- 2 months ago
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00:00This ain't the place for you.
00:01No, they've got a lot less downforce.
00:03So we're lapping about three seconds slower than last year.
00:06But that's because we took a lot of grip out of the cars as well.
00:10They're narrower as well.
00:11And slightly smaller tyres.
00:12So no great surprises there.
00:14What they're not short of around here is any kind of electrical deployment.
00:18It's very easy to fill the battery.
00:21Unlike Sermstead, unlike Spa.
00:23And so we don't have any of that talk to worry about.
00:27What it probably means is there'll be less overtaking as well.
00:30Let's hope that's not the case.
00:32But the logic is absolutely spot on.
00:35P20 for Valtteri Bottas.
00:37Where he started four times already during the course of this season.
00:42And their confirmation of Gabriel Bortoleto getting a lap time deleted four track limits.
00:47So that throws a spanner or three into the plan for Audi.
00:51And it was at turn four where he's gone off the track.
00:55Don't need a replay, really, to sort that one out.
00:59That's a long way off.
01:01In fact, he's gone far enough to not scrape the plank too much as well.
01:06Gabriel Bortoleto on his way back to the pits, exceeding track limits.
01:10As did Pierre Gasly, but that's not going to worry.
01:12Their timings as it stands.
01:14Ted, down to you.
01:17Bortoleto was worried enough to ask his team to inspect the car.
01:21So he just trundled past me in the pit lane.
01:23Couldn't see anything on the edge of the floor.
01:25So it looks like it was the plank in the diffuser that he was worried about.
01:29So they've jacked him up in the Audi garage.
01:31And they are going to have a look at it.
01:32But I think it would have been just a few sort of scrapes.
01:35Some curb rash if that actually exists, Crofty.
01:38And then he'll be out with one run at the end to set a time.
01:43But talking of the times, as Max goes out on the same set of soft tires.
01:49Is he followed by Antonelli?
01:51Yes, he is.
01:53Alonso's right on the cutoff.
01:55An early 1.20, a 1.20.2, a 1.20.5 maybe will see you into Q2.
02:02Alonso, it's tantalizingly close for the two-time world champion.
02:07And if you need a form of money, wondering what a plank is,
02:10it's a piece underneath the car that's not made of wood.
02:12That's made of other materials.
02:14A legality, you're not allowed to wear that away.
02:17But of course, if you straddle a curb, it gets quite badly damaged.
02:21And that's to stop teams running the cars too low, basically,
02:24and do what we used to do in the 80s and 90s.
02:27And just throw a brand new floor on it every day you went out.
02:32Or a repaired one, a botched up one, whatever you had.
02:35And also, to take away a lot of some downforce, basically,
02:41to have a step underneath it.
02:43Otherwise, if we didn't do that over the decades,
02:45I don't think anybody would physically be able to drive these cars now.
02:49They would be so unbelievably fast if they were full ground effect,
02:53full...
02:54All the right suspension and semi-automatic or automatic gearboxes we used to have.
03:00ABS brake.
03:01If you didn't stop all of that,
03:03the cars would be too fast for the circuits
03:06and too fast for the drivers and pointlessly fast, to be honest.
03:10Quite.
03:11Esteban Ocon currently 14th in the timings ahead of Oli Behrman,
03:16who's out-qualified him at the last four consecutive Grand Prix Behrman
03:20in that bottom six,
03:21along with the two Williams of Albon and Sainz,
03:24the two Cadillacs of Bottas and Perez,
03:25and the Audi of Bortoletto,
03:28who needs to get a time on the board.
03:30Max Verstappen's gone out on a set of used tyres,
03:33but we were seeing in the practice sessions,
03:35the tyres were actually, once you've cooled them down,
03:38OK to go for another run and to go faster too.
03:41Seems the way, doesn't it?
03:42And at this stage,
03:44it's always worth quite clearly going out with a bit of extra fuel on board,
03:47even though you're probably throwing away a tenth of a second doing that,
03:51just to give yourself back to security of being able to go again,
03:54as we sure saw with Charles Leclerc.
03:56A couple of tenths outside the best time
03:59through the first sector for Max Verstappen.
04:01The Red Bull has been more impressive in the middle part of this lap,
04:05going through the chicane, six and seven.
04:07It's been named the driving centre corner.
04:09Now they've all got corner names at these,
04:11turn eight, nine, Buda, and then Pest.
04:14I don't know if it is a particularly pesky turn at turn nine.
04:17Turn 11 is Lacey,
04:19and then we get down to Schumacher at turn 12.
04:23Senna and Ferenc Ziss to finish the lap.
04:26Of course, the Hungarian who won the very first Grand Prix,
04:29the French Grand Prix, back in 1906.
04:31I dare say these corner names are going to take some getting used to.
04:35Yeah, the driving centre one is not the one that thrills me.
04:39In the middle, it's a great little chicane, actually.
04:41I'm sure they could have come up with a better name than that.
04:44You're absolutely right.
04:45Second fastest for Max Verstappen, doesn't improve on his best time so far.
04:50Antonelli's not improving.
04:51George Russell is, though, currently down in seventh at the moment.
04:55Antonelli to the line.
04:57Second fastest, actually, that is his best time of the session.
05:01But he's still about three-tenths off Lando Norris.
05:04Right, George Russell, another go on these tyres.
05:07Goes from seventh up to sixth.
05:09Not surprised.
05:10He was wrestling it, wasn't he, all the way through the final corner there for George.
05:15Here comes Carlos Sainz to try and get out of the bottom six.
