

00:53:00in the last

00:53:01couple of days

00:53:02we've run

00:53:03a sprint race

00:53:04we've run

00:53:05a Grand Prix

00:53:06we've had some

00:53:07qualifying sessions

00:53:08and Antonelli

00:53:09is 100th back

00:53:10on his personal best

00:53:12through the first sector

00:53:13of the racetrack

00:53:14the McLarens

00:53:15have stepped forward

00:53:16can Antonelli

00:53:17leave them

00:53:18all out of reach

00:53:19well this could be

00:53:20strategic of course

00:53:21he could have realised

00:53:22as Norris

00:53:23goes marginally

00:53:24quicker

00:53:25in that first sector

00:53:26but remember

00:53:27it's all about

00:53:28how you harvest

00:53:29how you deploy

00:53:30how you deliver

00:53:31the overall energy

00:53:32that you can

00:53:33for the lap

00:53:34and well

00:53:36as he goes about

00:53:37a little bit quicker

00:53:39in the middle sector

00:53:41not many corners now

00:53:42could stand between him

00:53:43and his first pole position

00:53:45in a Grand Prix

00:53:46it would be a big moment

00:53:48if he could achieve it

00:53:49Norris is not far away

00:53:51Antonelli looking

00:53:52for a clean lap

00:53:53Norris looking

00:53:54for a great lap

00:53:55it would have to be

00:53:56something sensational

00:53:57for McLaren or Ferrari

00:53:58to deny Mercedes

00:53:59but Russell is on an out lap

00:54:02Antonelli is hoping

00:54:03to seal some history now

00:54:05a little correction

00:54:06of the steering wheel

00:54:07he said he got a bit emotional

00:54:08sometimes when he was

00:54:09in the fight

00:54:10at the front last year

00:54:11this is his second season

00:54:13in Formula 1

00:54:14Kimi Antonelli

00:54:15to the line

00:54:15and Antonelli

00:54:17takes it further away

00:54:18is that the lap

00:54:20to become the youngest ever

00:54:21Grand Prix pole position holder

00:54:23Norris will have something

00:54:25to say about it

00:54:26Antonelli

00:54:27holds the fastest time

00:54:29with 30 seconds to go

00:54:30Norris comes across the line

00:54:32he can't improve

00:54:33his position

00:54:34he can't climb

00:54:35to the front row

00:54:36what about Charles Leclerc

00:54:3727 pole positions

00:54:39in Formula 1

00:54:40it won't be pole position

00:54:41this time

00:54:42but it is a front row

00:54:44Lewis Hamilton

00:54:45tries to fight back

00:54:46across the line

00:54:48we go

00:54:48he climbs to the front row

00:54:50to the joy of the crowd

00:54:52and now Gasly

00:54:54on new tyres

00:54:56pushing on

00:54:57Gasly gets ahead

00:54:58the Red Bull pair

00:54:59with another fine lap

00:55:01in a weekend

00:55:02that's been full of them

00:55:03Behrman now

00:55:04gets up to 7th

00:55:06you've got the Red Bulls

00:55:07they're pushing on

00:55:08and George Russell

00:55:10is at the bottom

00:55:11of your picture

00:55:12can he do anything

00:55:13to displace his teammate

00:55:15a car that was ailing

00:55:17at the start

00:55:17of Q3

00:55:18over the line

00:55:19with Isaac Hadjar

00:55:20he gets ahead

00:55:21of Behrman

00:55:22he would have expected

00:55:23that

00:55:23the chequered flag

00:55:24is waving

00:55:25next up

00:55:26is Max Verstappen

00:55:27who's into 7th

00:55:29can Russell find

00:55:30purple sectors

00:55:31when it matters

00:55:32we're going to get

