- 2 months ago
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00:00So we'll get a direct comparison between the two Mercedes cars.
00:04Isaac Hadjar joining them out on the circuit along with Lewis Hamilton in the Ferraris.
00:11Piastri and Verstappen still in the pit lane along with Lian Lawson and Nico Hülkenberg.
00:16Right, 14 thousandths of a second down through the middle sector on Piastri's benchmark time.
00:22Set just before the red flag for Kimi Antonelli.
00:25Hamilton down on time in the first sector as well.
00:28Hasn't looked as quick as his teammate in the last part of qualifying.
00:32But now all hopes are on that sole remaining Ferrari of Hamilton.
00:36Kimi Antonelli's Mercedes will cross the line first.
00:39It's third behind Max Verstappen as Russell flies through the middle sector.
00:45The tyres at an absolute premium at this stage.
00:49Hadjar rises up to fourth.
00:51Four tenths of a drift.
00:52The top four covered by four tenths of a second.
00:55But George Russell might well start to put a gap between himself and the top of the field.
00:59What's he got across the line?
01:00Round the final corner.
01:01It's a gap.
01:02It's not much.
01:03But he'll take it.
01:04Thirty-one thousandths of a second.
01:06Russell goes fastest.
01:07Russell was mighty through that last corner.
01:09Just pinned it.
01:10And Hamilton now drives for the line for his first attempt on those recycled tyres.
01:16And it's a 15-7.
01:18He did a 15-6 in Q1, a 15-4 in Q2.
01:21So he'll be looking forward to what he can do with a brand new set on.
01:25But that's a cracking lap time from George Russell.
01:29Right then, as those who didn't go out immediately now play the waiting game.
01:35Norris, Lawson, Hulkenberg, Piastri, who could find a little bit more time.
01:42Track evolution, very notable here.
01:44But the tyre degradation, also notable.
01:48Intense around this circuit with the temperatures we've experienced so far.
01:51But George Russell looking for a third pole position this season.
01:56And the beginning of a fight back in the Drivers' Championship.
02:00A long points deficit to overcome.
02:03Now down in third in the Drivers' Championship.
02:0668 points adrift behind Hamilton in the Ferrari second.
02:09With Kimi Antonelli leading the way.
02:11I mean, Norris had taken probably more than anybody else out of those tyres
02:15without getting a lap time on that first run due to the red flag.
02:17But I'm still surprised he hasn't just gone out and put a benchmark down.
02:22But he's getting ready to go out now.
02:24It's going to be one lap and one lap only.
02:26By the looks of things for Lando Norris.
02:29Liam Lawson down in ninth in the Racing Bulls.
02:31Nico Hulkenberg's Audi in his first Q3 of the year.
02:37As we've bated breath, the mechanics wait for the all-clear.
02:42That's the racing pit stop I was talking about.
02:45What they're now going to do for George Russell to get him out quickly.
02:49The pit stop in the pit lane.
02:52And make sure he can get out and get his preparation lap done at the pace he wants to do
02:58it.
02:58He's already had a black and white flag for being too slow.
03:02Driving unnecessarily slowly.
03:05So he's had a final warning on that, George.
03:08And he needs to get out there and remember the rules.
03:11Your latest time of arrival at certain points.
03:15So drivers are just not going too slowly.
03:18Final few minutes then as we set the top ten of the grid for the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix.
03:23The fight for pole position.
03:25Final laps coming your way.
03:27George Russell currently on that provisional pole.
03:31Oscar Piastri second.
03:32Max Verstappen in third.
03:36With Kimi Antonelli fourth and Isaac Hajar just behind.
03:40Here is Antonelli.
03:41The championship leader who will be looking for a fifth pole position this season.
03:46You want, and they put a lot of work into this.
03:48You want your brakes to be the right temperature.
03:51Your wheel itself.
03:53The carcass of the tyre.
03:55The surface of the tyre.
03:57That's what you've got to ace.
03:59And you know very early on if you've got that right or not.
04:02When you turn into the first corner and the first few sections.
04:05So that's why they don't want to put an awful lot of lateral load in.
04:08That's why they're so steady through the corners.
04:10They'll be given a lot of information about any cars that are catching them.
04:18So, and who's on an out lap and who is on a hot lap.
04:22So at the moment then, we have got out on track.
04:26Are they all out there?
04:28Everybody, bar Charles Leclerc.
04:29And if you're just joining us, the reason for that is because Charles Leclerc unfortunately crashing his Ferrari in his
04:34first run in Q3.
04:36Down at turn four.
04:37No longer able to take part in this session.
04:40So nine drivers remain.
04:41And they are all out on circuit now.
04:43Vying for every tenth they can find to set their grid position for Sunday's Grand Prix.
04:50Kimi Antonelli carving his way through the right-hander of turn three.
04:54As the rear and front wing both shut under braking.
04:57That straight line mode coming to a close through the corners.
05:01Personal best for Antonelli through the first sector.
05:03Fastest of anybody is Max Verstappen.
05:06That's the time to beat.
05:0721-8 though.
05:08He's right in there.
05:08Russell then has also done a 21-8 first sector.
05:12This is it.
05:13Absolutely brilliant driving now unfolding.
05:17They've got to spot every braking point.
05:19Every turn in.
05:20Every touch of brake or throttle perfectly for this lap.
05:25Absolutely nothing between these three that we're showing on screen through the first sector.
05:29Less than half a tenth down through that first sector for Lando Norris in the McLaren.
05:33But down on time.
05:34Good middle sector from Kimi Antonelli who holds it all together through the right-hander.
05:39Russell is even faster through the middle sector.
05:42Mercedes coming to the fore right at the end of qualifying.
05:45Final corner for Kimi Antonelli across the line for the 19-year-old Italian.
05:50And it's provisional pole with a 1.14.998.
05:53But his teammate is flying.
05:55The fight back begins in Barcelona.
05:57Or does it for George Russell?
05:59Fastest of anybody in the middle sector.
06:01And finds nearly three-tenths of a second to go fastest and ahead of his teammate to take provisional pole.
06:08Can anyone stop George Russell?
06:10Norris won't be able to.
06:12Third for the reigning world champion.
06:14The other McLaren, Oscar Piaf Street.
06:16Just with a bit of a slide coming out through turn 10.
06:18But Max Verstappen flying through the first sector.
06:21Quick in the middle too.
06:22Yeah, Max Verstappen is on a cracking lap behind this McLaren.
06:27But what can he do as he drives to the line?
06:30Currently P4 stays P4.
06:34Lewis Hamilton, fastest of anybody in the middle sector.
06:37Verstappen will cross the line first.
06:39Just loses time right at the end.
06:41Pips the asteri though.
06:43Verstappen up into fourth.
06:44Hamilton's had a really good middle sector here.
06:46Can he keep it all together in the final corners of this lap?
06:51Hadjar crosses the line up in fifth.
06:53Good result for the Frenchman.
06:54Lewis Hamilton to the line.
06:56It's second for the seven-time world champion.
07:01All the hopes were left for Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari with Charles Leclerc out of Q3.
07:07And he just misses out on pole position by just over half a tenth of a second.
07:12But how about that for a statement from George Russell?
07:17Pole for the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix.
07:21He's been on top, has it, all the way through.
07:23Looks supremely fast and under control, George Russell.
07:26But Hamilton splits the two Mercedes.
07:29Pushes the championship leader off the front row.
07:33And also Verstappen and Hadjar split the two McLarens.
07:38And Hadjar almost matching his teammate to five thousandths of a second.
07:43That's it.
07:44Nice work, mate.
07:45Pole position.
07:46Pay your job.
07:47George, how does it feel?
07:49Nice to feel the groove again.
07:52Back in the groove for George Russell.
07:56Third pole position of the season.
07:57And he'll like the look of that.
08:00Lewis Hamilton, his old teammate, will start alongside him on the grid.
08:05Mercedes versus Ferrari with the current championship leader, Antonelli down in third.
08:11Norris fourth.
08:12Verstappen the top five.
