- 13 minutes ago
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00...эн extension to his Formula 1 career.
00:01It's going to be difficult for him because we don't see where there's an opening.
00:05Maybe he'll look at sports cars.
00:07He's got to keep himself somewhere in the F1 loop as a test driver, whatever.
00:12Don't forget, he's still in the Mercedes-Benz management form.
00:15That's true.
00:16So that might come in quite handy, but there's a lot of very good youngsters in Formula 1
00:23and arriving at the door of Formula 1.
00:26And it might be very difficult for Esteban from here on to keep an F1 seat.
00:31But he might be super sub somewhere.
00:34I don't know if he fancies a trip across the pond.
00:36A bit of IndyCar action for next year.
00:39I get the feeling he'd be very good in IndyCar.
00:41And there are a couple of seats available for him.
00:43Should he want to go down that route and stay in single-seaters?
00:46Absolutely.
00:47You've got to want to do the super speedways, though.
00:49You've really got to want to do the super speedways
00:51because you're going up against drivers in IndyCar racing
00:54who grew up on those sort of racetracks.
00:57And that's like starting over.
00:59Let's start over with Kimi Antonelli.
01:01Did you hear the roar as he made his way down the back straight?
01:06I told you he was a popular man around here.
01:08Into Turn 1 he goes for 3.4 miles.
01:11Yep, different colour scheme on the car.
01:13Turns 1, 2 and 3 come...
01:15They really joined up.
01:17A little pinch point there at 2.
01:18We see incidents in the race.
01:20And a long run through 3.
01:22You don't want to take too much out of your tyre in that early phase.
01:25This will be an overtaking place in the race.
01:27Coming up to Turn 4.
01:29And you get off the brakes as soon as you can.
01:31Ride the kerb on the outside.
01:33And now it'll be absolutely flat out through 5 and 6.
01:39As you swing through.
01:40Wonderful feeling through there.
01:42And pick up speed.
01:44Oh, a little bit wide.
01:44But then you've got 7 and 8 that basically join and become one long arc.
01:50Bring it to the right-hand side.
01:52You've got a left-hander at the end.
01:53Let's pass that traffic, staying out of the way.
01:55Heavy on the brakes.
01:56Off the brakes.
01:56All downshifting done.
01:58Turn the car.
01:58Pick up the throttle.
01:59And this is the 10 becomes 11 corner around the outside.
02:05And it all seems to still be hanging on.
02:08He's got good command over the front axle of that car.
02:11He's not understeering too much.
02:12Let's have a look into this long right-hander.
02:17And again, picked up the apex kerb nicely.
02:20A little twitch as he just found the limit of traction through Turn 14 as he heads to 15.
02:26And he can still throw it all away here.
02:28But he's not old enough, but he's certainly wise enough and good enough for that not to happen anymore.
02:35And the Mercedes looking good.
02:37Looking very good indeed as he crosses the line.
02:401.37.0.
02:42But looking better, Max Verstappen on this lap so far.
02:46George Russell next to cross the line.
02:48Two tenths down on his teammate with six tenths down in final practice.
02:51Verstappen to the line now.
02:53And he goes quickest by half a second.
02:56Told you he was looking good.
02:57His teammate Isaac Hadjar with a five-place penalty to come after this session.
03:03Goes second fastest.
03:05And the two Ferraris out on the medium tyre.
03:08So deciding that they've got enough pace to save a set of softs and run the medium in this first
03:13part of qualifying.
03:14Yeah, and they might be a pretty good tyre as well for this.
03:17But I think Verstappen just confirmed there that he's probably favourite for pole and favourite for victory tomorrow.
03:23This could be Red Bull's first victory of the year tomorrow.
03:26That winner last time out here, of course, in Sepang in 2017.
03:30Charles Leclerc goes deep, deep, deep into that final hairpin.
03:35Fernando Alonso goes ahead of Ocon and Behrman, Stroll and Pérez.
03:38And Charles Leclerc second.
03:40So that cost him.
03:41It did, but it's quite encouraging because he didn't really travel the apex of the final corner.
03:46And let's see what Lewis Hamilton can do time-wise.
03:50So Leclerc's got a bit of time in his pocket, rather confirmed by Lewis Hamilton.
03:55Hamilton then slots in behind Max Verstappen.
03:58And we can pick up Lando Norris now on the run to turn nine.
04:02It's really rough on the inside on the track at turn nine.
04:05You can see the asphalt kind of breaking up a little bit.
04:08We've seen a lot of little stones coming up and onto the tyres throughout the weekend.
04:12Norris is half a second down through the first two sectors.
04:16His teammate Oscar Piastri also out on track currently.
04:20And he's got about a tenth and a half in hand against his teammate currently.
04:24As Albon slots in over the line into 12th.
04:27You can see on board there with Lando.
04:28He's all at sea a little bit in the final part of that right-hander as the tyres are screaming
04:33enough.
04:34They haven't been very far, but they've been put through a huge amount of energy.
04:38Let's see what it does.