00:55:33an answer

00:55:33he's got to find

00:55:34a tenth of a second

00:55:36or it's history

00:55:37for Antonelli

00:55:38yeah he was

00:55:39a little bit wide

00:55:41coming out

00:55:41of the throttle application

00:55:42of 12 into 13

00:55:45has he saved

00:55:46enough energy

00:55:47to win it back

00:55:48on the straight

00:55:50the hairpin of 14

00:55:52is ahead

00:55:53then 15

00:55:54is an easy squirt

00:55:55on the throttle

00:55:56a left-hander of 16

00:55:57is the difference

00:55:58Russell trying to

00:56:00knock Lewis Hamilton

00:56:00off the front row

00:56:01trying to take

00:56:02back-to-back pole positions

00:56:03in Formula 1

00:56:04unleashing all of the power

00:56:06here comes the question

00:56:08is it history

00:56:09for Antonelli

00:56:10or is it a comeback

00:56:11for George Russell

00:56:13across the line

00:56:14he's missed out

00:56:15he's missed out

00:56:17and the youngest

00:56:18ever driver

00:56:19to take a Formula 1

00:56:21Grand Prix pole

00:56:22is Kimi Antonelli

00:56:24at 19 years of age

00:56:27he takes

00:56:28the record

00:56:28from Sebastian Vettel

00:56:30there is the history boy

00:56:32Antonelli does it

00:56:34Russell climbs back

00:56:35to the front row

00:56:36it's Hamilton in third

00:56:38Leclerc in fourth

00:56:39Piastri in fifth

00:56:41and Norris in sixth

00:56:42but the youngest

00:56:43Grand Prix pole sitter

00:56:45in F1 history

00:56:46that's a pole position mate

00:56:47yeah let's go man

00:56:49woo

00:56:52well he may be

00:56:53the youngest ever

00:56:54pole sitter

00:56:55but he's taken

00:56:56any stride

00:56:57I think I would have

00:56:58gone up a couple

00:56:59of octaves

00:57:00on that woo

00:57:02wow what a story

00:57:03for Antonelli

00:57:04who has taken pole

00:57:06at 19 years of age

00:57:08and he will start

00:57:09his 26th Grand Prix

00:57:10from the very front

00:57:17well it's all normal

00:57:18at Mercedes

00:57:19hell don't worry about it

00:57:20it's only the youngest

00:57:21pole sitter in the history

00:57:22of the world championship

00:57:23which started in May

00:57:241950

00:57:25but that's special

00:57:27Toto Wolff

00:57:28I believe indicated

00:57:29by that

00:57:29rushed Antonelli

00:57:31through the formula

00:57:32sprint pole last year

00:57:33Grand Prix pole this

00:57:34yeah can't take it

00:57:36away from him

00:57:36but what also

00:57:37we can't take away

00:57:38steady

00:57:40steady comeback

00:57:41from George Russell

00:57:43didn't get that

00:57:44first run

00:57:45and had to go out

00:57:46discover where

00:57:47the car was

00:57:48we heard him

00:57:48complain about

00:57:49understeer

00:57:50something not quite

00:57:50right with the car

00:57:51then we had that

00:57:52technical problem

00:57:53and he'll have that

00:57:54banked away

00:57:55in his justification

00:57:56of second

00:57:57but what a great

00:57:58pole position

00:57:59from Kimi Antonelli

00:58:00well he kept it

00:58:02very very tied

00:58:03in the first two

00:58:04sectors

00:58:05and then made the

00:58:05difference at the

00:58:06end

00:58:07he will be the

00:58:08first Italian driver

00:58:10on pole position

00:58:11since 2009

00:58:13Giancarlo Fisichella

00:58:15lining up at the

00:58:16front

00:58:16up against

00:58:18Kimi Raikkonen