08:13Hadjar sick.
08:15Piastri, who looked so strong before the red flag, was quickest, ending up in seventh.
08:21Yeah, Piastri did a 15-1 and then a 15-0.
08:24And he needed to be in the 14s to be anywhere near, really, the front two rows.
08:29But Norris on a 15-0-0-1 secured that.
08:34But George Russell, as he said, back in the groove.
08:39It's almost an invisible groove you can see on the racetrack as a driver.
08:43And sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.
08:46But Russell's changed his approach this weekend.
08:48And so far, it's working well.
08:51But you'd say then it's a fast-starting Ferrari on the front row of the grid with him.
08:54But Mercedes have sorted out their starts, haven't they?
08:58But it's one of the longest runs down to Turn 1 in the calendar.
09:01From pole to Turn 1, it's just over 560 metres.
09:05And a lot can happen in a track like this.
09:08You can easily go three, maybe even four cars wide.
09:12And you look to the second row with Antonelli and Norris just behind.
09:16And steaming in just a few moments ago, George Russell just had to get out of the way of that
09:19Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton.
09:20And pulling up in that P2 spot.
09:23But we thought it was going to be close.
09:25And it certainly was.
09:26But Russell, keeping cool, calm and collected, had it under control.
09:31And taking his 10th career pole position, his first around this circuit.
09:35Previous best had only been fourth.
09:38And has only stood on the podium here twice before.
09:41Back in 2022 and 2023.
09:44Looking to go two steps further on the roster for Sunday.
09:48But that will be a long way to come.
09:5166 laps of running for the Grand Prix.
09:54But first, a bit of time to take stock after a frenetic qualifying session.
09:59Just behind the top four teams.
10:02Winning out that best of the rest.
10:04Liam Lawson down in eighth.
10:06Continuing his very strong start to the season.
10:08Ahead of Nico.
10:12Cool smiles for George Russell.
10:14Just having a quick chat with Lewis Hamilton down there.
10:18Who looks a bit red in the face.
10:20Had to work for that one.
10:21It is hot out there.
10:23Hotter in the cockpit when you're at a standstill.
10:30Smile on the face of George Russell.
10:31We haven't seen that for a while now.
10:33He's been to hell and back, hasn't he?
10:35With bad luck and unreliability.
10:39And just crazy things happening to him.
10:41Well, all the critics will have their say.
10:43But how you bounce back in Formula 1 is often how you get defined in the history books.
10:48And while it's not all gone George Russell's way, it's not all been on him so far this season.
10:54With luck not falling the way of the Brits.
10:56He's done the business today, though.
10:59Pole position ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Antonelli.
11:02Two Mercedes sandwiching a Ferrari.
11:05We can head down and hear from them now.
11:07Speaking with Naomi Schiff.
11:14George, a big congratulations.
11:15It's pole position for you out here in Barcelona.
11:18Momentum hasn't been on your side lately.
11:20But you've come back to the European season and you're coming swinging.
11:23So how does it feel?
11:25It's been a great weekend so far.
11:27I kind of feel like my old self again.
11:28Where sort of every lap I'm doing the job.
11:30Always fighting those top positions.
11:33Obviously the last few races for numerous reasons haven't quite been on our side.
11:37But I came in this weekend with just a clean slate.
11:40Felt good.
11:41And yeah, just great to be on pole.
11:43It's obviously a very different track here.
11:45It's a traditional circuit.
11:46We've also got a step softer on the tyres this year.
11:49Tell us, how was your experience during qualifying there in the car?
11:52Yeah, I think it's going to be an interesting race tomorrow.
11:54You know, Lewis did an amazing job to get up there.
11:57I think that was a real surprise.
11:59We thought the fight was with ourselves and McLaren.
12:02And then, you know, Lewis has been really quick all this session.
12:05So I'm sure there's going to be a fight on our hands.
12:07Obviously, Kimmy's been doing an amazing job.
12:09So tomorrow is not going to be easy from every standpoint.
12:12But I feel I'm ready.
12:14Kimmy, just coming over to you.
12:16Congratulations.
12:16It's P3 here.
12:17This is actually the first time this season you've qualified not on the front row.
12:20So that just goes to show how well your season's gone so far.
12:23But tell us how it was in the car for you out there.
12:26Yeah, it's been a little bit of a difficult weekend so far for me.
12:30Didn't really have the feeling with the car.
12:33But, yeah, Long Run was strong yesterday.
12:36So definitely we can, you know, that's a positive.
12:39But today I've been lacking a little bit.
12:42But looking forward to tomorrow.
12:44It's a long, hard race tomorrow, as I was just saying to George.
12:46But also one of the longest runs to turn one.
12:49So do you think being in third might be of an advantage to tuck up behind the others and get
12:52a bit of a slipstream?
12:53Yeah, I mean, we'll try to get a good start.
12:55And then for sure we'll try to make the best use of the toe also without using, we won't use
13:01any OSM.
13:03So definitely the slipstream is going to be even stronger.
13:06So, yeah, now obviously a lot of work to do in order to be ready for tomorrow.
13:11Fantastic.
13:11Luis, coming over to you, congratulations.
13:13It's P2 for you.
13:14So front row starts, which just goes to continue another great run of form.
13:19So tell us about how this weekend has gone so far for you and how it was out there for
13:22you in the car.
13:22Are you speaking South African to me?
13:24I mean, English with a South African accent, I guess.
13:27I can't hear anything so hard to hear.
13:29I'd love to come over, but I think the cameras are going to have to follow me.
13:33We've got a great crowd here, by the way.
13:34Always. The weather's incredible out here in Barcelona, so gracias.
13:40It feels great to be up here with them.
13:42Honestly, this weekend's been so difficult.
13:45Missing P1 was...
13:47Normally it's okay to miss P1, but it had a huge offset.
13:50So every time we went to P2, I was just over a second off.
13:55And then we just didn't feel quite comfortable and up to it.
13:58And these tyres only last one lap, right?
14:00So you only have two shots at it in each session.
14:03And even if you do a cool-down lap and go again, the car balance is completely off.
14:07So it's not a good reference.
14:08So then I went to P3.
14:10And again, I was easily 4 tenths, 5 tenths off.
14:13And I was thinking, geez, where am I going to get that pace?
14:15And I went and left the track between qualifying and between P3 and qualifying.
14:21Where did you go?
14:22I went back to my motorhome.
14:23Okay.
14:24Came back.
14:24And then P1, I was first.
14:26And so I knew that I had a good balance and good...
14:29I was really comfortable in that first session.
14:32P2 was a little bit harder with traffic and everything.
14:36And then, all right, you know, these guys did a great lap.
14:38And actually, congrats to George.
14:41But we're in a good position to be able to fight for tomorrow.
14:43So we have a race.
14:44Well, even though it hasn't been a very straightforward weekend, as you've just pointed out for you,
14:48you're in the front row.
14:49You're P2.
14:50And this is a track that we often say is sort of shows us exactly what the pecking order is,
14:55a traditional circuit.
14:55And we get a great balance of what the teams have.
14:58Would you say, even though we've seen you up here quite a few times lately,
15:01that this is the true position of where Ferrari is at, ready to take on Mercedes every time?
15:05Well, again, I think all weekend we've been kind of like 4 tenths off these guys.
15:09And so we really, even with the upgrade, we thought that maybe that's where we were.
15:14But for us to be that close, less than a tenth between us,
15:17shows just, it's a real showing of the hard work that everyone at the factory has done
15:21to bring these upgrades to this track.
15:22And so big, big, big thank you to everyone back in Marinello.
15:26And, yeah, we just got to keep pushing, keep pushing, keep developing.
15:31And I'm hoping tomorrow we can squeeze some more out of this
15:33and hopefully keep up with these guys for once.
15:35Okay, well, that's all we have time for.
15:36But thank you so much, gentlemen, well done, and a great race ahead of us tomorrow.
15:45Congratulations then to George Russell, his tenth career pole, his first here.
15:50In fact, he hasn't started inside the top three here ever.
15:54So all smiles for George.