05:18Does only just, though.
05:20The right side of the line for the time being.
05:23Here's his teammate Alex Albon to try and send him back down into that bottom six,
05:26and he hasn't.
05:27Alex Albon could find himself out here.
05:30He missed Q2 by seven thousandths of a second in Spa as Leclerc goes eighth fastest.
05:36He's been out qualified by Sainz in the last four races, Alex Albon.
05:39Not looking good for him here as Bortoleto puts Sainz back in the bottom six with his time-lap.
05:45And if that counts, will it be good enough for P9?
05:47Ocon moves ahead a little bit.
05:50Oli Behrmann goes up to P14.
05:52The projected cutoff time of 1.20.1.
05:55What can the rest do now?
05:57Alex, sorry, Arvid Lindblad stays 11th fastest.
06:01It'll be Kolopinto and Lawson to cross the line next.
06:05Kolopinto's on an out lap.
06:06Here comes Liam Lawson, and he stays 10th fastest.
06:10You've got Perez and Bottas, Stroll, Albon and Sainz in that bottom six.
06:14As Hülkenberg goes sixth fastest.
06:17Nice lap from Nico Hülkenberg to get into the top six.
06:21Right, Valtteri Bottas, what have you got for us?
06:23Once upon a time, you're guaranteed Q3 here.
06:26And you're down in 21st at the moment.
06:28It looks like Aston Martin have an upgrade that is better for them now than the Cadillacs.
06:33Perez, slowest of all the qualifiers.
06:36Alonso goes P14, pushes Gasly into that bottom six.
06:41Gasly and Kolopinto both on a flying lap, though.
06:44They've just gone through the first sector stroll pit.
06:47He's out.
06:48So it's Gasly and Kolopinto against Behrman and Alonso here to see what happens to sort this qualifying out.
06:56And there's a lot of people, I'm sure, with all due respect to Alpine,
06:59are probably keeping the fingers crossed that Fernando Alonso can make it into Q2.
07:05Yeah, so it's the, you're absolutely right, it's the two Alpines now that can do some damage back there.
07:11They're both on personal best first and second sectors.
07:15Red lights are on, that's the end of the session.
07:18Gasly does indeed go 13.
07:20And that's pushed Oli Behrman right onto the cusp.
07:23I think Alonso is going to be safe here.
07:25So, Franco Kolopinto pushes Oli Behrman down into that bottom six.
07:30No one is on a lap behind Pierre Gasly.
07:35Fernando Alonso qualifies for Q2 for the first time this season.
07:40Oh, all right.
07:42Good job.
07:42Maybe a bit more to come the next set.
07:45Let's go.
07:46Yep, let's go.
07:47It's painful to say it, but that's quite a milestone for Aston Martin this year, isn't it?
07:53So, clearly.
07:55But the really good news is there.
07:57They're clearly beginning to really understand that car.
08:00If you can make upgrades like that and just suddenly leap forward,
08:04they're past, he's out-qualified there.
08:08A Haas, two Williams and two Cadillac.
08:12So, that's a decent step forward for Aston Martin.
08:15Now they need the power unit to do the same thing.
08:17That comes, that upgrade in Zanvoort.
08:20So, Sergio Perez.
08:25That's terrible.
08:26But why, why, why is the balance changing so much?
08:31Alex, it was a good lap considering the car is all over.
08:34That's not the place.
08:35That's on us.
08:36Not the first time we've heard James Vow say that during the course of qualifying this season.
08:42Sadly, for Williams, two cars out for Cadillac.
08:45Two cars out.
08:46Lance Stroll misses out too.
08:48And Ollie Behrman for Haas.
08:51It was a good lap considering the conditions.
08:54So, sort of how our car had in it.
08:55Let's see what we can do overnight.
08:57Yeah, yeah.
08:59Just keep working.
09:01There's a race to come and Carlos Sainz from 15th on the grid finished third here back in 2021.
09:08He's got a big job to do tomorrow.
09:10By a tenth of a second, Ollie Behrman is out.
09:12As Aston Martin make it through with Alonso.
09:22Well, disappointing scenes for Williams.
09:25Real struggle for them in Q1 just now.
09:27Let's start off with Carlos Sainz on his way up towards turn four.
09:30I'm just going to slow it down for you.
09:31You can get to see what's going on with the balance of the car.
09:33Just at the midpoint.
09:35I'll just roll that back for you.
09:36The midpoint of the corner.
09:37He just sit his hands on the steering wheel.
09:39Just completely neutral with a little bit of oversteer kicking in there.
09:43And what looked to be the correct entry speed ends up running him straight off of circuit.
09:48And that was his first attempt at tackling that corner.
09:51And things didn't get much better after that point.
09:54Then we can go to his teammate, Alex Albon, who we've just heard from on the radio.
09:59And saying, what is going on with the balance of this car?
10:01From what I can see, you've got a bit of mid-corner understeer creeping in at turn one.
10:05And then, because of that handful of lock, the rear then snaps away from him on the exit momentarily.
10:11Then he comes down towards turn two.
10:12And the same thing happens.
10:14Look at the amount of understeer.
10:15He just cannot get the car in.
10:16And then when he wants to get on power, the rear isn't there for him at all.
10:20Turns into turn three.
10:21And the thing's just jumping around.
10:23And the rear flicks around on him as well.
10:25So a real tough job for both Williams drivers there.
10:28Pretty much confirmed by team principal James Vowles as well.
10:33But everyone's finding it tough.
10:35I mean, even Oscar Piastri on board the McLaren, who's right up there with the fast guys.