04:39And he has a very late downshift to spool the turbo up and heads for the line,
04:45which comes up reasonably quickly here.
04:47He doesn't stay that far right.
04:49And looking at the car out on track, that's kind of about where I thought he'd end up.
04:54Oscar Piastri will be next to cross the line as the Mercedes of George Russell dives into the pits.
04:59And Piastri goes fourth fastest.
05:01Antonelli now down in sixth.
05:03George Russell now down in ninth.
05:05And those early times are being usurped.
05:08That the track seems to be gathering pace with every single car that runs and completes a lap.
05:14Absolutely.
05:15So Ferrari looking very strong.
05:17So are Red Bull.
05:19Where are Mercedes?
05:22Well, they said that the work they've done overnight had improved their competitiveness in the medium speed, the high speed.
05:28They thought they were lacking in the low speed corners, which was something they thought their car would actually be
05:34quite strong in coming here.
05:35And they've come here with a big upgrade package.
05:37But the car, when we watched Antonelli, the car looked really nice, quite well balanced.
05:41Maybe they were having to leave some time on the table to make it feel like that.
05:44And Ocon to cross the line again.
05:47And he stays in that bottom six along with his teammate.
05:49Alex Albon in between the two Haases.
05:52Stroll 20th.
05:53Bottas 21st.
05:54And Perez 22nd and last.
05:56And Fernando Alonso currently P12 for an Aston Martin team that haven't got out of Q1 so far this season.
06:02This is Oli Behrman locking up.
06:05And that will ruin that lap and that set of tyres.
06:07It's a shame because he had a nice slipstream as well in the beginning of the pit straight.
06:12He probably got a bit overexcited about that.
06:14Actually, you know what?
06:15He probably arrived at higher top speed as well than on other laps down into that first braking zone with
06:22a slipstream.
06:22I was just about to say maybe he was going a little faster than he's normally used to.
06:26So Valtteri Bottas ahead of Sergio Perez in the battle for the back row between the two Cadillacs.
06:32He's currently 8-7 in the qualifying head-to-head to Sergio Perez this season.
06:37But worth noting that Valtteri Bottas has never out-qualified a teammate at this track.
06:43In the years that he has been racing here.
06:46Could this be a first today for him?
06:48I don't know why I hear on the front right side, like front and right-hand side of the car.
06:52Like a tiny rattling noise.
06:56He's got very good hearing if he can hear a rattling noise, even with a V6.
07:01Yeah, I'm impressed that he knows which side it is on the front.
07:05But that'll be something to do with the brakes and the discs and all that.
07:09I wouldn't imagine it's too serious.
07:11But you do get hugely tuned in to your car.
07:16And much to the chagrin of your team, if you jump in another one, you go, it's not the same.
07:21It doesn't feel the same.
07:24As a driver, you're literally, you're strapped in so tight.
07:28You're part of the car.
07:30And you know every little nuance, don't you, Bernie?
07:34You do indeed, Martin.
07:35But you know much more about driving a car than I do.
07:37So I'll just stick to the tyres and I'll let you stick to the driving elements of it.
07:41Stay in our lean, so to speak.
07:43Yeah, I was just going to comment quickly.
07:45So the Haas have now gone out on the second run in the soft tyre.
07:48Ocon has actually just aborted, come into the Pitley.
07:50And Berman should hopefully continue that run.
07:53I want to pick up on a few things that Crofty mentioned.
07:55So first of all, the two Ferraris running that medium tyre in the first run.
07:59They actually look safe.
08:00I would say everyone down to P9 at the moment is safe.
08:04Loss and backwards, that would be a risk for me, I think.
08:07Because it could be as high as six, seven tenths of track improvement through this.
08:12So definitely Loss and backwards needing to run again.
08:15The two Ferraris on that medium did look very strong.
08:18Bortoletto and Hülkenberg in the other car ran the medium as well.
08:23So there's four people on medium in that session.
08:25Ferrari, I think, just doing that to save their softs for later on in this qualifying.
08:29But interestingly, that is their race medium tyre.
08:33So that is obviously, they're either happy with the used one,
08:36or they think they're on a double hard strategy for looking ahead to tomorrow.
08:40And just remind us of the rules.
08:41If you do get through to final qualifying, top ten shootout, Q3, it's known.
08:46But what are they obliged to do?
08:48So when they get to any driver that makes it to Q3 has to hold on.
08:51All drivers have to hold on to a new soft tyre to make it to Q3.
08:56So even, for example, the Haas that we've been talking about
09:01that might run three sets in this session, they only have four sets in total.
09:05So it means if they make it to Q2, they are not allowed to run a new set of softs
09:10because they have to hold on to it for Q3.
09:13And that just means that when we get to Q3, everyone that's there is running the soft tyre,
09:17and they haven't used it earlier on in the session.
09:19So that is important.
09:21And that's why we see people like Ferrari running the medium in this session,
09:25saving some softs for later on as well.
09:26Thank you, Bernie.
09:28Apologies, Fernando Alonso.