15:55Can he get his season back on track and convert that into a win tomorrow?
15:59It's certainly very open indeed.
16:02And you've got all of this to enjoy on race day tomorrow.
16:12Lewis came over and I got a phone call from Toto two hours later,
16:17which would have been as Lewis left and he said, he's leaving.
16:21So I called my family straight away.
16:23I was like, Lewis is leaving.
16:25And I was like, I can't believe it.
16:28Well, Tim, time flies when you're enjoying yourself.
16:31It's ten years since the 2016 race here with so many stories to talk about.
16:37This was a man in a hurry and ready to win from the day dot.
16:51Wow, I cannot believe that has been a decade since Vax Verstappen's first win.
16:56OK, we're on air at 12.30 tomorrow with a race start of two o'clock.
17:03And then in terms of other sports, well, main event viewers,
17:06you'll be shortly joining the ICC Women's T20 Cricket World Cup matchup
17:10of Australia and South Africa.
17:13England are already off to a winning start with more action from them
17:16in the second test on Wednesday.
17:21And darts, Luke Humphries and Luke Littler are paired up
17:25to take on the reigning champions of Northern Ireland
17:27in the World Cup of darts.
17:29That's at six o'clock.
17:34One of golf's toughest tests, the US Open.
17:37That gets underway on Thursday at 12.30 on Sky Sports Golf.
17:45And a high-stakes crime thriller of a 72-hour hostage crisis.
17:51Dead Man's Wire is available now on Sky Cinema.
17:59Back here in Barcelona, though, it's George Russell
18:02who has put it on pole.
18:04His first ever at this circuit.
18:07And it's Lewis Hamilton who will join him on the front row tomorrow.
18:10All the reactions on the way next.
18:25Welcome back to Barcelona, where George Russell
18:27has put it on pole his third of the season.
18:30This is how he did it.
18:32Good news.
18:58Welcome back.
19:00I'm damned.
19:43That's it. Nice work, mate.
19:45Opposition.
19:49Nice to feel the groove again.
19:55Yes, firmly back in the groove, Jacques.
19:58You said that he could do it here.
20:00You said this was a track that suited him so well.
20:03It's only half the job done, but he's looking good, isn't he?
20:05You could see it on that lap.
20:07He kept his car going, his tires going, even for the last sector,
20:12and that made a big difference with his teammate.
20:14His driving style is a bit cooler, calmer, and it really works out here.
20:17It's so interesting, isn't it?
20:19Every weekend we've seen one of the two hit the ground running
20:22and feel in the groove as he puts it.
20:24And it has been George.
20:26Really, Kimi's kind of been on the back foot since Friday.
20:30I think that makes it tough for the team as well.
20:34Exactly, yes.
20:35We see your two drivers with such a different driving style.
20:39In every track where you have round corners, I have to cool through them.
20:43George is doing better.
20:44Point, break, get out quickly.
20:46Monaco, Montreal, and Kimi's doing better.
20:48So, is that why there's a gap today?
20:51I mean, we're speaking about tiny gaps, but you're right.
20:56I mean, Kimi is late on the brakes, fires the car into the corner,
21:02and George is more smooth.
21:04But I don't think you can, I don't think we should generalize in that way
21:09because both are relatively adaptable.
21:11But as a recurring theme, yeah, Kimi's more brutal with the car
21:17and George is more smooth.
21:21Does that make it, does it make it more difficult in the long run
21:25to develop the car then when you have two driving styles completely different?
21:28I think what George did is that in Miami he wasn't quick,
21:31and Kimi was, like last year.
21:34And then George said, okay, what is he doing on the other side of the garage?
21:37And they tuned the car mechanically and electronically more to what Kimi did.
21:41And that didn't work, didn't work for George.
21:44And after Monaco, he kind of came back and said, I need to reset,
21:48I need to go back what I had at the beginning of the season,
21:50and you see the result.
21:51Now we're hearing that Kimi had a few battery issues in the final sector.
21:54What more can you tell us?
21:56I think he pushed the button maybe a tiny bit too late
22:01and didn't have the full deployment, but it was tiny.
22:05Now I had a lovely chat with George yesterday, or the day before, Thursday,
22:09and he was saying, look, what it might seem to the rest of the world
22:12is that, you know, Kimi's obviously the hot favourite
22:14and everyone's supporting him within the team,
22:16but actually I'm getting just as much support behind the scenes from Toto.
22:21How do you manage two drivers this way?
22:24I mean, you've got a bit of experience.
22:26I, you know, I always, I always try to be super balanced.
22:32Alan Prost once told me at the beginning of my time in Mercedes,
22:36I asked him what went wrong between Senna and you,
22:38and he said that the team was never transparent.
22:40We never knew who is the love child,
22:44and I tried to do the opposite.
22:46Pressure when pressure is necessary,
22:48and also the odd, you know, put your finger out of your backside.
22:55Lovely image.
22:56Lovely image, yeah.
22:58And on the other side, also put my arm,
23:02all of us put our arm around them when they need the support,
23:05and I feel that I'm happy to hear that
23:07because none of them can say we are not giving them equal treatment,
23:11equal support, equal love,
23:14and I think it's down to everyone
23:17to never make them feel that it's not going in that direction.
23:20But do they require a different approach?
23:22You know, everyone responds differently to carrot and stick.
23:25Do you have to handle them differently?
23:28They're different personalities,
23:29and they handle things differently,
23:32and, you know, I'm generally very impressed
23:35because when you look at Kimi,
23:38Sunday night he wins the Monaco Grand Prix,
23:41we go to the gala,
23:42what does he do?
23:43There's no drinking, there's no partying,
23:45next day he's fishing with my nine-year-old all day,
23:48complete relaxation,
23:49he doesn't bother about the girlfriend,
23:51about nightclubs or beach clubs.
23:55So he's not a real Formula 1 driver then?
23:57Well, you know, it's the hunt thing, you know.
23:59No, I think he's the level at the moment,
24:04and it's about marginal gains,
24:07you know, every marginal gains.
24:08And on the other side,
24:10George is in a little bit the same situation.
24:13He has his girlfriend,
24:15and they keep between themselves,
24:17and how can I say,
24:20it's just they're so,
24:21they're pushing each other so much
24:23that there is no giving up of the tiny margins.
24:26You've got to do what works for you, right?
24:27Yeah, I have a tough one.
24:29I think Kimi's closer in age to your son
24:30than he is to you in purpose.
24:32Yeah, it's through 9 to 19,
24:34yeah, it's pretty close here.
24:35Tough question here.
24:36The goal is to be world champion,
24:37obviously, with either driver.
24:39But if you win with Kimi,
24:40you rewrite the history books
24:42with the youngest driver ever.
24:43Does that weigh in the balance a little bit?
24:47Whatever is the outcome,
24:49we're happy with that.
24:50I mean, if Kimi does it,
24:51it's unbelievable.
24:52It hasn't been done before.
24:54If George does it,
24:56it's long deserved,
24:57and Kimi's time is going to come.
24:58So we are totally open to that.
25:00May the best man win,
25:01and we're trying to keep it fair
25:04and open and transparent
25:05and lovely and pressurizing
25:07whatever is needed.
25:08Good luck with that.
25:08Good luck.
25:09Nice, happy family.
25:10It is a 10-year anniversary
25:11from that infamous crash
25:12between two of your drivers in 2016.
25:15What kind of race can we expect tomorrow?
25:17Hopefully not that kind of drama.
25:19Well, yeah,
25:19you know,
25:20when Leclerc went out
25:21on the exit of that corner,
25:22I said,
25:22I know that corner.
25:24That was when they collided.
25:26Now,
25:26they're both starting
25:27on the inside of the track.
25:30That means we're going to see
25:31a slipstream
25:32if they both leave.
25:33So we're having, again,
25:34a situation.
25:36But it's about conditioning them
25:38in the right way tomorrow morning,
25:40making sure that we're collecting the points,
25:42and then it's going to be a tough race.
25:44And a quick word on Lewis
25:45and his qualifying performance today.