10:40Look at this for car correction.
10:42And what the balance is like for these drivers through turn 14.
10:46And it's not just that corner.
10:48Many others on the circuit as well.
10:50Posing a real challenge for them.
10:52Up to you, Kofi.
10:52Let's hear about that challenge from the Racing Bulls pit wall.
10:55Alan Permain is down there.
10:56What are the drivers saying, Alan?
10:58Because it does look a bit of a struggle today.
11:01Yeah, not too bad, Kofi.
11:03Both pretty happy with things in Q1.
11:06We only use one new set.
11:08So we're in good shape for the next couple of sessions.
11:14Alan, I know it's both your drivers' laps were very close together to each other and to their own individual
11:20laps.
11:20And it looks like they're kind of getting towards the limit there somewhere.
11:24Yeah, I think the second set will give us a bit more.
11:27We saw the Audis found six or so tenths on that second set.
11:33Yeah, the Audi is the big challenger, I think, for those ninth and tenth spots that you've kind of made
11:39your own in the last few races.
11:41Yeah, they're ours, Kofi, not Audi's.
11:46This weekend for you is the objective.
11:48Look, just be Alpine and we'll go into the summer break happy because they're our closest rivals.
11:54I think we're just trying to do the best we can with what we have here.
11:58So that means putting it ninth and tenth and finishing ninth and tenth and seeing what happens in front.
12:06Love it.
12:07Thanks, Al.
12:07Hopefully we'll talk to you ahead of Q3.
12:09Let's see if you've got cars in Q3.
12:12But the object now is to find that top ten time so you can go for pole in a little
12:18while.
12:19And Aston Martin, well, they're in it.
12:21Fernando Alonso did get through to the second part of sprint qualifying in Canada.
12:26He didn't take part in it because he crashed his car by that stage.
12:29And, yeah, there's a rare treat for the Aston Martin pit wall.
12:34They've actually got a vested interest in the Q2 session.
12:38First time this year.
12:38Yeah, good news.
12:40And so Alonso is showing on a used set of tyres out there, I believe.
12:46But the key thing is that Leclerc managed to get through on the same set of used tyres.
12:51He ran again.
12:51So he didn't have to lose a set of tyres on the medium tyres, absolutely.
12:57But Ted has further news.
12:59Thank you, Martin.
13:00Yes, I counted three separate runs from Alonso.
13:03So that would mean that he's used all three sets of his new tyres.
13:07Croft, have you got the same information up there?
13:10Fernando Alonso did do three separate runs.
13:12And they were all new as they passed me.
13:14So he's out of fresh tyres, isn't he?
13:16That's it.
13:17So he better hope that there's another lap left in the...
13:20Well, that's interesting with that radio message then.
13:22He knew that.
13:23And yet he still said the radio message that I think there's more in the car.
13:27And by extension, more in the tyre, even though it's done a run.
13:31So, yeah, optimism down here.
13:34Let's pick one on Cadillac.
13:36Valtteri Bottas getting the better of Sergio Perez.
13:38Haven't said that too many times in qualifying this year.
13:40But that'll please the Finnish crowd that always gathers here at the Hungaros.
13:46Yes.
13:47In the days of Kimi Raikkonen,
13:48you couldn't move for happy Finns around the back of the grandstand.
13:536-5 to Sergio Perez in the head-to-head battle at Cadillac.
13:58Closest one this season so far at Audi.
14:01Nico Hülkenberg, Gabriel Bortoletto.
14:03The qualifying head-to-head is 5 apiece, which makes it 17 apiece in the races that they've had as
14:10teammates.
14:11So, Fernando's showing fastest of everybody in the first sector.
14:14That's because he's the only one that's done a first sector so far because it gets reset per qualifying segment.
14:20So, he did a 120.1 on his first efforts in Q1.
14:28Let's see what...
14:31And he's cruising at the moment.
14:33Is he...
14:34He looked a bit steady down the hill, but he's pushing on it.
14:37Oh, that's pushing very, very wide indeed.
14:41Who turned 13.
14:44And he likes that tight inside line there of 14.
14:48See what this comes up as.
14:50So, he's about a half a second slower than he was in Q1.
14:54So, not too bad.
14:57George Lucas, I think, there at the back of the Ferrari garage.
15:02Watching Lewis Hamilton.
15:04I hope the force is strong with that one for the rest of this qualifying session.
15:10I don't know if you quote the Star Wars this afternoon.
15:14Max Verstappen out there.
15:17I would imagine on a new set of soft tyres.
15:21But just looking at the state of them, maybe not to be fair, Martin.
15:25You've got the app open in front of you.
15:29Indeed.
15:30It hasn't always been super, super accurate.
15:33But a 27.6 first sector is a handy lap time.
15:38A handy sector time.
15:39Here comes a little short straight into that driving centre chicane.
15:44And Max really carrying...
15:47You need a lot of single wheel movement to get through sectors like that.
15:52So, that as you...
15:54That you're...
15:54Whichever side you're going through, that inside wheel just lifts up nice.
15:59It doesn't make the whole car jump and bounce.
16:01Otherwise, you start bouncing on your tyres.
16:04Max had a little bit of instability in the middle of 12.
16:07Looking at the long shot there.
16:09And picks the throttle up nice and cleanly as he heads now into the final turn.
16:16Comes up pretty quickly and not wrestling it through there as much as some.
16:20Certainly not.
16:21Crosses the line, Max Verstappen.
16:22With the fastest time, 1.18.2 improves by four tenths of a second.