09:29He has made it to Q2 at one race this season, Hungary,
09:33where they had the big upgrade in Budapest.
09:36Could you make it a second time for this year then?
09:38He's got six tenths between himself and the relegation spots currently.
09:42At the track, of course, where he became the youngest pole sitter here all those years ago,
09:47taking his maiden pole in Formula One.
09:49That's the quickest man on the track, Max Verstappen.
09:53A winner, of course, last time out here.
09:56But it's Lewis Hamilton that's actually taken the four poles in a hybrid era here in Sepang.
10:02You could see as we were looking at, Matt,
10:04you could see the stone chips and damage on the front of his car.
10:10Can't rewind that.
10:11Unfortunately, you probably can at home.
10:13But, yeah, and the drivers have been experiencing that while the track's cleaned up.
10:18As you pointed out earlier on, or we both did,
10:20there's no support racing going on there.
10:23So, an unusual amount of sort of stone damage without going through a gravel trap,
10:28then you do get massive gravel rash if you do that.
10:31But, of course, these cars are not really painted when they're not bare carbon.
10:35It's just a film because you can't afford the weight of the paint.
10:38It does make a difference, though.
10:40The more stone chips you get, the more it can disturb the flow of air over the car
10:45only by, you know, the merest of margins.
10:48But that might be what you need to get through.
10:50Well, it happens with the slot gaps in the wings as well.
10:53In the rear wing, if it gets a bit of rubber debris or even just a little bit dirty,
10:57you can see it kind of, these latest cars particularly, can dramatically affect the downforce, relatively speaking, of course.
11:04Certainly can.
11:05A projected time here, Bernie, for a knockout of a 1.37.9, plus or minus 2 tenths.
11:12So if it's that two tenths we're looking at, everyone from Liam Lawson downwards has got to get a shift
11:18on here.
11:19Yeah, that's sort of what I said, Crafty.
11:20I was thinking around a 37.5, so I'm probably on the more aggressive end of that.
11:26But I think you need to be safe.
11:27The first thing you need to do is get through this Q1 session, as we say, as Gazi's gone out.
11:32He's above that, actually.
11:34One thing I was going to say there, you see them queuing up, believe the pitley,
11:37and we've seen the two Alpines sat off to one side, just waiting to get into that fast lane.
11:42I think, actually, in some circuits, that waiting to get into the fast lane is very detrimental.
11:46Here, it allows everything this beautiful chance to cool down.
11:50So, actually, sitting in the fast lane as your competitors are queued up,
11:53that time in the pit lane is cooling for these tyres as we see them,
11:57not really nurse them on an outlap to try and get them in a much cooler window
12:02than they leave the garage.
12:04They leave the garage by regulation at a hotter temperature.
12:06They want to try and cool everything down on the outlap to get the maximum grip out of these soft
12:11tyres.
12:12Thanks ever so much, Bernie.
12:13Liam Lawson made it out of Q1 in Baku by just the one position.
12:18He currently finds himself a tenth and ahead of his teammate, Arvid Lindblad.
12:22He's on the track, which drops down significantly from Turn 2 and through Turn 3.
12:28It's a wonderful swoop.
12:30Must be a great feeling when you're sat in the cockpit.
12:33Indeed.
12:34You can brake a little later because it's uphill there and you can use that kerb to arrest any slide.
12:40And this is the 5 and 6 that's really fast.
12:45You'll not be overtaking through there.
12:46You need all of the track, all of the time.
12:49This is 7 and 8, the connected double right-hander where often where it used to rain in the race,
12:56it would turn up there first.
12:57You see them flying off the road.
12:59Heavy braking into 9.
13:01You turn in early.
13:02That's where the grip is.
13:03And then hope for good traction as you climb the hill.
13:08Let's see what he's got on this long right-hander.
13:11Front tyres are doing okay at the moment.
13:14Now they're doing a bit of harvesting through here, so it's not quite the scary T12 it used to be.
13:19And does it stick through there?
13:21It looks all right.
13:22It's turning nicely through the exit.
13:24And the sooner you can get the car straight, the sooner you can give it full beams.
13:29Lawson continues on his way.
13:31You might have seen that team radio message.
13:33Pierre Gasly saying, I can help Franco, my team-mate, get a good toe out of turn 14 towards the
13:40hairpin.
13:41And Gasly just ahead of Colopinto on the track as Lawson crosses the line and stays only in 10th.
13:46Gasly is pretty much safe in 8th, so he's doing the team a bit.
13:49And yes, Colopinto is going to get a 15-place grip penalty, but they would dearly love to knock a
13:55few others out of qualifying, especially in the racing bulls.
13:59And Stroll goes 11th fastest, and a really good lap from him to try and disrupt their opponents.
14:06Bottas goes 19th.
14:08He's out of qualifying.
14:10Perez out of qualifying.
14:10Perez has been out-qualified by his team-mate here at 8-all.
14:14At Cadillac, Alonso goes just ahead of his team-mate into 11th.
14:18Behrman lifts himself out of the bottom places there and puts Carlos Sainz into that bottom six.