25:48Are you secretly still quite proud of him?
25:50Yeah,
25:50my old friend,
25:52you know,
25:53when people doubted
25:53whether I still had the speed,
25:55I've always said
25:56that if he's in the right frame of mind
25:59and the car suits him,
26:02then he's to be reckoned with.
26:04You need to count him in,
26:06and that's what he did today.
26:08If there isn't this tiny mistake at the end,
26:10he's a tenth and a half quicker than us.
26:13Any more tough questions from you, sir?
26:16Yeah,
26:16the fact that you have a Ferrari
26:17in between you
26:18and that gap,
26:20do you think that
26:21in Oslo,
26:22well,
26:22your start seems to be good now,
26:24but could that be an issue
26:25in this race?
26:26Or the way the track is on tires
26:28and tough,
26:29you definitely have the advantage anyway.
26:30Yeah,
26:31I think it's going to play
26:32out in tire degradation,
26:33and we've been quite good
26:34in the long run yesterday,
26:35but it all depends on the start.
26:36You know,
26:37if Lewis is ahead
26:37after the start,
26:38that's going to be a tough one
26:39for everyone.
26:41So I'm really curious
26:42to see how that pans out.
26:43And so are we.
26:44If I can put myself already
26:46after lap one,
26:47and that is the dice I feel like.
26:50I hope you get some sleep tonight.
26:52Thank you very much
26:53for your time today.
26:54Okay,
26:55well,
26:55let's head over to the Skypad.
26:57Karina's there.
26:59Thank you very much,
27:00Natalie.
27:01We heard Toto just talking
27:02about the last sector there
27:04for Lewis Hamilton costing him.
27:05So let's take a look
27:06and see if we can find
27:08where that is.
27:09So on the left
27:09is George Russell.
27:10On the right,
27:11Lewis Hamilton.
27:11The first all-British front row
27:13here in Barcelona,
27:14by the way,
27:15for the 36th time
27:16that we've been here.
27:17Now,
27:17let's take a look.
27:18First at turn one,
27:19slight differences
27:20in the line here.
27:21See,
27:21George gets a bit more
27:22on that inside curb.
27:24Lewis slightly wide there,
27:26and that compromises the line.
27:28It tightens up the line
27:29for turn two
27:29and that has a knock-on effect
27:31for turn three as well.
27:32So as we come out
27:33of this,
27:34we'll use some lines
27:35on the left-hand side
27:36to sneak up
27:37to the 100-meter ball.
27:38And you can see
27:39George is slightly ahead
27:41and that came
27:42from just that slight difference
27:43of the apex
27:45of turn one
27:46having the knock-on effect.
27:47Through turns four
27:48and five,
27:49though,
27:49the Ferrari
27:50has got better grip.
27:51We've heard all season long
27:52other teams talking
27:53about how good
27:54the Ferrari chassis is,
27:55how much downforce
27:56they've got.
27:57Just look
27:57at turn five.
27:59Lewis carries a bit more speed,
28:00slightly wider line,
28:01but the car's front end
28:03rotates
28:04and allows him
28:04to pull some back.
28:06So when we just look here
28:07at that exit curb,
28:09he's now ahead.
28:09So from being slightly behind
28:10in just those two corners,
28:12Hamilton and the Ferrari
28:13are now ahead.
28:14And in fact,
28:15as we get through seven,
28:17he just carries
28:17more speed in,
28:19more speed through the apex
28:20and comes out of it
28:21ahead as well.
28:22So you get to the top
28:24of the hill
28:24at turn nine
28:25and I'll just use
28:26that curb on the exit.
28:28You can see
28:29Lewis is quite a bit
28:31ahead here
28:31of where George Russell
28:33is to that line.
28:34And this is what
28:35Toto was talking about.
28:36In the first two sectors,
28:37it is advantage
28:38Lewis Hamilton,
28:39but it's at turn 10
28:42where it goes wrong
28:43for him.
28:43So just looking at the line,
28:46Lewis has already
28:47deviated away from that.
28:49He's turned in
28:50at a shallower angle
28:51than George Russell.
28:52George has chosen
28:53to go straighter
28:54for longer
28:55and then turn in later.
28:57And that has worked out
28:59well for him
28:59because watch
29:00as Lewis goes in,
29:01it's a bit like
29:02I was showing earlier
29:03as Charles Leclerc turned four.
29:04Turning in earlier
29:05sets you off
29:06on a different trajectory
29:07and he just has to carry
29:09this understeer.
29:11So now he's having to wait.
29:13George has managed
29:14to rotate the car.
29:15Lewis has now
29:16gone out wider.
29:17But going in earlier,
29:18he's gone out wider.
29:19He's on the dirtier part
29:20of the track.
29:21Watch his hands there
29:22and he gets a big snap.
29:24And that has cost him.
29:26So that's A,
29:28cost him time through that.
29:29Corner B,
29:29it's cost him
29:30tyre temperature as well
29:31because he's just been
29:32sliding around a bit more.
29:34But the Ferrari
29:35is still good
29:36in that final,
29:38the long right-hander at 12.
29:39And you can see
29:40just using that red kerb.
29:42He's a smidge ahead.
29:43He's still hanging on
29:44a smidge ahead.
29:46But I want you to listen in
29:47to the throttle.
29:48We'll try and boost the sound
29:49and just listen in
29:51to the throttle.
29:51I'm going to play them
29:52one by one
29:52for the final corner here.
29:54So they're flat through 13
29:55and just listen in.
30:01And I'll go back
30:02and show you George.
30:03So Lewis,
30:04a bigger lift.
30:05That's what we're listening for
30:06is a bigger lift of throttle.
30:08George was absolutely stellar.
30:11Just listen to how
30:17and even an upshift
30:19just on the exit
30:20of the line.
30:21And that was really where
30:22George managed to pull some back.
30:24So the mistake at turn 10
30:26for Lewis
30:27and then George run
30:29through the final corner.
30:30That's all it was.
30:31But 64,000th of a second.
30:33A fantastic lap
30:34from both of those drivers.
30:35Natalie, back to you.
30:38Thank you, Karuna.
30:40It really was.
30:40I mean, Lewis has just got
30:41a spring back in his step,
30:43hasn't he?
30:43It's his first front row start
30:44for Ferrari.
30:46Did it surprise you?
30:49Well, we've seen him
30:50very impressive
30:51early in the season.
30:52It looked like
30:53he was having fun
30:53with his car.
30:54He's having fun
30:55with his engineer
30:56and that means he can get it better.
30:58He can make the car his.
31:00And, you know,
31:01it shows it's all in the head.
31:03When you're feeling good,
31:03when you believe you can,
31:05you end up doing.
31:06And that's working for him.
31:08And we see his teammate
31:09is getting more and more flustered.
31:11He's starting to wonder,
31:13change his brakes
31:13and it's not working out.
31:16Yeah, Lewis on track.
31:18A stark contrast
31:19to his teammate
31:20because Charles Leclerc
31:22had a crash
31:23on the exit of turn four.
31:26And that means that he
31:27he's qualified down in P10
31:29as opposed to Hamilton.
31:32Starting the race from P2
31:33and he has, of course,
31:35had two consecutive P2 finishes.
31:38But let's have a look
31:39at that crash from Charles Leclerc
31:41because it did impact
31:42both McLaren drivers.
31:44We did expect more
31:45from them today.
31:48And we will hopefully
31:50see this now.
31:51Here it is.
31:51So, yeah,
31:52difficult time for Charles.
31:54Is that just about driver error?
31:56Yeah, driver error.
31:57A silly mistake
31:58because once he got sideways,
31:59he was a little bit wider.
32:00He should have backed off.
32:02Okay, that lap is done, abort.
32:04It was never going to come back.
32:07And a forlorn-looking
32:08Charles Leclerc there.
32:09It's disappointing,
32:10particularly after crashing out
32:12with a brake issue
32:14and obviously the deteriorating
32:16tarmac in Monaco.
32:18Well, the internal battle
32:19between the drivers
32:20is super strong at Ferrari.