16:26From his best time in Q2, for a man who took his maiden pole in Formula 1 here in 2019.
16:31At the time, was the 100th different pole sitter in Formula 1.
16:36At Lando Norris, subsequently becoming a pole sitter too.
16:41Has gone quicker than Max through the first sector.
16:44And Isaac Hadjar has that sinking, spinning feeling down at turn 11.
16:49Getting drawn into the gravel.
16:51Spinning around 180 degrees, ruining his lap.
16:55And necessitating a trip back to the pits there.
16:59Yeah, that went wrong on the way into the corner.
17:02Picked up understair.
17:03Probably just carried a bit too much speed in.
17:05And then hung on to the brake pedal a little bit too long.
17:09And the front tyres just wouldn't live with it.
17:12I think the good news for Charles Leclerc and for Lando Norris, who's on a used set of tyres,
17:17is that the yellow flag had stopped waving by the time they got down to that corner.
17:21Leclerc goes second fastest.
17:23Norris crosses the line now.
17:25Three tenths of Max Verstappen.
17:27But as I say, that's a used set that he's using.
17:32Only one set used during Q1 as well.
17:36So they're saving tyres for the top ten shootout.
17:40They think they'll be in there no problem.
17:42Arvid Lindblad goes third fastest.
17:45And Alan Perman saying they were saving tyres during Q1 for him too.
17:49George Russell got caught up in those double-waved yellows that were flying when Isaac Hadjar went off the track
17:57as Auckland goes eighth fastest.
17:58So I think George Russell's first flying lap here compromised by those yellow flags.
18:06Eight fastest for Gasly.
18:08Antonelli, seven hundredths of a second clear of Max Verstappen.
18:12So he didn't get compromised by the yellows.
18:15George Russell did.
18:16And that's just bad luck being in the wrong place at the wrong time for George.
18:19Yeah, to confirm, that's an early Verstappen.
18:21New tyres.
18:22Lando Norris, not.
18:24Lindblad was.
18:25Leclerc was.
18:26And Piazza.
18:28Both McLarens on used tyres in those front runners.
18:34On board with Lewis Hamilton.
18:35Soft tyres on.
18:36Not the mediums from Q1 that served him so well.
18:41Goes quickest.
18:42Wow.
18:42Into the 1.17s for Lewis Hamilton by a couple of tenths of a second.
18:48And whilst he goes fastest, I said that the yellow flags stopped waving when Charles Leclerc got down to turn
18:5612 where Isaac Hadjar went off the track.
18:59I've got no grip on him.
19:01Like, I don't know.
19:03We're doing something wrong with tyres.
19:05I have zero grip.
19:07I don't think he's alone in that, Kimi Antonelli.
19:10But I can see what he feels.
19:12Because just riding on board with him, you can see that he really is wrestling and fighting away.
19:18This is the Isaac Hadjar moment down at turn 12.
19:23So he understared front slid into the gravel.
19:27And then, of course, the back has no grip.
19:28When it gets there, gave it a little bit of throttle, which is probably...
19:31OK, but come on.
19:33Someone's always the same.
19:35Is he talking about traffic?
19:37Yeah, I don't think it was traffic, though, was it?
19:39And you can see George Russell just in the back of the picture there.
19:43Charles Leclerc has been noted for a yellow flag infringement.
19:48And whether that's the stewards wanting to just have a little look there to see if he did lift off
19:53or not when he went through that zone, if the yellow flags were out.
20:25Yeah, it's double yellow.
20:27Double yellow should Charles Leclerc's lap time have been deleted, I wonder, the 1.18.9.
20:33We'll let that sort itself out, but just have that in the back of your mind as Lewis Hamilton comes
20:39back into the pits.
20:41Hamilton knocked out of Q2 in Hungary last year.
20:45Yeah, it's a pretty tricky lap.
20:47Yeah, there's plenty more time in there.
20:48It's a pretty tricky lap for him there.
20:50Only reached Q3 by, what, a hundredth of a second here in 2024, but looking in better shape, it has
20:56to be said, at this time around.
20:59No further investigation.
21:01Charles Leclerc for a yellow flag infringement.
21:03Phew, we can get on with qualifying with no penalties for anyone.
21:07Ted, sorry.
21:08Ted, down to you.
21:10So far, Crofty, of course.
21:12A couple of things from down here.
21:13Gabriel Bortoleto did an out lap and then came straight back into the pits.
21:17So I think that was on a used set.
21:20Isaac Hajar has put a new set of softs and has gone straight back out to make amends and get
21:24a time on the board.
21:26And not for the first time, Fernando Alonso has outfoxed yours truly down here in the pits.
21:31Because he did have another set of new tyres.
21:33They were down the back of the couch.
21:35So he's on them now.
21:37Right.
21:37He found them.
21:38He found them.
21:39He found another set.
21:40Yeah.
21:42He had a bit in spare.
21:44So let's see what these tyres can do for him.
21:48So far, yeah, not on a pace to trouble the top ten, it has to be said.
21:52I think if he can get to 12th or 13th, that would be a very fine job in this qualifying
22:01session.
22:03And when that upgraded engine for Honda comes through in Zanvoort, then they'll think more about the fringes of the
22:10top ten.
22:10But that, to get Alonso into the top ten, that is a sensational lap from him.
22:44And 1.19.8.
22:51Yeah.
22:52And thereby is going in there, and we know that is still partly a tailwind component in there for the
23:03drivers.
23:03So Hajar, so far, so good on this lap.
23:08Yep, he's halfway through it.