14:24Hülkenberg and Bortoleto on the soft tyre now.
14:27The medium experiment hasn't worked down at Aldi.
14:30Sainz next to cross the line, and he goes ahead of Alonso and Stroll, pushes Bortoleto with both Aldis out
14:36in Q1 in Baku, of course.
14:38Albon stays in that bottom six.
14:40He's been out-qualified by his team-mate once again.
14:42Hülkenberg, a slight lift out of the relegation spot.
14:46Bortoleto, his team-mate, goes into the top eight.
14:48Fabulous lap from him.
14:50And I'm just looking to see who's improving behind.
14:53Well, Franco Colapinto will be the next to cross the line.
14:56He is safely through.
14:58Hülkenberg is out.
14:59Bortoleto is in.
15:01Big margin between the two Aldis.
15:04That's amazing.
15:05We know how fast Hülkenberg is on a qualifying lap.
15:08Always has been.
15:09But that's tremendous from young Gabi Bortoleto there to get inside the top ten with his Audi.
15:16And a really, really good effort.
15:19But both Aston Martin's through.
15:22So, guys.
15:26Nico taking the responsibility.
15:28The man who won here is a 19-year-old for Team Germany in A1 GP.
15:33Couldn't make it out of Q1 today.
15:35Sounds like he made a mistake somewhere, doesn't it?
15:38A lot of curb there.
15:39Bit of a lock-up in front of him.
15:41And he joined the party.
15:43Yeah, that's what cost him.
15:45So, then he'll lose time.
15:46Spun the wheels.
15:47Got a bit trigger-happy on the throttle.
15:48You then lose time all the way down the next straight.
15:52You very rarely do you ever get to the same top speed.
15:55And you just spend the entire straight chasing it.
15:59Alex Albon out.
16:01Esteban Ocon out too.
16:02And I wonder, did he make it to the line in time before the chequered flag?
16:06I'd rather get the feeling he didn't and didn't get the chance to improve on that P19.
16:11He was the first car to take the chequered flag.
16:14Let's just have a look at Alex Albon very briefly through the high-speed section.
16:20And a big lock-up going there into turn 14.
16:24He is out along with the Cadillac pair of Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas, who ties it at 80 apiece
16:32this season.
16:33Yeah, I think we were two early guys.
16:36Yeah, the car was good, so it's the same.
16:40Yeah, he didn't get that final lap in and I think they were a bit out of sync after being
16:45the first to exit the pit lane at the start.
16:47So along with the two Cadillacs, Albon and Ocon, Oli Behrman and Nico Hülkenberg, back-to-back.
16:54Q1 eliminations in the last two weeks, having not been out in Q1 before that.
17:06Welcome back to qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia.
17:10Q1 done.
17:11Time to focus on Q2 and for Mercedes.
17:15Well, how do they reflect on the first part of qualifying?
17:19Bradley Lord is their deputy team principal.
17:21Well, FP3, no one could catch Kimi.
17:24And then Max puts in a banger of a lap straight away.
17:27So where do you stand at the moment, really, Bradley?
17:29Yeah, job done in Q1.
17:31Safety through one lap, one set of tyres.
17:33I think we're the first of the top cars to run, so probably on the wrong side of any track
17:37improvement that was happening out there.
17:39But done what we need to do now.
17:41We need to repeat that in Q2 and then see what we've got when it comes to the final part
17:45of qualifying.
17:46So, Bradley, you're in park-fermé conditions.
17:49There's not a lot you can do electronically.
17:50You can change a few things front wing.
17:51But you're not showing the sort of pace we were expecting with this upgrade.
17:56What are the problems out there?
17:58No special problems, to be honest, Martin.
18:00The drivers were much happier with the car today compared to yesterday when they were struggling in the slow-speed
18:05corners.
18:06So the balance is much more hooked together between the high-speed and the low-speed.
18:10So I think in terms of – I wouldn't read too much into the half-second gap at the moment.
18:15Whether we've got the ultimate pace to challenge for pole, let's see.
18:18It's a very different kind of circuit to the one we had in Baku last weekend.
18:22But overall, we're seeing what we expected from the upgrade in terms of downforce numbers and performance in the medium
18:28and the high-speed.
18:28Is the track improvement substantially enough today, Bradley, so that the last car over the line gets the better of
18:36the conditions and that's what the teams might be trying to aim for?
18:40I'm not sure it's the track improvement per se.
18:42Today, there's always a big ramp in the early part of a session just as the cars go around and
18:47clean the circuit that hasn't been used for a few hours.
18:50After that, it'll be whether we start seeing the track temperature cool a little as well.
18:54They were in the mid-50s at the minute, and if that drops away a little bit, then that may
18:57bring advantage, I guess, towards the end of Q3.
18:59Interesting stuff. Thanks, Bradley.
19:00We have a green light. No one's moving.
19:05I don't think they've got the tyres to go out straight away, have they, Bernie?
19:08They'll want to just use the one set again, the top teams, and then there'll be some that haven't necessarily
19:13got all the tyres they want because they've used them in Q1.