32:21They really take a strong,
32:23Charles Leclerc strongly to it.
32:25And I have two races now
32:27and Lewis is ahead of him
32:29in the championship,
32:30second in the championship,
32:32here again.
32:32And we can see how
32:33that kind of stress
32:35is affecting Leclerc
32:36and his driving.
32:37Yeah, well, tomorrow
32:37is another day, of course.
32:39Okay, today, though,
32:41certainly does belong
32:42to George Russell
32:43because it is his
32:4410th career pole
32:46and he did it in style.
32:49He'll start at the very front,
32:51sharing the front row
32:52alongside his old teammate,
32:54Lewis Hamilton.
32:54And we'll react more
32:56after the break.
33:05Welcome back to Barcelona
33:07where McLaren
33:08had hoped unexpected
33:09a bit more
33:10from qualifying today.
33:12P4 and P7
33:13for Norris
33:14and Piastri,
33:15respectively.
33:16Let's hear it
33:17from both of their drivers now.
33:20Orlando, P4,
33:21very close to P3.
33:22I mean, some people
33:23were talking about
33:23the McLaren's
33:24fighting football today
33:25but does that represent,
33:26that represents progress,
33:28I think, does it not, today?
33:30Well, I don't know
33:31if it's progress,
33:32it's just we're back
33:33to where we were
33:33pre-Monaco and,
33:35well, it's pre-Monaco.
33:36I think everyone
33:37got pretty downbeat
33:37after Monaco
33:38because it was such
33:39a shocker of a weekend.
33:40We just returned
33:41back to the form
33:42we had in Montreal.
33:45They qualified P3 there,
33:46so, you know.
33:48I think we've taken
33:49steps forward.
33:50We brought some little parts
33:51that seem to have helped
33:53fractionally and,
33:53at the minute,
33:54fractions of a second
33:55can make a difference.
33:56So, I think we're happy
33:57we took a step forward.
33:59We're happy to be
34:00back on track
34:01but it's not like
34:02the car was beautiful
34:03out there, so,
34:04you know,
34:05we take it as a team.
34:06I think it's nice
34:07that we could bounce back
34:08after a disappointing weekend
34:09but we're still
34:10three and a half tenths
34:11off a pole
34:11and that's a big amount,
34:12so, happy
34:14but not happy enough.
34:15Yeah, I think it was
34:16at the last corner
34:17when the red flag
34:17came out on you.
34:19That was annoying
34:19but, listen,
34:20the race looks like
34:21it'll be an attritional one
34:22keeping the tyres
34:23in good shape
34:24is a key thing.
34:25Can the McLaren
34:26do that?
34:27Can you fight
34:27with Joe Moritz
34:28and Lewis ahead
34:30and fight for the win?
34:33No.
34:35Our three and a half tenths
34:36off around this track
34:38you just need grip,
34:39you need a good rear
34:39and this is something
34:40we don't have today,
34:41so, very unlikely.
34:46Oscar, how do you assess
34:48that ultimately?
34:49As a team,
34:49you're pretty close
34:50I suppose to a Mercedes.
34:53Did you leave anything
34:54out there yourself today?
34:55Did you feel?
34:57I was a bit surprised
34:58I lost so much time
34:59in the final sector
35:01to be honest.
35:02I need to look
35:04at where I lost it
35:05because I went
35:06into the final sector
35:09on a good lap
35:10and came out of it
35:10not that much quicker
35:11than my lap before
35:12so that was a bit
35:14of a surprise for me
35:15so, yeah,
35:17I'll have a look
35:18but it's obviously
35:20very, very tight.
35:21We don't have the pace
35:22to match Mercedes
35:23I think even Ferrari
35:24have looked very strong
35:26today and I think
35:26that'll bode well
35:27for them in the race
35:28tomorrow
35:28so, let's see
35:30what we can do.
35:31How attritional
35:32will the Grand Prix be?
35:33We're thinking
35:33minimum two stops
35:35and who can look
35:36after the tyres best
35:37might be able
35:38to have performance
35:39at the end?
35:40Yeah, definitely
35:41tyre life is always
35:43an important thing
35:43around here
35:44and that's not changed
35:45with these cars
35:46so, there'll definitely
35:49be a fair few
35:50pit stops happening
35:51tomorrow I would imagine
35:53and hopefully
35:54we can use that
35:55to get ourselves
35:56a bit further up.
35:59Andrea, talk us
36:00through that
36:00from McLaren's
36:01point of view
36:02if you will.
36:03You've been strong,
36:03car's been strong
36:04all weekend
36:05maybe being quickest
36:08in qualifying
36:08might not get you
36:09the best race result
36:10given the tyre degradation
36:11that we've seen
36:12this weekend
36:12but were you surprised
36:13did you think
36:14maybe you'd be
36:14a bit further up?
36:16Well, so far
36:17definitely
36:18a more competitive
36:19weekend
36:20compared to what
36:21we had in Monaco
36:22first point
36:24in practice
36:25we have shown
36:26decent performance
36:28I would say
36:28but we knew
36:30that Mercedes
36:31they were
36:31sandbagging
36:32a little bit
36:33they don't need
36:33to use their
36:34role
36:36strength
36:37in practice
36:39today
36:40in qualifying
36:40we saw
36:41that we are back
36:41in a situation
36:42where four teams
36:43are very close
36:45there's not much
36:46I think
36:47one tenth of a second
36:47between P3
36:48and P7
36:50we've been a bit
36:51unlucky with Lando
36:52the first lap
36:53in Q3
36:53it was 250 metres
36:56before the flag
36:57when it was
36:58red flag
36:58and that was
36:59a strong lap
36:59and when you know
37:01that you have
37:01a strong lap
37:02on the board
37:02in the second lap
37:04you can push
37:04a little bit more
37:05so I think
37:06there was a possibility
37:07to fight
37:07for P3
37:08if not the first
37:09throw today
37:10but that's what it is
37:12good position
37:13for the race
37:15tomorrow with Lando
37:16and as you said
37:16this track
37:17with the high
37:18tyre degradation
37:19and the multi-stops
37:20definitely
37:21there's not much
37:22influence
37:22of the starting position
37:24it's more about
37:25race pace
37:26and tyre management
37:27which should play
37:29into the McLaren's hands
37:30kind on its tyres
37:31as it is
37:32I think
37:33this was true
37:34until last year
37:36last year
37:37we had invested
37:38hugely in the development
37:39of the car
37:40in this area
37:40I would say
37:41this year
37:42frankly
37:42we are still
37:43learning a little bit
37:44from a tyres
37:45point of view
37:45and we are
37:46still developing
37:47the car
37:48to make sure
37:49that we have
37:49the options
37:50to put the tyres
37:51in the right range
37:52so there may be
37:53some work
37:54still to do
37:55but for what
37:55we have seen
37:56in practice
37:56we are definitely
37:58in the game
37:59to do well tomorrow
38:00and that's what
38:00we want to do
38:01we'll see you tomorrow
38:02thank you very much
38:02Andrea
38:06we just heard
38:06Andrea Stella
38:07talk about that
38:08red flag
38:08let's try
38:09and take a look
38:09at it here
38:10so first off
38:11Oscar Piastri
38:12came around
38:13the last corner
38:14and he was
38:15the first one
38:16up to the line
38:17I'll just highlight it
38:19with a magnifier
38:20and just watch
38:21as he creeps up
38:22it's still green
38:23there
38:24he's still green
38:25he's crossed
38:26the checker flag
38:27there
38:27that's the timing line
38:29that he's just
38:30gone over
38:30at that point
38:32still green
38:33and he's got through
38:34by about two seconds
38:36it's gone red there
38:37he's still in the frame
38:38it's gone red
38:39unfortunately for Lando Norris
38:41it didn't quite work out
38:43because as Andrea Stella said
38:44he came out of the final corner
38:46and as he came
38:48through the penultimate
38:49sorry
38:50he came into the penultimate corner
38:51there
38:51it's gone red
38:52we'll just show you
38:53on the dash
38:54on the steering wheel
38:57at that point
38:57as he gets to the pit entry
39:00I'll scooch along
39:00gone red there
39:01so it was just