23:10But it's the corner that caught him out before is the tricky one to come.
23:15And he's heading that way now, plunging downhill.
23:18Very good middle sector for Isaac Hajar.
23:21Nice entry into that corner.
23:23Stays on the kerb this time.
23:25No gravel involved.
23:26This is looking good for Isaac Hajar.
23:28Might just start to trouble the top three if he carries on at this rate.
23:3227.8 was his middle sector.
23:34Has he got enough grip in those tyres?
23:38Looked very neat as well.
23:39Through the final corner, does go quickest.
23:41By about 6.100 of a second from Lewis Hamilton.
23:44Gotta say, as that lap went on, it just looked better and better from the young Frenchman.
23:49Absolutely did.
23:50He's had to use another set of tyres, of course, which will compromise him in Q3.
23:56But nonetheless, that's a cracking lap time from Isaac Hajar.
24:00Max Stappen has not gone faster than his personal bear's car trying to get away from him in turn 5.
24:06Traffic gets nicely out of the way.
24:09I love this drone shot.
24:10And we pick up the red bull and we don't hit the bridge.
24:16Right.
24:16Kimi Antonelli, 1.18.1, gets in third fastest.
24:20That lap is going to be deleted for Kimi Antonelli.
24:24So, a slightly worrying time for him, as you can see there.
24:28Plunges down into that bottom six.
24:30Hasn't got a time on the board.
24:32He is out on the track at the moment.
24:34And has got the pressure here of having one lap and one lap only to get himself into the top
24:41ten.
24:41The championship leader who qualified 15th last year.
24:45And that's where he finds himself currently in this qualifying session.
24:49Mestappen stays third fastest.
24:51George Russell's improved in the middle sector.
24:53Piastri flying in the first sector.
24:56Bortoleto improving too, as he needs to get the time on the board.
24:59They're all out there, bar Fernando Alonso, whose job is done for the time being in this session.
25:08George Russell, fourth fastest.
25:10We need this lap, Kimi.
25:12Save Mercedes.
25:14Looking now to Oscar Piastri, who's currently eighth fastest.
25:17Goes behind Isaac Hadjar, ahead of Lewis Hamilton, who's doing a great job of saving tyres and getting the times
25:22in here.
25:23Looks like they might have saved a set for the race to come.
25:25Bortoleto goes ninth fastest, pushes Fernando Alonso out of this qualifying session.
25:31P11 currently.
25:32Hülkenberg next to cross the line, goes seventh fastest.
25:35That pushes Liam Lawson out of the top ten.
25:38Lawson crosses the line.
25:39He then goes back into the top ten again.
25:42And Charles Leclerc finds himself right on the cusp at the moment, on a flying lap.
25:47Norris, 1.17.4.
25:49Great lap from him.
25:51Four tenths clear of Isaac Hadjar.
25:53Antonelli does get that lap in, goes sixth fastest.
25:56Pushes Leclerc into the bottom six.
25:59Lindblad now goes into the top six.
26:02Leclerc and Bortoleto are now finding themselves outside of the top ten.
26:07Ocon can't make it into the top ten.
26:09Only Leclerc can.
26:10Leclerc then is on two personal bests.
26:13That's looking okay.
26:14Antonelli did not use a further set of new tyres.
26:17He'll be hoping to sneak through on the original set.
26:20Gasly just misses out.
26:2211th fastest for him.
26:23Colopinto misses out too.
26:25Here comes Charles Leclerc.
26:27Whole position for him last year.
26:29And right at the end of Q2.
26:30He forces his way back into the top ten at the expense of Liam Lawson.
26:36Hamilton is safe.
26:37No issues for him whatsoever.
26:39But Charles Leclerc left it very, very late.
26:42Kimi Antonelli left it late.
26:44They made it through in the end.
26:46Yeah.
26:46Unfortunately for Fernando Alonso.
26:48He went too early, didn't he?
26:49Peaked too early there.
26:50Because the track, as we talked about before he got going, ramps up.
26:55You know, they put the Formula One rubber down.
26:56Clean up the dust.
26:57Oh, man.
26:58Such a bad luck.
27:00It's so hard to drive.
27:03Sadly for Liam Lawson.
27:05Hard to drive.
27:06Couldn't make it through.
27:07And it's 6-5 to him in that head-to-head battle now with Racing Bulls.
27:12Because Arvid Lindblad has made it into the top ten.
27:14That's four in a row now for him in terms of Q3 appearances.
27:20Lawson misses out though.
27:21Pierre Gasly misses out.
27:23Alpine haven't been in Q3 here since 2022.
27:26Colopinto, his teammate, down in P13.
27:29Gabriel Bortoleto, 14th on the grid.
27:34Esteban Ocon, 15th.
27:37Fernando Alonso, 16th for Aston Martin.
27:42Lando Norris with the fastest time of a 1.17.4.
27:47He's been pacey.
27:50Can they catch him for pole?
27:59Welcome back to Budapest.
28:00Qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix.
28:14Where Arvid Lindblad finds himself in the final part of qualifying.
28:19Anthony Davidson down at the Skypad.
28:21What are you monitoring after that Q2 session?
28:24Well, that was a frantic one, wasn't it?
28:26Really enjoyed that.
28:26But pretty much all started here, all the action with Isaac Hadjar in Turn 12.
28:30Getting a bit of understeer first of all.
28:32Getting in the gravel.
28:33Then looping it around.
28:35And a few drivers were affected by that.
28:37Not just Isaac himself.
28:39There goes George Russell.
28:41And we've got his onboard here that we can go to.