19:16Yeah, there'll be some without the right tyres.
19:18I think the two people that, you know, in first impression of the wrong, don't have enough tyres are Arvid
19:22Limban and Franco Colopinto.
19:24But as we know, Crofty, they have both got penalties, so they don't have any new softs for this session.
19:29Everyone else has at least one soft for this session.
19:32What we'll see, I think, is a mirror of the last session as I hear cars fire up and go
19:36out, where they'll aim to do two single-lap runs.
19:40Even the leaders will go out at the first single-lap run in case they don't get a lap time
19:45good enough and then are forced to run again.
19:48So even the front runners will do that sort of run profile.
19:51And then just very quickly, I know there was some inaccurate information come through to you, Crofty, on Esteban Ocon,
19:57but that's when Ocon was just finishing his lap as he got to the line, not trying to start it.
20:02So he got his lap finished and his complaint to the pit wall was we ran too early
20:06and we would have gained a bit of track improvement by running later.
20:10So that's what happened with Ocon.
20:11It's not of me wrong, Bernie, but you're right again.
20:14Both Ferraris out there and McLaren, both Mercedes.
20:17Yeah, the front runners getting out early to get that early lap in.
20:22So let's see how this session goes.
20:25And well, well done to Aston Martin for getting two cars, and that is the first time with two cars,
20:30into Q2 for this season.
20:33Will Fernando Alonso be knocking on the door?
20:36Lance Stroll knocking on the door of a potential top ten on the grid tomorrow?
20:42Well, that could happen with a penalty to Isaac Hadjar.
20:46That might open up a possibility there.
20:49Or have they got the pace?
20:51The word for the team is that in terms of downforce, they're pretty sorted, thank you.
20:56They could just do with a bit more grunt at the back.
20:58I think if you're carrying good speed through some of these corners, it negates some.
21:04If they are, well, all the data says they're lacking straight line speed in the Aston Martin at the moment
21:09with the Honda motor till they get that sorted out.
21:14But if you can get through some of these corners and release off the corner, well, it negates some of
21:19the power issues.
21:22Isaac Hadjar, to repeat, if you weren't with us earlier, has a five-place grid penalty.
21:29His teammate, that's for a new internal combustion engine, his teammate Max Verstappen has just been shown a black and
21:34white flag
21:34for driving unnecessarily slowly.
21:38Now, there is a time, it's over 1 minute 51 seconds, that the cars are obliged to keep under between
21:47the Safety Car 2 and Safety Car 1 line.
21:50Why would Max be going slower than that?
21:52Because he wants to cool those tyres down, get the tyre pressures down.
21:57It's a competitive advantage, and that is why the race director and the race director and the stewards won't get
22:03involved yet
22:04until they get called in, are giving him a hurry up and giving him a final warning flag.
22:09It's a huge competitive advantage if you can coast around really slowly.
22:13If you remember, when I was out there yesterday, the first, the first turn, I mean, they were pedestrian coming
22:19round there.
22:20Well, it hasn't slowed him down if he's had to get a bit more of a move on, on his
22:23out lap, on this lap,
22:25because he's two tenths up on his teammate Isaac Hadjar, through the first sector.
22:30Antonelli has just started his first flying lap of Q2, and he's matched Hadjar, so still two tenths down on
22:36Max Verstappen.
22:37Hadjar then on the brakes, into turn nine he goes, slow left-hand corner, got to be patient and not
22:45get on the power too much,
22:4756 miles an hour, rising to 120 through turn 10, 165 through turn 12, and then plunging downhill,
22:55round about 160 miles an hour before turn 14 hits you.
22:59If you get this right, you'll start to relax a little bit.
23:01Red Bull looks good, doesn't it? Really good.
23:03Let's see if it's still got some grip left in the final turn, but Verstappen about to smash another great
23:09lap time in there,
23:10and Hadjar won't be all that far behind him.
23:13Probably his three tenths are going into the final sector.
23:17Again, roughly where he wants to be on the track.
23:20Hadjar goes over the line with a 36-1.
23:24That's found three quarters of a second for him.
23:26Max snaking around in the background.
23:28What's it going to be for him? He's into the 35s.
23:31Wowzers. So even more improvement from Max Verstappen.
23:35This is really putting the pressure on the two Mercedes drivers currently.
23:40Charles Leclerc has just gone quickest in the middle part of the lap.
23:43Antonelli crosses the line, can only go second fastest.
23:46And there's about three tenths of a second, nearly four tenths of a second,
23:49between the two cars.
23:50Russell only P4.
23:52Where's the Mercedes pace here compared to the Red Bulls?
23:55Well, I think Bradley was right.
23:57He said don't pay too much attention to that first time.
24:00I mean, they've just found a second, Antonelli.
24:01So it's putting much more in the hunt than he was.
24:04Yeah.
24:05Well, I suppose they would like to be at the top.
24:07Charles Leclerc has found pace on the soft tyre to slot in ahead of them.
24:12Lando Norris will go next across the line.