39:03as he said
39:03250 yards
39:04just a few seconds
39:05and that meant
39:06that Lando
39:07didn't have that banker
39:08in the can
39:09before they put
39:09the final set of tyres on
39:11so he had to leave
39:11a little bit of margin
39:12because he couldn't afford
39:13to take any risk
39:14and make a mistake
39:15on that last lap
39:16back to you Natalie
39:18thank you very much
39:19okay so
39:21such fine margins
39:22as we've been discussing
39:23all weekend
39:24but you can't re-escape
39:25the truth
39:26that they weren't
39:27as competitive
39:27as they wanted
39:28or expected to be
39:30no but ultimately
39:31if you look from
39:32Mantonelli all the way
39:33to Piastri
39:34it's one tenth of a second
39:35so they're in the fight
39:36it's only
39:37you know
39:38Russell and Hamilton
39:39who really had
39:40incredible laps
39:41and you could then
39:42both laps were on the edge
39:44there wasn't anything
39:45left in the cars
39:45where all the other drivers
39:47had a few mistakes
39:48here and there
39:49and they could all
39:50get that third position
39:51I mean Norris has said
39:53happy just not happy enough
39:54I think that sums it up
39:55pretty well doesn't it
39:56how competitive do you think
39:57they could be in the race tomorrow
39:58and how decent
39:59are they on their tires
40:00well
40:02no one is on
40:03on the Mercedes level
40:05you can see it
40:06they can just drive
40:07nicely and be quick
40:09and at the same time
40:09save their tires
40:11and it seems
40:12Russell has a little bit
40:13of a calmer drive
40:14so that might help him
40:15we've seen Lewis
40:16very aggressive all season
40:17but they struggle a bit
40:19with the tire
40:20by driving like that
40:21of course
40:22it is the rear tire
40:24pretty hard
40:24McLaren hasn't been
40:25too bad though
40:25so they might be alright
40:26okay well someone else
40:28who expected more
40:29from their day
40:29was Charles Leclerc
40:30crashed into the barriers
40:33at turn 4
40:34on the exit of turn 4
40:36this is the second time
40:37he's hit the barriers
40:38in qualifying
40:39for the second consecutive race
40:41of course in Monaco
40:42as well
40:43let's hear from a very
40:44disappointed Ferrari driver
40:48Charles sorry to see you here
40:49this time
40:50hope you're okay
40:51what do you understand
40:53happened at turn 4
40:55yeah I'm okay
40:56thank you
40:56I just feel very much
40:58ashamed to be here
41:01after a crash
41:02like that
41:04what did I do
41:05I released the brakes
41:06earlier
41:07I tried to carry speed
41:08I think on the previous lap
41:09I think we were close
41:10being the fastest car
41:11every corner
41:12apart from turn 4
41:13I knew it was a weakness
41:14I knew I had to make
41:15everything perfect
41:16for that lap
41:18and I tried
41:20but it's
41:22I obviously regret it
41:24and again I feel very
41:25much ashamed
41:26I mean the last
41:27two races
41:28Canada and Monaco
41:30I was in very
41:32in a very tricky configuration
41:34to deal with
41:35and that didn't make it easy
41:38and Monaco ended
41:39the way it ended
41:40and that was
41:40already very difficult
41:42to take and accept
41:43knowing that I could do
41:45little with it
41:47but this weekend
41:48there was none of that
41:49the car was great
41:51the feeling with the car
41:53was amazing
41:55and I didn't deliver
41:57and if anything
41:58it's a lot worse than that
41:59I put it into the wall
42:00so there's no excuses
42:02I just feel ashamed
42:03I obviously
42:05it's part of our job
42:06to be able to
42:07come after a session
42:08and speak in front of the camera
42:10but when these things happen
42:11and especially after
42:12the last few weekends
42:13that have been particularly tough
42:14to find performance in general
42:17I just feel ashamed
42:18the only positive
42:19I can take
42:20is that the feeling
42:20that I have in the car
42:22is back
42:25and for tomorrow
42:26I feel optimistic
42:28that we can have a good race
42:29but I need to show that
42:31and
42:33and yeah
42:33I just need to do
42:34the perfect race
42:35will be the least
42:36to have a bit of a forgiving
42:38about the mistake
42:40about today
42:40but yeah
42:42it's a shame
42:44go well tomorrow
42:45thank you
42:45thank you
42:48well Charles
42:49as self-critical
42:50as ever there
42:51this is his worst qualifying position
42:52of the season
42:54in P10
42:55what did you make
42:56of the crash
42:57Jack?
42:58ah well
42:59he got on it
42:59got a little bit sideways
43:00then he was wide
43:01in the dust
43:02and he stayed on it
43:04at that point
43:05he just didn't want
43:05to give up that lap
43:06but it was a crash
43:08waiting to happen
43:08when you get sideways
43:10a little bit wide
43:10you back off
43:11you know it
43:12and that's why
43:12he's a little
43:13that's why he's
43:13a little bit embarrassed
43:14now
43:14hopefully he can
43:15have a good night's sleep
43:16tonight
43:16and approach tomorrow
43:18with an open mind
43:18well he's always been
43:19extremely self-critical
43:21to the point
43:22oftentimes
43:23too much
43:24but he's very precise
43:25very direct
43:25and he's not hiding from it
43:27yeah but maybe
43:28that's his approach
43:28maybe that actually
43:29helps him process stuff
43:30if he could be public
43:31about it
43:32you know if you
43:32if you admit to an error
43:34and if you understand
43:34an error
43:35then you progress
43:36you learn from it
43:37if you keep
43:37blaming something else
43:39for your mishaps
43:40you'll just keep on
43:41doing them over
43:41and over again
43:42it's true actually
43:43he takes a strong driver
43:44to do just that
43:45okay well his teammate
43:47had a great day
43:50P2 for him today
43:51we can hear from him now
43:52and apparently
43:54pretty surprised
43:54with his own performance
43:57I couldn't believe
43:59once I came around
44:00and asked P1
44:00in Q1
44:03the gap was so big
44:05and I was thinking
44:05all weekend
44:06I'm just
44:07why am I half a second off
44:09and I just
44:10was just a bit down
44:11everywhere
44:12I struggled through 3
44:13struggled through
44:13through turn 9
44:15and having that confidence
44:17in that high speed
44:19but the engineers
44:20did a great job
44:21with the small adjustments
44:23on the setup
44:25for the first time
44:26actually ever
44:27I left the track
44:28between P3
44:29and qualifying
44:30I was like
44:30I've got to get out of here
44:31and I went
44:31back to my motorhome
44:34and I was just
44:35I was on the engineer call
44:36just on my phone
44:38but I kind of went away
44:39and had a bit of a reset
44:40came back
44:41and I was able to somehow
44:43get back on it
44:44so yeah
44:45whatever I did
44:46it worked
44:48so the first time
44:49he's left the track
44:50since P
44:51during P3
44:52and qualifying
44:53well the motorhome
44:54is not that far
44:56that's true
44:57it's just
44:57just a little scooter
44:58ride away
44:59but mentally maybe
45:00but you need to get
45:01in your own bubble
45:02you need to get away
45:02you just need to
45:03okay forget about it all
45:04and then the brain
45:05does its own work
45:06on its own
45:06you're just there
45:07you chill
45:08and like you said
45:09the engineer did a good job
45:10they fixed
45:11there were tiny issues
45:12in corners
45:13and it's a tenth here
45:14half a tenth there
45:15and once the car
45:17starts working
45:17you don't make
45:17these little mistakes
45:18lap time comes
45:19he just does seem
45:21in a good place
45:21he seems to be
45:22making good decisions
45:23as well
45:24and he's got
45:24such a wealth of experience
45:26he knows what works for him
45:27he seems very happy
45:28whenever you see him
45:29walking up and down
45:30the paddock
45:30he's a different Lewis
45:31to last year
45:31there's no doubt