28:43He was on a hot lap on the brand new soft tyre.
28:46And you can see the dust on the right-hand side of your screen.
28:48He sees that yellow flag.
28:50Car going off into the grass.
28:51And has to back out and abort his lap.
28:54But then there was intrigue around this guy here.
28:57Charles Leclerc.
28:58Now, listen.
28:59I'm not going to speak over it.
29:00Just listen to him lifting off.
29:02Because he gets a single yellow light panel on the exit of Turn 11.
29:06Here we go.
29:07And listen to his throttle lift off plus a downshift.
29:15So it's subtle.
29:16And you've got to be aware.
29:18But he is aware of the situation.
29:20Single yellow flag is waved there by the marshal on the left-hand side.
29:24He knows when you're on a hot lap, you just need to lift off.
29:28It's very brief.
29:28And let's be honest.
29:29It doesn't really do much to your lap time.
29:31But lifting off seems to suffice these days with the stewards.
29:35And he gets away with that one.
29:36That's why he was momentarily under investigation.
29:39But was allowed off the hook.
29:42And then, finally, this one here with Kimi Antonelli.
29:44Turn six and seven.
29:46So six is this corner here.
29:47Seven is the next one.
29:48I'll play at full speed first of all.
29:50We'll see if you can see any track limits.
29:54So it's the apex of the corner.
29:56I'll just rewind it for you and show you how tight this is.
29:59I just have to go frame by frame here.
30:01Because it's the inside white line where, yeah, it's probably, where are we?
30:08Yeah, probably there, give or take.
30:10But how close is that?
30:12So they have got a real eagle eye on this one.
30:15More than what I can spot from this onboard anyway.
30:18So I know the stewards have got different angles.
30:20But that's what he was pinged for.
30:22That's why he had to have that last ditch effort at the end of qualifying two there.
30:26Back to you, Crofty.
30:26Thanks ever so much indeed, Ant, from the Skypad to the Racing Bulls pit wall.
30:31Alan Permain, you've got a man in the top ten.
30:34It's Arvid Lindblad who's come up trumps in qualifying again.
30:38What's he doing that Liam isn't quite finding in this session?
30:44Oh, you might be on mute there, Alan.
30:46It's like a Zoom call gone wrong.
30:47We can't quite hear you.
30:49Let's try again.
30:49How about now?
30:50That's brilliant.
30:53Yeah, not obvious, Crofty, what really was just going on.
30:58Liam's just struggling in that first sector, too much understeer.
31:02And where he's been really strong in the last sector, he wasn't able to put that together in Q2.
31:09We're hearing a lot of drivers talking about there's no grip on that run.
31:14Obviously, we've got a lot of wind swirling around this track as well.
31:17What is confusing them out there?
31:19Because some are fine and others just can't make it stick.
31:24I think it's difficult to know, Martin, at the moment.
31:26We need to get back and have a really good look at things.
31:29Arvid's clearly very, very happy with the car.
31:31And as I say, Liam, too much understeer first sector, too much oversteer last sector.
31:37Alan, thanks ever so much.
31:39Go well in the final parts of qualifying.
31:42Pole position then in 2026.
31:44It's 6-4 at Mercedes.
31:47Kimi Antonelli with six poles.
31:49George Russell with four.
31:51It's not a given that Mercedes are going to be on pole here today.
31:55Lando Norris is starting to look like a very, very keen contender.
31:59Yeah, Lewis didn't put another set of tyres on, unlike Charles Leclerc.
32:03But so it kind of looks like Lewis versus Lando, doesn't it, for pole?
32:08But then I think when it all settles down, Charles Leclerc can be in there as well.
32:14Oscar Piastri, too.
32:15I think the Red Bulls have got some pace, if they can just nail it.
32:19The car looks a little bit tail-happy at the end of the lap, the two Red Bulls.
32:23So it was quite difficult to read, actually, those two seconds.
32:27It's all over the place.
32:28A little bit like the wind direction and speed.
32:30Absolutely all over the place.
32:32Maybe that's significant, but my gut feeling is it looks like Norris v. Hamilton for pole.
32:39But let's see who can make that incorrect.
32:42Now, officially, the track temperature is about 43 degrees.
32:45It's still pretty sweltering here at the Hungaro ring.
32:47I think that centre might be in the shade a little bit.
32:51And the shade is starting to come over the main straight as well.
32:55The pit lane's still bright sunshine.
32:57But the sun behind the grandstand.
33:00Martin and I sat in the commentary box, looking down on the pit lane.
33:03Everyone looks hot, look tired.
33:06Keeping us cool in the middle of it all is Ted Kravitz.
33:09Well, you say that, David Croft, but there is a high cirrus cloud
33:13that has just obscured the big ball of fire in the sky from us here in the pit lane.
33:20Actually, as I say that, just talking about a qualifying cloud,
33:24it's being blown away by the wind.
33:26You see that happens?
33:27It does happen.
33:28So now the sun comes out again.
33:30But the sun shall shine on Niko Hulkenberg.
33:33Not for him, the hell of the 11th place that's really sort of tantalised him.
33:37How many times has he been 11th in qualifying this season?
33:40Too many.
33:41Quite a few and too many, yes.
33:42Gabriel brought a letter, Aldi, saying, my bad, it was my problem, not a good qualifying from me.
33:48But Niko Hulkenberg, I remind you, still without any points in 2026.
33:53Surely he'll end up 9th or 10th in qualifying, and then surely that'll be his debut points
33:58by the time we talk again Sunday afternoon.
34:01Here's hoping.