24:15And he goes ahead of Russell and behind Antonelli.
24:19Next across the line will be Lewis Hamilton.
24:21That looks a little more slidey than others going around that final turn.
24:25As he crosses the line, goes third fastest, just behind his teammate,
24:28but crucially ahead of the two Mercedes once more.
24:31I mean, don't pay too much attention, but George Russell's now only in P7.
24:36Yeah.
24:37And that one, that's a fact.
24:39So, look, but, yeah, Antonelli's in P4.
24:42Well, you're right, but their times look more competitive than they did,
24:46but that's for sure.
24:47But not competitive enough at the moment.
24:50Let's see what McLaren have got.
24:52And Antonelli has lost, yes, that time for track limits.
24:56So he'll go back to your watcher on your screen in a moment.
24:59He'll disappear.
25:00There it is.
25:01He's got to go again, and that will compromise Q3.
25:04That is a big time crucial for Kimi Antonelli.
25:08Piastri goes third fastest.
25:09George Russell goes now down, well, to P7,
25:13but only because his teammate, Kimi Antonelli, is out of the top ten.
25:17His time doesn't count.
25:18He exceeded track limits.
25:21The question here, I wonder, Bernie Collins,
25:23is there another lap in these tyres that could get him into the top ten,
25:27or are they going to have to use another set of softs
25:29that they wouldn't have wanted to in this part of qualifying?
25:33Yeah, I think it's exactly as me and Martin were discussing.
25:35That's why they run early.
25:36In case something gets deleted, in case they have an instant,
25:38I think that pushes Antonelli now onto a new set of soft.
25:42He must progress through Q2.
25:44You can't take the risk that a user's got to be good enough.
25:48He had track limits six that lap.
25:50Wait, what?
25:52It looked over, even from the onboard.
25:55Yeah, and he can't really see that kerb too well.
25:58It's got quite a lot of rubber out there as well,
26:01but that was a clear track limit, wasn't it?
26:04As you say, even from the onboard.
26:06So he needs to keep a calm head now and go again.
26:11So he found a second, but he went over the white line,
26:15and therefore it got disallowed.
26:18And there you've got two new soft tyre sets remaining for him.
26:22Are you sure about the track limit?
26:24Hey, Fabio, I just had to be sure.
26:26Yeah, so, and they get off-board images as well through to the pit wall.
26:32I thought he was going to have, like, a snap of oversteer or something
26:34when we went on board and he had to correct,
26:36and that sort of walked him wide,
26:38but he actually just slid wide.
26:41Yeah, so he found a second, went over the line.
26:44He's got two sets of softs remaining, new sets of softs,
26:47one of which he needs to keep for Q3.
26:49See what he gets there, of course.
26:50And the other one, we think, he's going to have to use
26:53to get himself into that top ten.
26:56That suddenly makes things a little more interesting
26:58and a little bit more tense and nervy
27:00for the championship leader,
27:02the man who, so far this season,
27:04has got six pole positions more than any other driver
27:07and Mercedes power units
27:10with pole at every single round so far.
27:13But it's Red Bull,
27:15the team to beat with Max Verstappen in this Q2.
27:18Brand new set of tyres then on Kimi Antonelli,
27:21we can see there.
27:23And this is very much out of sync for him,
27:26having to do this.
27:29And as I said, it'll compromise his Q3 to an extent.
27:34Still a great chance,
27:36but you would have to say,
27:37Mercedes continue to be under pressure.
27:40Yes, Toto Wolff keeping his expressions
27:44very much neutral.
27:46We haven't had a time in this session so far
27:49from Lindblad or Colopinto or Alonso
27:52to go with Antonelli.
27:54There's the saving tyres to go right to the end here.
27:57Lawson currently with a 137.7
28:00is the driver in 10th
28:03and safely through.
28:05But you'd imagine that Lindblad,
28:08certainly Antonelli, Colopinto potentially as well
28:10could go faster than that.
28:12George Russell surely is going to have to come out,
28:15you would think?
28:16Or is a 1.36.2 going to be enough?
28:19It might be all right, mind it.
28:20But so three, four drivers at a time,
28:24one who had it taken away,
28:25Antonelli we know about.
28:26But Lindblad, Colopinto, Alonso,
28:28two of those drivers with penalties.
28:30As you've explained,
28:31Alonso just waiting for track evolution
28:33and one Banzai attempt on a fresh set of tyres.
28:37Yeah, we've seen that many times in the past.
28:41From Fernando Alonso, of course,
28:43the oldest driver in Formula 1 since 1975
28:47and with a new contract for next year
28:50along with his teammate Lance Stroll
28:52to continue racing on.
28:54The three-time winner here, Fernando Alonso,
28:56for three different teams,
28:57Renault for McLaren
28:58and also for Ferrari.
29:01Right, big lap coming up here
29:03for the young 20-year-old from Bologna,
29:05championship leader Kimi Antonelli.
29:09Hasn't got a time yet.
29:11Had to start 16th on the grid in Baku
29:14because he took engine penalties in that race.