45:32oh definitely
45:33last year you could tell
45:34that he was getting
45:35to the track
45:35thinking okay
45:36this will be
45:37another bad weekend
45:38the car won't work
45:40like I want
45:40my engineer won't
45:41understand me
45:42there were a lot of
45:43issues last year
45:45where he was walking
45:46backwards into the paddock
45:48into his car
45:48that's different
45:49now he's walking
45:49looking strong
45:51you can tell that
45:52his mindset is
45:53I'm here to perform
45:54I'm here to
45:55maybe not win
45:56because the car can
45:57but to get to the front
45:58to beat my teammate
45:58to get good results
45:59and it's working out
46:00well it's great to see
46:01someone else
46:02who's had it working out
46:03for them today
46:04Nico Hülkenberg
46:05because he managed
46:06to get his Audi
46:07into the top ten
46:08he's qualified
46:10ninth for tomorrow's
46:11Grand Prix
46:12his best qualifying
46:13of the season
46:14so far
46:15we'll hear
46:16for the German
46:17after the break
46:18more reactions
46:19to qualifying
46:19from here in Barcelona
46:30welcome back
46:32to Barcelona
46:32where Nico Hülkenberg
46:34has qualified
46:34P9
46:35his best start
46:36of the season
46:37and it ties Audi's
46:38best of 2026
46:41let's hear from
46:41the German driver
46:42now
46:45Nico
46:45hello
46:46great lap
46:46into Q3
46:47how do you review
46:48that session
46:49from your side
46:49I imagine you're
46:50pretty satisfied
46:51with that one
46:51yeah happy
46:52happy and satisfied
46:52I think not much
46:54more on the table
46:55there
46:56so that's good
46:57and positive
46:58Q2
46:59Q1 actually
47:00my first lap
47:01I had a moment
47:02in turn 3
47:02which then
47:03immediately
47:04the tyres are hot
47:04and kind of
47:05has an effect
47:06on the rest
47:07of the lap
47:07so I was
47:08we were not safe
47:09enough with that lap
47:10had to do the second run
47:11and use the second set
47:13which then
47:13leaves you
47:14only with one new set
47:15in Q2
47:16so that was a bit
47:17tricky
47:17a bit hairy
47:18but we stayed cool
47:20and made it stick
47:21so very pleased
47:22about that
47:23that's quality
47:24out of the way
47:24what kind of race car
47:25do you think you've got
47:25underneath you tomorrow
47:26I think a decent one
47:28obviously tomorrow
47:29is the first true
47:31hot race this season
47:33and for sure
47:34time management
47:35degradation
47:36and strategy
47:37will be the main
47:38things tomorrow
47:39thanks Nico
47:40well done
47:42well he was of course
47:43penalised for that
47:44contact with signs
47:45at the end
47:46of the Monaco Grand Prix
47:47so he'll be looking
47:48to get a strong race
47:49in tomorrow
47:49how impressed have you
47:50been with him
47:50and indeed Audi
47:52he's really done
47:53a good job
47:53he's always been good
47:55in qualifying
47:56since his comeback
47:57to F1
47:58and okay
48:00we say it's a new team
48:00but not really
48:01it's the continuation
48:02of Sauber
48:03but you know
48:03new powertrain
48:04new people
48:05working on a team
48:06and he seems
48:07to be very good
48:08at making a team
48:10move forward
48:11and getting better
48:12and better
48:12and he's profiting
48:13from it
48:13yeah he's certainly
48:14a popular driver
48:15isn't he
48:15and that's key
48:16particularly with the
48:17dynamic with
48:18the other side
48:18of the garage
48:19working well
48:19with Bortoletto
48:20well he has a lot
48:21of experience
48:22and he's been
48:23through so many
48:24different kind of teams
48:25and he seems to be
48:26getting better
48:27with experience
48:27that's not the case
48:28for every driver
48:29but he seems to be
48:30one of those drivers
48:30that somehow
48:31keeps learning
48:32keeps getting better
48:32keeps finding new tricks
48:33yeah good stuff
48:35okay let's hear
48:35from the Mercedes
48:36drivers now
48:36shall we
48:37George Russell
48:38on pole
48:38and his teammate
48:39will be starting
48:40P3
48:40Kimi Antonelli
48:43George really really
48:44well done
48:45straight a normal
48:47more normal weekend
48:48and a pole position
48:49for you
48:50but pressure coming
48:51in today
48:51so how satisfied
48:52are you with that
48:53I mean to be honest
48:55more than just
48:56the pole position
48:57I just had a big reset
49:00going into this weekend
49:01and every lap
49:03from the start of FP1
49:04we've been in the top
49:04two positions
49:05and that is what
49:06I was most proud
49:09and happy about
49:09after such a tough run
49:11of results
49:12obviously for various
49:13different reasons
49:14it's a big reset
49:16and you never know
49:18how it's going to
49:19plan out
49:20but I just really
49:21felt my groove again
49:22really felt comfortable
49:23in the car
49:23very similar to
49:24how I felt
49:25at the start of the year
49:26and then to get
49:27the results
49:28yeah just really
49:29grateful for the team
49:30and everyone who's
49:31sort of stood by me
49:33in this
49:33these couple of weeks
49:34yeah so it shows you
49:35you don't need this
49:36big overhaul
49:36or big change
49:37no
49:37keep doing
49:38what you're doing
49:38basically
49:39what's good you
49:40in a good start
49:41you know I've not
49:42looked at a single
49:43piece of data
49:43the whole weekend
49:44you know
49:45I've just driven
49:47the car
49:47and trusted my instincts
49:49and that was a bit
49:50of a risk
49:51because
49:53you know these cars
49:54are so complicated
49:55and you're always
49:56trying to find
49:57that next step
49:58of improvement
49:58but that's what
49:59I've been doing
50:00with my team
50:00for the last few races
50:02Kimi was performing
50:03so well
50:03and I did a bit
50:04of a copy paste
50:04of what was working
50:06for him
50:06and it wasn't
50:07working for me
50:07so I was like
50:08I need to trust
50:09my own gut here
50:10and something was
50:11telling me I needed
50:12to go in my own
50:12direction
50:14and super glad I have
50:15what's key to getting
50:16the job done
50:17on race day
50:18I think the race start
50:19is going to be important
50:20you know Lewis did
50:21an amazing lap today
50:22and really surprised
50:23all of us at his
50:24strong performance
50:25so he's going to be
50:26in the fight
50:27but a clean start
50:29but there's going to be
50:30a lot of opportunities
50:31in the race
50:31so
50:33I just want to
50:33honestly
50:34I just want to
50:34see the checker flag
50:35and get to the end
50:36of the race
50:37very very well done
50:38thank you
50:40Kimi you've had
50:41a great run recently
50:42and a great run of results
50:43George has looked
50:44strong here
50:45have you been kind of
50:46trying to chase performance
50:47just a little bit
50:48this weekend
50:48yeah I think
50:50I haven't felt good
50:51in the car
50:54I haven't been able
50:55to adapt a little bit
50:57the driving style
50:58to the conditions
50:59we had this weekend
51:02because
51:04obviously it's a very
51:06it's a track
51:07that doesn't forgive
51:08especially because
51:09the tires
51:10they struggle to last
51:11oh sorry
51:12they struggle to last
51:13over one lap
51:15and
51:17yeah
51:17I haven't been able
51:18to extract the maximum
51:19out of the tires
51:21over the whole lap
51:22I think
51:23in the last Q3
51:24I had a really strong lap
51:26up until turn 5
51:29and then I just lost
51:31lots of time
51:31from there on
51:33so
51:33I think
51:34yeah that was the thing
51:36I've been overdriving
51:38a little bit
51:38and
51:40just yeah
51:41it was
51:42this is a weekend
51:43where
51:43you kind of need
51:44to drive slow
51:44to go fast
51:45and
51:46haven't done that well
51:47I haven't done that well
51:49so
51:49but I think
51:50the race pace is stronger
51:51it's quite a bit stronger
51:52so
51:53hopefully tomorrow
51:54we'll have