34:03Wow.
34:03The longest Niko Hulkenberg has ever been in a season without scoring a point.
34:09Green light is on, and we are go for Q3.
34:14And first and foremost, well done to Ferrari.
34:18Well done to McLaren.
34:20Saving tyres for the race tomorrow, but they should all have, the top runners and riders
34:24should have two new, brand new sets of soft boots for this one.
34:28Yeah, McLaren, Ferrari played a smart hand, I think, didn't they?
34:31Getting through Q1 on the mediums, because it's, despite McLaren having thrown on the set
34:37on, of the soft tyres, but it worked a treat for them.
34:41And now we'll see who's got the pace when everything should be perfect.
34:46And it's a track where you've got to give a little bit in the opening place, certainly
34:51in the middle part of the lap, to have payback at the end of the lap.
34:55It's quite a hard judgment call, that one.
34:57And then the back to George Russell's maiden pole in Formula One, came here in 2022.
35:03I don't think he wasn't actually fastest in any single sector on the lap, but there was
35:08enough consistency over it to get that pole.
35:10Yeah.
35:11Rear wing that wide open then, and that'll close.
35:15Aerodynamics will reattach pretty quickly, and you take a nice sweeping, smooth line in.
35:23The key thing is to pick, when you've got over 1,000 horsepower on your rifle, the key
35:27thing is to pick the throttle up ASAP without spinning the rear tyres up.
35:32If you flash the surface up and spin the rear tyres, the compound changes properties, and sometimes
35:39you just can never get it back again.
35:4227.5 is a solid first sector.
35:46It is.
35:46It's been matched by Oscar Piastri in a couple of thousandths of a second, a few thousandth
35:52of a second faster.
35:53Oscar Piastri than Max Verstappen.
35:55The drone tries to keep up with the Red Bull, and eventually can't, as Max has got a bit
35:59more power available to him through this middle part of the lap.
36:03Lando Norris a tenth up on both Piastri and Verstappen through the first part of the lap.
36:07It's a 27.6 for Verstappen in the middle part of the lap.
36:11He's making his way now to the penultimate corner as Oscar Piastri goes faster than Max Verstappen
36:17in the middle part of this lap.
36:19Advantage McLaren over Red Bull in that battle.
36:22Lando Norris gets to the end of the second sector, and he's ahead of both of them through
36:27those first two sectors.
36:28Verstappen to the line, 1.177, he improves by half a second on his best time in Q2.
36:35Can Oscar Piastri, front row here the last two years, go quicker?
36:38Yes, he can.
36:39By four one-hundredths of a second, Piastri's pulled one out of the bag to be ahead of the
36:44Red Bull.
36:45Lando Norris giving it maximum hustle, and by over three-tenths of a second, getting provisional
36:51pole.
36:52But Lewis Hamilton now fastest in the first sector, as Ita Hadja goes into the top four.
36:57Yeah, Norris has got some pace left in his pocket.
37:00Judging by that last corner, if he can share the grip out a little bit better around the
37:04lap.
37:05Hamilton then, a man who a calendar year ago said, I'm not good enough.
37:11I think they should change the driver at Ferrari.
37:13Thank goodness they didn't, because he's on fine form, a little bit of a wrestle in turn
37:1813.
37:19Front's washing out, washing out, but there's the racing groove, and a good drive off the
37:25exit.
37:26And he goes fastest.
37:27Provisional pole to Lewis Hamilton by a tenth of a second.
37:31His teammate Charles Leclerc was a couple of tenths down, and is only P3.
37:36Kimi Antonelli was also a couple of tenths down.
37:39Six poles so far this season.
37:41P4 is the best he can manage for the time being.
37:44Now, here comes George Russell.
37:46Can he get closer to his teammate, closer to the front?
37:49No, he's half a second down.
37:51It's George Russell, and only seven fastest.
37:54Lewis Hamilton, twelve months on from being not good enough, is very much good enough for
38:00the time being.
38:01His words, not mine by the way, that he wasn't good enough.
38:04And provisional pole is his.
38:06Are we on for a tenth Hungarian Grand Prix pole for Lewis Hamilton?
38:11We'll find out when they go again.
38:15So, six minutes remaining.
38:18We know Norris got some more pace, because we saw him have that.
38:21So, the slightly wild overstair in the final corner.
38:24So, that'll go a bit faster.
38:27I suspect Piastri's will, too.
38:29Red Bull struggling a little bit to get to the absolute ultimate pace.
38:34George Russell, half-second shy.
38:36That's a lot in Formula One, a half-second.
38:39Lando was understairing badly through 13 as well.
38:42So, his tyres had run out by the end of the lap.
38:45Watch this.
38:48I thought he was going around on the exit there.
38:51So, Norris definitely with more time in his pocket.
38:55Like you say, Martin, a track, you've got to give a bit, you've got to take a bit.
38:58You've got to give a little bit back.
39:00I just thought this morning, watching FP3, Ferrari's strategy seemed to be take a bit out in the middle sector.
39:09Don't push quite so hard where the tyres can overheat.
39:12Because it'll all come back to us in the final couple of corners.
39:15Yeah, you leave the pits with a brand new set of tyres and a quantifiable amount of grip.
39:21And you've got to share it out through the whole lap.
39:24Ferrari and Lewis Hamilton fans satisfied, I'm sure, by that first part of qualifying.
39:31Lewis Hamilton on provisional pole.
39:34He would be, if he confirms that, the oldest pole-sitter in a Grand Prix since Mario Andretti.