00:58:19in the battle

00:58:21for the win

00:58:21Belgium 2009

00:58:23which went the

00:58:24way of Ferrari

00:58:25but today belongs

00:58:26to Antonelli

00:58:27as Russell comes

00:58:28back

00:58:29could have been

00:58:30tenth

00:58:30could have been

00:58:31a real issue

00:58:31for Russell

00:58:32there's a lot

00:58:33of work there

00:58:34but the battle

00:58:35lines redrawn

00:58:36for the second

00:58:36Grand Prix

00:58:37of the season

00:58:38Antonelli

00:58:38on pole

00:58:39by two tenths

00:58:40of a second

00:58:41then it's

00:58:41Hamilton

00:58:42Leclerc

00:58:42Piastri

00:58:43and Norris

00:58:44Gasly out

00:58:45qualifies the

00:58:45Red Bulls

00:58:46Verstappen

00:58:47ahead of Hadjar

00:58:48and Oliver

00:58:48Behrman

00:58:49rounds out

00:58:50the top ten

00:58:56Kimi Antonelli

00:58:57has rewritten

00:58:58the record books

00:58:58he's a 19

00:58:59year old

00:59:00pole position

00:59:00holder in

00:59:01Formula One

00:59:02no one has

00:59:02ever done

00:59:03that before

00:59:03he takes

00:59:04the record

00:59:05from Sebastian

00:59:05Vettel

00:59:06said at

00:59:06Monza

00:59:072008

00:59:08and becomes

00:59:09the first

00:59:10Italian

00:59:10on pole position

00:59:11in Formula One

00:59:12for a Grand

00:59:13Prix

00:59:13since Giancarlo

00:59:14Fisichella

00:59:15in 2009

00:59:17Oscar Piastri

00:59:18outqualified

00:59:19his teammate

00:59:19Lando Norris

00:59:20he will start

00:59:21fifth on the grid

00:59:23tomorrow

00:59:23and then we have

00:59:26Charles Leclerc ahead

00:59:27of him

00:59:27Lewis Hamilton

00:59:28ahead of him

00:59:29and the Mercedes

00:59:30front row lockout

00:59:30you just look at the result

00:59:32you're like oh

00:59:32Antonelli beat Russell

00:59:33but Russell had one

00:59:34attempt

00:59:34Antonelli had two

00:59:36and Russell in the end

00:59:38finding a lap

00:59:39good enough

00:59:39for a 132

00:59:42286

00:59:42pivotal for him

00:59:44that they got him

00:59:44back out

00:59:45be fascinating

00:59:46to hear from Russell

00:59:48what sort of condition

00:59:48that car was in

00:59:49but Antonelli

00:59:51doing the job

00:59:52when it mattered

00:59:53gave himself

00:59:54a great foundation

00:59:55with that first lap

00:59:57and improved

00:59:58it on

01:00:01and let's now hear

01:00:02from the driver

01:00:04who's taken his

01:00:05first pole position

01:00:06talking to

01:00:07Julian Palmer

01:00:08okay well I'm down

01:00:10here with Formula 1's

01:00:11youngest ever

01:00:12Grand Prix pole sitter

01:00:14Kimi Antonelli

01:00:15congratulations

01:00:16you've just beaten

01:00:17Sebastian Vettel's record

01:00:19how was it out there?

01:00:21yeah it was

01:00:21it was a pretty

01:00:22clean session

01:00:23so you know

01:00:25really happy

01:00:25of course

01:00:26unfortunately George

01:00:27at the niche in Q3

01:00:28so would have been

01:00:29cool to see

01:00:30him with two sets

01:00:31but yeah

01:00:32I think was

01:00:33a really good

01:00:35session

01:00:35clean one

01:00:36no mistake

01:00:37and looking forward

01:00:38to the race tomorrow

01:00:39how could you keep it calm

01:00:40were you aware of

01:00:41what was happening

01:00:41on George's car

01:00:42or were you just

01:00:42so focused on yourself

01:00:43there?