29:17I was thinking this could be a swift return
29:20back to the top ten,
29:21but it all depends on the next three and a half miles.
29:23So take us through this, Martin.
29:25Yeah, he coasted a little bit towards the end of the lap.
29:27Give his tyres half a chance.
29:29Rear wing open for the straight line mode.
29:31They'll close as he touches the brakes
29:34or even if he decides to close them
29:35slightly earlier before he hits the brakes.
29:38So the aerodynamics are fully reattached
29:40and you sort of really hug the two curbs there
29:44and try to open up this turn three
29:46so you don't get any sliding in the middle
29:48and critically so you don't take any energy out of the tyre
29:52or put heat into them.
29:53You don't need to.
29:54And a 24-9 first sector is a little bit ordinary
30:00actually for Kimi Antonelli there.
30:02So he's obviously being a little bit cautious
30:04knowing he must get this lap in now.
30:07Absolutely must get this lap in.
30:10Other than way, way, way inside the line at turn six there.
30:15So, yeah, to keep it.
30:17Otherwise, he could start, you know,
30:19he could easily start P13 again here
30:21like he did in Baku.
30:22Down that region.
30:24Last weekend he was 16th, wasn't he?
30:26So, again, not a personal best middle sector
30:29but it's OK.
30:31It's a tenth shy of where he needs to be.
30:33So it's a cautious but reasonably fast
30:37and probably sufficiently fast lap for Kimi Antonelli.
30:40It's cautious but certainly acceptable.
30:42I think it was about half a metre inside
30:44through turn six where he was on the lap
30:47that got deleted.
30:48So he definitely gave that due respect.
30:51Fernando Alonso is the latest
30:53to be shown a black and white flag
30:55for driving unnecessarily slowly.
30:57Do it again.
30:58It'd be a grid penalty for him
30:59or for Max who's been shown one too.
31:02Antonelli to cross the line
31:03and it's P2.
31:05That'll do.
31:0739-3 for the final sector.
31:09That's the best we've seen so far.
31:10You can hear the cheers from the crowd here
31:12who rather likes that.
31:13Interesting though, isn't it?
31:14Because he gave up.
31:15His first sector was 3 tenths shy.
31:17Second sector a tenth shy.
31:19And then boom.
31:20His tyres were still right with him at the end.
31:23Fernando Alonso doesn't care
31:24about a black and white flag.
31:25If he gets through to Q3,
31:27he'll drive a little bit faster.
31:29He's just a wily old fox
31:31and he'll take a bit of a slap on the wrist
31:33to have some cooler lower pressure tyres
31:36to start the lap.
31:37The only black and white flag
31:38I dare say he cares about
31:39is the chequered one
31:40at the end of the race
31:41and him getting to it first.
31:43That is his competitive spirit still
31:45at the age of 45.
31:47Here comes Arvid Lindblad then
31:49from the oldest man on the field
31:51to the youngest man on the field.
31:5319 years of age.
31:55His 15th start as a Grand Prix driver
31:57and he is doing a sensational job
32:00in qualifying at this season.
32:03Seventh in Baku.
32:04Don't forget.
32:05But he's been in Q3 ten times this year.
32:09He's never qualified higher than eighth.
32:10He won't do that this weekend
32:11because he's got that penalty.
32:12But he could still make it through to Q3.
32:15Needs a better middle sector
32:16than his first though.
32:18Lewis Hampton out again
32:19but only used soft tyres
32:21there in P5.
32:23Looking to get a little bit more experience
32:24of exactly where the track is at
32:26at the moment.
32:27Liam Lawson improving
32:28through the first sector.
32:30He is down in P11 currently.
32:33Everyone out on track
32:35from Pierre Gasly downwards.
32:39Antonelli is coming into the pits
32:40and Hamilton as you say
32:41in a used set of tyres Martin.
32:43Lindblad now to turn nine.
32:45We'll see what his middle sector
32:47is like.
32:47I think his first sector
32:48a little bit ordinary
32:49to be honest.
32:50He has given up, hasn't he?
32:51Back off on that one
32:53and he won't start another one.
32:55So Arvid Lindblad will remain out of the top ten
33:00and will start at the back of the grid.
33:02His teammate though, Liam Lawson,
33:05has improved again
33:06through the middle sector
33:07and might be troubling
33:10Gabriel Bortoleto saying that though.
33:13Bortoleto's just gone through the first sector
33:14a couple of tenths faster than Liam Lawson.
33:17Another decent effort from him.
33:19Check the flag is out.
33:20Ah, that is why Arvid Lindblad was out there
33:23to help his teammate, Liam Lawson.
33:25So he was there just to try and provide the tone.
33:28He was in the right place at the right time.
33:31What difference has that made then
33:32to Liam Lawson's lap?
33:34He goes from 11th to 10th.
33:36It's got him in at the expense of Gabriel Bortoleto
33:39but will it be fast enough?
33:42On board now
33:44with the Aston Martin of Lance Stroll
33:46stays P12.
33:47That will be his highest start of the season.