39:40He was 42 at the time when he got polled for the 1982 Italian Grand Prix, driving for Ferrari that
39:47day.
39:48Just a number, right?
39:51Just a number, Martin.
39:52George Russell needs to improve.
39:54Half a second down on Lewis Hamilton.
39:57But once again, a couple of tenths back on his teammate, Kimi Antonelli.
40:02You don't have time for a cup of tea.
40:03Don't miss the end of this.
40:05This is going to be great.
40:07Well, they're all queuing up, aren't they?
40:08And even on a track that's 2.7 miles, those couple of tenths, three tenths, can be made up.
40:16Worth pointing out, though, this time last year, Charles Leclerc took pole.
40:20And he was the only driver to improve on his Q2 time here at the Hungaro ring.
40:26Now, we're seeing others improving by a tenth here and a tenth there.
40:31But he was the only one that managed that improvement.
40:34The question now is, can they improve on their first time in Q3?
40:39I think there'll be, as long as somebody doesn't sort of dip a tyre in and drag dust onto the
40:44track.
40:45You've got a lot of people moving about.
40:46I mentioned that earlier on in this sort of dust, natural dust bowl.
40:50But what used to compromise them here, when they didn't have such good concrete edges to the racetracks and the
40:55curves,
40:56was somebody just dragging dust onto the track.
40:59And we had sort of a disappointing final shooter.
41:02Shouldn't be that problem today.
41:04The track should still keep ramping up.
41:07And once again, they've all got exactly the same idea.
41:10The oldest race winner in over half a century could become the oldest pole-sitter in the last 44 years.
41:19Car number 44 looking good.
41:22Three minutes to go of Q3.
41:24Pole up for grabs.
41:25Ted Cram, it's down to you.
41:27I seem to remember Hamilton's last Grand Prix pole was here, wasn't it, Crofty?
41:30In 2023.
41:30A few years ago, yeah.
41:31I think you said it just a moment ago.
41:32So, if you're wondering where the pace has gone for Mercedes, so are they.
41:36And it just seems to be the same as Antonelli said earlier in qualifying.
41:40Bono, I just don't have the grip.
41:42It's the same for Charles Leclerc.
41:43But Lando Norris against Lewis Hamilton, they have found it.
41:47They've got the grip.
41:48Is it just between them?
41:49Or can Mercedes and Antonelli get in there?
41:51Yeah.
41:52Lando against Lewis.
41:54No L plates on the driver's rear wing.
41:57They are more than experienced enough as Nico Hülkenberg gets his Audi into gear and gets it out into the
42:03pit lane.
42:04Yeah, I'm sure McLaren could have done without that little hold up there.
42:09In terms of travelling out of the pit lane as they want it, keep the tyres as much as they
42:15can where they want them.
42:16So, we will have all ten cars out on the track shortly.
42:22And Hamilton, Martin, will be setting his final flying lap first, assuming he doesn't do another preparation lap.
42:30And will he have to pass anybody while he's doing that as they get up to speed?
42:35I just, I just wonder at the moment, is it worth another preparation lap for Lewis Hamilton?
42:42Because then he wouldn't be passing anyone at speed.
42:45We'll see.
42:45I think he's going for it.
42:47Full beans down the straight and into turn one.
42:49Active aero slams shut.
42:51Gives him the downforce to take that first corner and he's on his way.
42:54Yeah, had to do a little correction on the way into the corner.
42:58So, 27.3 is the fastest first sector we've seen.
43:03But as we've explained, it's not always matters if you can go keep the grip for the middle of the
43:08lap.
43:09But you don't want to be too tidy there.
43:10It's a 27.5.
43:13We did see him have a correction or two.
43:15Or is he just saving the grip in the final two sectors?
43:21We're about to find out.
43:22Charles Leclerc at 27.6.
43:24Neither Ferrari improving during the first sector.
43:28Max Verstappen at 27.6.
43:31He hasn't improved in the first sector either.
43:34The only one who has improved is Kimi Antonelli with a 27.4.
43:38That's the threat to Hamilton at the moment.
43:41Who, as you can see through the first two sectors, is nearly half a second adrift of a time he
43:45needs to extend his pole advantage.
43:48Who else in the middle sector?
43:50Leclerc's gone slower too.
43:52A 27.9 for him.
43:54It was a 28.0 for Hamilton.
43:5627.8 for Verstappen.
43:58We are not seeing improvements out on the track.
44:01Hamilton crosses the line.
44:02It's a 1.17.2 from his first flying lap in Q3 that they are all still chasing.
44:08And Antonelli's the only one who's improving.
44:10Leclerc crosses the line.
44:12P3's the best that he can do.
44:14Verstappen has spun.
44:15And that's a yellow flag.
44:17Antonelli is going to have to lift off.
44:19Russell might have to lift off too.
44:20At the final corner, Verstappen loses it.
44:24Antonelli stays on the second row.
44:26George Russell's not improving here.
44:28Got caught out with yellow flags at the wrong time.
44:31Had to lift.
44:32P7's the best he can do.
44:34But Norris still out there and able to improve.
44:38And he has done in the first sector.
44:41Yeah.
44:41So the two McLarens will not be affected by that Verstappen spin.
44:45They were last out.
44:46We saw them delayed almost.
44:49And Norris mighty, mighty fast.
44:51But there's another yellow out there.
44:52There's a double yellow out there.
44:54But I think Lando Norris is clear through it.
44:57Lando Norris is on course to take pole.
44:59If he's got the grip around.
45:01It's going back on occasion as the tackle of the cereal for the ground.
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