00:01Here's the man in the drop zone at the moment trying to make it through Daniel Ricciardo
00:05Demotes Fernando Alonso at the moment but Ricciardo is vulnerable
00:10And this is the driver being cheered around the final sector of the racetrack
00:14He's out of the heavy braking zone of turn 10
00:16He's made his way now to the fast sweepers of 13 and 14
00:20Qualified didn't go to plan for Fernando Alonso last year
00:24But this year he will make it through with a lap at the end to go to 9th place
00:29And it will mean that those behind will have to respond
00:32Pierre Gasly good form here in practice good form in qualifying
00:36It's Ricciardo Albon who are heading out at the moment
00:39And then is Lance Stroll going to be able to follow his teammate into the next part of qualifying
00:44And Demote Nico Hülkenberg
00:47Stroll manages to do it and Hülkenberg so strong over one lap normally
00:52Is into the drop zone Yuki Tsunoda can't get there
00:56He is the lead V-carb on the grid but he's only 16th across the line
01:01Hülkenberg strikes back and eliminates his teammate with a strong lap
01:06Magnussen's not on a push at all
01:08And so Logan Sargent the only driver who can yet change this order
01:13That is Magnussen, Tsunoda ahead of Ricciardo, Albon down in 19th place
01:17Logan Sargent to the line, he improves his time, not his position
01:22Magnussen, Tsunoda, Ricciardo, Albon and Sargent 4 at the first hurdle
01:28So Stroll is in the pit lane, he's out along with Hülkenberg, everyone else pushing on
01:32Trying to find a lap time that gets them into the top 10 shootout
01:35And Pierre Gasly has given himself a great chance
01:38Good feel all weekend long
01:40Perez's lap is ahead of both Alpines
01:42That will be a relief to him as he tries to return to Q3 for the first time since Miami
01:47And it's on board then with Fernando Alonso
01:50Past the grandstands that have been cheering for him all the way through the weekend
01:55He is a two time winner around this circuit
01:58Can he find a lap time to get him through?
02:01It's going to be close to the line, he just misses out by one hundredth of a second
02:06And Alonso will not make the top 10 shootout at his home race
02:11Disappointment for him, Max Verstappen top
02:14But Alonso, Bottas, Hülkenberg, the other Aston Martin of Stroll and the other Salva of Joe
02:20Are out in the second part of qualifying
02:23He's attacking right now on the first of two push laps that he will get in this Q3 session
02:29Trying to return to pole position
02:31And I believe this is a new set of tyres where Perez was on a scrubbed set
02:36But immediately we see Sainz couple of tenths quicker in the first sector alone
02:40So this is going to have to be mighty second and third opening sectors to secure a front row
02:4811-6, a little bit down on the fastest we've seen so far in this session
02:52And then Sainz has gone a couple of tenths slower in the middle sector
02:55So the two he gained in the first, he's given away in the second
03:00It is so evenly matched, Ocon goes to second place
03:03But the man from Madrid trying to displace Verstappen in Barcelona
03:09And he's two and a half tenths of a second away
03:12Piastri is into third place
03:14We have Lando Norris attacking the racetrack into turn number nine
03:19We have Charles Leclerc about to send it through the left-hander of turn number seven
03:23And we join Lando Norris who has one Formula One pole position to his name
03:28But that second sector might set up an opportunity to change all of that
03:33The final part of the lap is crucial for which part of the car you've kept with the tyres
03:39Have you kept the tyres in the working range? Are they fading underneath you?
03:42Gasly's ahead of Ocon in the Alpine battle
03:45They're both ahead of Peres
03:46Norris to the line into second place
03:48He's a tenth away from Verstappen's benchmark
03:52I tell you what though, Lewis Hamilton, he's up
03:55But it's at two thirds distance
03:57George Russell is up
03:58It's at two thirds distance
03:59Charles Leclerc has been the lead Ferrari on the grid for the last five Grand Prix in a row
04:04Not so at the moment
04:05He's marginally behind
04:07So it's Red Bull, then McLaren, then Ferrari
04:10Here come the Mercedes
04:11Lewis Hamilton to third
04:13What about George Russell?
04:15On pole position last time
04:16And that final sector just shows you the different strengths of the cars
04:20At different points of the lap
04:22Russell is right there
04:24Piastri's not though
04:25He's just had his time deleted for track limits
04:28On the exit of turn number 10
04:32Again, a little bit wide
04:33A lot wide
04:34Off the road goes Oscar Piastri
04:37Looking for a clean lap
04:38It was beyond track limits on the first push
04:41It was beyond track limits on the second
04:43And Piastri is staring at a tenth place start
04:46Real disappointment for him
04:48That would be his worst of the season so far
04:50But he couldn't find the balance
04:51From one driver at the bottom end of the top ten
04:54To one at the front
04:56Or so he hopes
04:57Carlos Sainz is up on Max Verstappen's time
05:00But we know that Verstappen did the damage in this part of the lap
05:05This is where the Ferraris
05:06The McLarens and the Mercedes
05:08Are desperately trying to bridge the gap
05:11To the world championship leader
05:12This would mean the world to the crowd
05:15And Carlos Sainz if he can fight to the front row
05:17And he can!
05:19He misses out on provisional pole
05:20But that's good enough for second at the moment
05:23We throw it to Charles Leclerc
05:24Can he get there?
05:25Yes he will!
05:27Charles Leclerc to second place
05:28He's beating his teammate again
05:30When it comes to qualifying
05:31The Ferraris are done
05:33Norris going very quickly in the middle sector
05:36So is Max Verstappen
05:39Who has one corner to go
05:40Trying to take it out of reach
05:42Of all the other contenders in Formula One
05:45That's a great improvement when he needed it
05:48Is it going to be enough?
05:49It's going to need to be a mega lap
05:52But it is a mega lap as it stands for Lando Norris
05:55Who's right in the hunt for pole position
05:59Has he run out of tires the way Piastri did?
06:01It's all down to these final three corners
06:03Final two corners
06:05Lando Norris has been on pole position one time before in Formula One
06:10Can he make it two?
06:12He can!
06:14Lando Norris digs deep
06:15And hits the front of the field
06:17Can Lewis Hamilton respond?
06:20Hamilton over the line
06:21To third position
06:23Russell cuts the beam
06:24That's fourth place
06:25And Lando Norris
06:27For the second time in his Formula One career
06:30Will start at the front of the field
06:33He's beaten Max Verstappen
06:35By two hundredths of a second
06:38At that pole
06:40Let's f***ing go baby
06:43Let's f***ing go
06:47Lando Norris
06:48Lando Norris has taken a second career pole position
06:50He's beaten Max Verstappen
06:51By two hundredths of a second
06:52After an hour of brilliant qualifying
06:55Lewis Hamilton's best start of the entire season
06:57When it comes to a Grand Prix
06:59Will be third place
07:00Thanks to that lap that took him ahead
07:02Of George Russell
07:02For only the second time in Grand Prix qualifying this year
07:05To be continued
07:05To be continued
07:06To be continued
07:08To be continued
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