01:00:44well I saw

01:00:44I saw he had the issue

01:00:45but I just tried

01:00:47to keep my focus

01:00:48to stay calm

01:00:49and try to deliver

01:00:50a good lap

01:00:51which was at the end

01:00:52at a record-breaking lap

01:00:54well done Kimi

01:00:54thank you

01:00:55George speaking of

01:00:56the issues

01:00:56I mean that was

01:00:57a difficult session

01:00:58it looked like

01:00:59already in Q2

01:01:00it wasn't

01:01:01straight forward

01:01:02but you got out

01:01:03of there in the end

01:01:04you managed to get

01:01:04a front row out of it

01:01:05yeah definitely

01:01:06damage limitation

01:01:07I mean in Q2

01:01:08the front wing broke

01:01:09was wrapping our heads

01:01:10around that

01:01:11then obviously

01:01:12went out in Q3

01:01:13stopped on track

01:01:13car wasn't restarting

01:01:15couldn't change gear

01:01:16and then just now

01:01:17really happy to be

01:01:18standing here

01:01:19because you know

01:01:20started the last lap

01:01:21had no battery

01:01:22no tyre temp

01:01:22no nothing

01:01:23so but the team

01:01:25have done a really

01:01:26great job to get us

01:01:27into this position

01:01:28it could have been

01:01:28much worse

01:01:29so very glad

01:01:30and well done

01:01:31with this guy

01:01:31first pole

01:01:31so

01:01:32you've been formidable

01:01:33so far this season

01:01:34are you guys going

01:01:34to put on a fight

01:01:35bit of a show

01:01:36out front for us

01:01:36tomorrow

01:01:37yeah I mean

01:01:38it's obviously

01:01:39we need to take care

01:01:40of the guys in red

01:01:41as well

01:01:41they were super

01:01:42fast off the line

01:01:44so I'm sure

01:01:45Lewis is going to

01:01:45be pretty dicey

01:01:46at the beginning

01:01:47of the race

01:01:48but I think for us

01:01:49to try and keep it clean

01:01:50have a good race

01:01:50try and put on a good

01:01:51race for the fans

01:01:52and see what we can do

01:01:53all right

01:01:53well done George

01:01:54which brings me

01:01:55nicely to Lewis

01:01:56in the top three

01:01:57you love it here

01:01:58in China I know

01:01:59it's been a great

01:02:00circuit for you

01:02:01in the past

01:02:01and that was a big

01:02:02lap at the end

01:02:03I saw the moment

01:02:04you had on the first

01:02:04one in Q3

01:02:05but you put it together

01:02:06when it mattered

01:02:08yeah it was actually

01:02:09a really tough

01:02:10qualifying

01:02:11a bit harder

01:02:12this one with the wind

01:02:13it's so gusty today

01:02:14so

01:02:16putting the laps

01:02:16together was

01:02:17challenging

01:02:17and Charles

01:02:19put in great laps

01:02:19these guys

01:02:20were putting in

01:02:20great laps

01:02:21so I'm really

01:02:22really happy

01:02:23to be up here

01:02:25and grateful to be

01:02:26up here with these

01:02:26guys

01:02:26they've been rapid

01:02:27so far this season

01:02:28but we did some

01:02:30good work

01:02:31the engineers did

01:02:31some great work

01:02:33over the break

01:02:34and we managed

01:02:35to get a little

01:02:36bit closer to these

01:02:37guys

01:02:37so that's a real

01:02:39positive

01:02:39we take that forward

01:02:40and the gap

01:02:40was really coming

01:02:41down as well

01:02:42as you said

01:02:42have you got

01:02:43some powder

01:02:43still dry

01:02:44for the race

01:02:44tomorrow

01:02:44for a fight

01:02:46it's still

01:02:46going to be

01:02:47a challenge

01:02:47but I'm sure

01:02:48we'll have

01:02:48some fun

01:02:49I'm looking

01:02:50forward to it

01:02:50we'll have a lot

01:02:51of fun

01:02:51learn a lot

01:02:52in the sprint

01:02:53race

01:02:53so let's hope

01:02:55tomorrow is not

01:02:55as windy as this

01:02:56and our goal

01:02:58is to try and

01:02:58break the gap

01:03:00between these

01:03:00guys somehow

01:03:00all right

01:03:01well done

01:03:02Lewis

01:03:02and thank you

01:03:03everybody

01:03:03good luck

01:03:04for the race

01:03:04tomorrow

01:03:08Jodin Palmer

01:03:09in conversation

01:03:10with fan

01:03:11favourite

01:03:11Lewis Hamilton

01:03:12championship