51:56kind of the same
51:56good feeling
51:57and we can progress
51:59good Kimi
51:59George
52:00battle
52:00and it could be
52:01quite a complicated one
52:02with a lot of pitch stops
52:03and so on
52:04yeah it's going to be
52:04a very strategic race
52:05it's going to be important
52:06to
52:07really manage the tires well
52:09and
52:09but still maximizing
52:10the stink length
52:11and
52:12yeah
52:13we'll see
52:13all to play for tomorrow
52:15thank you
52:17let's pick up
52:18on what he said there
52:19go slow to go fast
52:20that sounds like
52:21a contradiction in terms
52:23but
52:23just explain what he meant
52:25it's
52:25yeah
52:26that gets said a lot
52:28it means
52:29don't over push
52:30drive nice and smooth
52:31don't go
52:32above the hundred percent
52:33still always a little bit
52:34below because
52:35as he said
52:36this track doesn't forgive
52:37a little sideways
52:38you overheat the tires
52:39and his driving style
52:41is very aggressive
52:42we've seen it from last year
52:43and on this kind of track
52:44this kind of temperature
52:45stars that are on the edge
52:46his driving style
52:47doesn't work
52:49they're so different
52:50those two drivers
52:51that it's super interesting
52:52and by being so different
52:54they both managed to win
52:55races with that car
52:56that's so true
52:57isn't it
52:57the Russell reset
52:59is real
53:00fascinating to hear
53:01that he hasn't looked
53:02at any data
53:02and he's relied entirely
53:04on instincts
53:04very old fashioned
53:05well I mean
53:06you love to hear it right
53:07oh yeah
53:08that was a nice bit
53:09to hear from him
53:10because
53:11he did
53:12a mistake
53:13that happens a lot
53:14your teammate is quicker
53:15in that one race
53:16and then you just try
53:17to do everything he does
53:18but you can't
53:18you're a different driver
53:20your brain works differently
53:21when you drive naturally
53:22you cannot be thinking
53:23so when you try to drive
53:24like someone else
53:25you won't be quick
53:26anyway
53:27it won't be second nature
53:29and it just doesn't work
53:30and he's shown it
53:31some tracks
53:31your teammate
53:32will simply be quicker than you
53:33year after year after year
53:35that track suits him better
53:36just forget about it
53:37try to maximize that weekend
53:38and I guess
53:39just as you shouldn't overdrive
53:41you shouldn't overthink either
53:42oh yeah
53:43that's the worst
53:43when you start overthink
53:44first of all
53:44you don't sleep
53:45so you're tired
53:46but yeah
53:46when you overthink
53:47when you overthink
53:48you invent problems
53:49that don't exist
53:49or solutions for problems
53:51that don't exist
53:52and you get completely lost
53:53and that's why you need to
53:54like Lewis did
53:55or he did
53:56reset
53:56yeah
53:57well the reset
53:58has also worked
53:59for Lewis Hamilton
53:59let's hear from him again now
54:02Lewis
54:03really well done
54:04I think
54:05I mean
54:05closest to a Grand Prix pole
54:06you've been with Ferrari
54:07only 700
54:09off the Mercedes
54:10I know you
54:11you're a perfectionist
54:12but do you have to count
54:13that a good day at the office
54:14definitely
54:15definitely
54:15I mean
54:17I really surprised myself
54:19I was not expecting
54:19I really wasn't expecting
54:21to be fighting
54:22for the front row
54:23I
54:23I was trying to explain earlier
54:26I've been trying to explain
54:27that
54:28normally when you miss P1
54:30you are a bit on the back foot
54:32but not so bad
54:33you can usually recover
54:35this is the
54:36this has been the hardest
54:37to
54:38like
54:39P1
54:40P2 for example
54:41I was 1.1 seconds off
54:42and then I
54:43I said okay
54:44I'll come back in P3
54:45P3 I'm still half a second off a child
54:477 tenths off
54:50P1
54:50so
54:51I was like
54:52this is not my weekend
54:54but
54:56I stepped away
54:57from the track
54:57in between
55:00P3
55:00qualifying
55:01which I never ever do
55:02I don't think I've ever done that
55:03I was like
55:04I've got to get out of here
55:05I went back to my motorhome
55:06came back
55:07and
55:08just recalibrate myself
55:10and
55:10I felt
55:12Q1
55:13run one
55:13was
55:13the car felt
55:14fantastic
55:15on top of that
55:16it really comes down to
55:17also the team
55:18have been working so hard
55:19I'm so thankful to the guys
55:21who brought
55:22everyone back in the factory
55:23they've worked so hard
55:23to bring these upgrades
55:25but even with that
55:27we're still behind
55:28Mercedes
55:28you know
55:29like
55:29I'm happy that we're close
55:30but they're still so strong
55:32I mean
55:32jeez
55:34even with a good lap
55:35they're still just
55:35so
55:36you know
55:37there's a lot of work to do
55:38to get ahead of these guys
55:39it's going to take a perfect
55:42it's going to take a perfect job
55:43from all of us tomorrow
55:44to be able to fight
55:45these guys for a win
55:46well listen
55:47you're knocking on the door
55:48for that first Ferrari Grand Prix win
55:50it is a long run to turn one
55:52I mean
55:52we know there'll be tire degradation
55:54are those the key ways
55:56to maybe win this
55:57get that first Ferrari Grand Prix win
55:58the tire management tomorrow
55:59is going to be crucial
56:01it always is here
56:01particularly
56:02you know
56:02the track's like 50 degrees
56:03it's crazy
56:05because yesterday
56:06you're just sliding around
56:07the most I've ever felt
56:09here
56:11and degradation
56:12was double
56:13what we anticipated
56:15but I think the car
56:16is in a better place
56:18you know
56:18to utilize the
56:19I hope that tomorrow
56:20means that we have
56:21less deg
56:22and obviously
56:24I'm battling two
56:24Mercedes
56:25which will be harder
56:26on strategy
56:27it is a long way down
56:29to turn one
56:29so I mean
56:30we need a good start tomorrow
56:32of all starts
56:33that's the one
56:34you need to get right
56:35so we can
56:36the car where it needs to be
56:38we wish you
56:38thank you
56:39so the car's in a good place
56:42he's in a great place
56:43sandwiched between
56:44those two Mercedes drivers
56:45just how significant
56:46is that run down
56:47to turn one tomorrow
56:48super important
56:49because he's been very racy
56:50this year
56:50he's been very aggressive
56:51and he knows that
56:53the only way to get them
56:54is to get them
56:54at the start
56:54I cannot wait for it
56:57is this wide open
56:58though given tyre degradation
56:59is such a key component
57:01to racing tomorrow
57:03yes it is
57:04because
57:05it's the first hot race
57:07of the year
57:08they haven't had to play
57:09with tyre deg this year
57:10they didn't matter
57:11they've been pushing
57:12every race
57:12this is the first time
57:13they'll have to back off
57:14a bit
57:14so
57:15you know
57:16I need to remember
57:17what they did last year
57:18so what's your hunch then
57:19who's going to be
57:20the top step of that podium
57:22come on Jack Villeneuve
57:23well I'm still
57:24a big favourite
57:25my favourite right now
57:26is still Russell
57:27because he's really got it
57:28under control
57:29he's driving smoothly
57:30he's not overheating his tyre
57:31so if the start goes well
57:33he has no reason
57:34to then not win that race
57:35OK well he certainly needs it
57:37doesn't he
57:37he needs a big boost
57:38it's been a tough
57:39couple of weeks
57:40for the Mercedes driver
57:41but it is George Russell
57:42who has put it on pole
57:44for the Barcelona
57:45Catalunya Grand Prix
57:47will be on air for that
57:48at 12.30 tomorrow
57:49with a race start of 2 o'clock
57:51but up next
57:51we've got Ted's
57:52quality notebook
57:53plenty for him
57:54to pour over in that
57:55we'll see you tomorrow
57:56hasta mañana
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