01:03:12leader

01:03:13George Russell

01:03:14and the man

01:03:15he's just got

01:03:16a hug from

01:03:16dad

01:03:17Kimi Antonelli

01:03:18Formula 1's

01:03:19youngest ever

01:03:20Grand Prix

01:03:21pole position

01:03:22holder

01:03:22he will line

01:03:24up at the

01:03:25head of his

01:03:2626th Grand

01:03:27Prix

01:03:2719 years of

01:03:29age

01:03:30and everyone

01:03:31behind

01:03:3219 years

01:03:33and 202

01:03:35days

01:03:35he takes the

01:03:36record

01:03:36from four-time

01:03:37world champion

01:03:38Sebastian Vettel

01:03:39who loves his

01:03:40place in the

01:03:41Formula 1 history

01:03:42books

01:03:42but always

01:03:43appreciates a

01:03:44great driver

01:03:45that is what

01:03:46we have seen

01:03:47on track

01:03:47and Antonelli

01:03:50has had some

01:03:51serious

01:03:53work to do

01:03:54hasn't he

01:03:54dramatic

01:03:55times with

01:03:56the crash

01:03:57a week

01:03:58ago

01:04:00issues

01:04:01earlier on

01:04:01with the

01:04:02tricky

01:04:02getaway

01:04:03but when he

01:04:04lines up

01:04:04for the

01:04:05start

01:04:05in the

01:04:06second

01:04:06Grand

01:04:06Prix

01:04:06of 2026

01:04:07it's his

01:04:08he's eight

01:04:09metres ahead

01:04:10of his

01:04:10team

01:04:10and will

01:04:12look up to

01:04:13the lights

01:04:13with an

01:04:13unobstructed

01:04:14view

01:04:16a fine

01:04:17fine

01:04:18way to

01:04:19handle the

01:04:20pressure

01:04:20he mentioned

01:04:21in Singapore

01:04:21last year

01:04:22when he had a

01:04:22shot at pole

01:04:23Russell took it

01:04:23that day

01:04:24that the

01:04:24emotion got to

01:04:26him

01:04:26not today

01:04:27a cool head

01:04:30and a moment

01:04:31to savor

01:04:35Mercedes

01:04:36taking pole

01:04:37position

01:04:39for both

01:04:40Grand Prix

01:04:42for the

01:04:42sprint

01:04:44and the

01:04:45front wing

01:04:45working for both

01:04:46drivers in the

01:04:47end

01:04:48Kimi Antonelli

01:04:49knowing he had a

01:04:50little bit of

01:04:50assistance with the

01:04:51issues for his

01:04:52teammate

01:04:52but you've got to

01:04:54take that moment

01:04:55when it comes

01:04:55your way

01:04:56and that is a

01:04:57moment of

01:04:58Formula 1

01:04:58history

01:04:59Kimi Antonelli

01:05:00opens his

01:05:01account

01:05:01now one

01:05:02sprint pole

01:05:02and one

01:05:03Grand Prix

01:05:04pole

01:05:07at the

01:05:08magnificent

01:05:08facility at

01:05:09Shanghai

01:05:09International

01:05:10let's confirm

01:05:11your qualifying

01:05:13grit

01:05:15Kimi Antonelli

01:05:1619 years of

01:05:18age

01:05:18and a

01:05:18Grand Prix

01:05:19pole

01:05:19position

01:05:19holder

01:05:20George

01:05:20Russell

01:05:21locking out

01:05:21the front

01:05:22row

01:05:23only got

01:05:24one run

01:05:24in Q3

01:05:25it was

01:05:25enough

01:05:25for the

01:05:26front row

01:05:26Lewis

01:05:26Hamilton

01:05:27out

01:05:27qualifying

01:05:27Charlotte

01:05:28Clary

01:05:28only did

01:05:28that

01:05:28five times

01:05:29in the

01:05:30entirety

01:05:30of last

01:05:31season

01:05:31and then

01:05:32you've got

01:05:32Oscar Piastri

01:05:33ahead of

01:05:34Lando Norris

01:05:35Pierre Gasly

01:05:35great effort

01:05:36but an

01:05:37Alpine

01:05:37the tenth

01:05:38fastest car

01:05:38last year

01:05:39seventh

01:05:40ahead

01:05:40of the

01:05:41Red Bulls

01:05:42the staff

01:05:42and then

01:05:42Hadjar

01:05:43and

01:05:43Behrman

01:05:44again

01:05:44in Q3

01:05:45strong

01:05:46from him

01:05:47Hülkenberg

01:05:48was ahead

01:05:49of Franco

01:05:49Colopinto

01:05:50and Esteban

01:05:51Ocon

01:05:51Lawson

01:05:52and Lindblad

01:05:52had their

01:05:53laps interrupted

01:05:54by the

01:05:54yellow flag

01:05:54caused by

01:05:55the spin

01:05:55for Gabriel

01:05:56Portoleto

01:05:57P16

01:05:58tomorrow

01:05:58Carlos Sainz

01:05:59out qualified

01:06:00teammate

01:06:00Alexander

01:06:02Albin

01:06:03and then it was

01:06:03Fernando

01:06:04what

01:06:04for

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