33:50Fernando Alonso currently P15.
33:53We await the time from him
33:54and goes ahead of his teammate
33:55to take his highest start of the season in 12th.
33:59Gasly across the line stays 9th
34:01and we're looking at Carlos Sainz
34:02and Franco Colapinto next.
34:05Here comes Carlos Sainz.
34:07P13 for him goes above the Aston of Lance Stroll
34:11and pitting is Franco Colapinto
34:14because he's got that 15th place at grid penalty.
34:17Gabriel Bortoleto then to the line.
34:19It's going to be his best lap so far
34:21and it is enough to knock out Liam Lawson.
34:24He does make it back into the top 10
34:26and he's a couple of tenths ahead
34:28of the Racing Bulls
34:30who got the toe from his teammate
34:31but not enough to get him through.
34:34That's the desperate midfield, isn't it?
34:36Really going for it.
34:37And obviously Lewis out there
34:39in the Ferrari on the used tires,
34:40the outlier, the rest of them,
34:41they're desperate to get in those final points
34:45and they know a good start,
34:46a good starting place is less chance of...
34:49Thank you, Abitolo.
34:50It's very, very good.
34:51Yeah, I tried.
34:52Thank you.
34:53They talk about the slipstream there,
34:55his teammate.
34:57And, yeah, head on the grid gives you track position,
35:01gives you less chance of an incident in the first two or three corners here
35:06and can set you up for the rest of the afternoon.
35:09So, consecutive races,
35:11it is a missed opportunity for Q3 for Liam Lawson.
35:16He is in P11.
35:18Fernando Alonso, for his highest start of the season,
35:2112th and knocked out by about four tenths
35:25ahead of Carlos Sainz,
35:26Lance Stroll, Franco Colopinto
35:27and Arvid Lindblad.
35:37Welcome back to the Bahrain Grand Prix
35:39here in Sepang, Malaysia.
35:41Bradley Lord on the pit wall,
35:43the Mercedes Deputy Team Principal.
35:45Oh, that was an intriguing Q2 there.
35:47Bradley, still confident for Q3?
35:51Reasonably.
35:51I mean, we'll see what George has got.
35:53He's got two cracks at it with a set of tires.
35:55Obviously, Kimmy's a little bit compromised
35:56because he had to run a second new set
35:58having had the time deleted.
35:59So, he's only got one fresh set of tires for this session.
36:03So, obviously, that almost always costs the driver
36:06a little bit more time
36:07because they can't put a pancreas in
36:08and then really let it all, you know,
36:10hang out there on that final lap.
36:11We heard Bono say he'd got the image
36:14of the track limits thing there that's compromised him.
36:18How far was he off the track there?
36:19Haven't seen it in detail.
36:21I think even the onboard showed
36:22that it looked like the right-hand side wheels
36:24were fully over the white line,
36:26which is the rules.
36:27So, not sure exactly what the margin was
36:29but, you know, they're reasonably black and white things,
36:31aren't they, and, you know, factual judgments.
36:34Talking of black and white,
36:35we're seeing Max and, well, Fernando
36:38getting a black and white flag for going too slowly.
36:42How much is that worth?
36:43Is it really worth the risk of doing that
36:45just to get a slap on the wrist?
36:49Well, you're supposed to follow the race director's instructions,
36:51aren't you?
36:52But it's clear that anything that can keep temperature
36:54out of your tyres is going to help you
36:55on the single lap round here.
36:57So, yeah, you'd hope and expect the stewards
37:01to have a keen eye for that
37:03and understand the benefits that it could bring.
37:05But it's worth doing once, isn't it,
37:07to get the black and white flag
37:08and then don't do it again
37:09because it looks like it's payback time.
37:11Well, let's see.
37:12Hopefully, if that is the case,
37:13then it's happened in Q2 and not in Q3, eh?
37:15Would you do it, Bradley, if you were out there?
37:19I would be following my delta
37:21absolutely exactly as I should be, David.
37:24Yeah, well answered.
37:25Thank you very much indeed, Bradley Law,
37:27deputy team principal at Mercedes.
37:32I take your point, Martin, entirely.
37:34If you go into your final run for Q3
37:37and you haven't got a black and white flag yet,
37:40take the slap on the wrist
37:42and the pole position might go with it.
37:44Yeah.
37:44If it's worth as much as it looks like
37:46it might be worth to coast around a little bit.
37:50But anyway, as I mentioned there in Contra,
37:53it's also interesting how Antonelli
37:55was being cautious through the first two sectors
37:57and then actually got paid a dividend at the end,
37:59presumably with some power,
38:03some energy as well as some grip.
38:05But interesting, there's not a lot.
38:07I mean, you sort of look at George there
38:09down in what was eighth,
38:13three-tenths behind second place Antonelli.
38:16So anybody who can put a bit of a cracking lap together
38:20is going to be right in there.
38:21Would you be a bit concerned, though,
38:23if you were George Russell at this stage,
38:25knowing that momentum is key
38:28to what may or may not happen at the end of this season?
38:30And at the moment, you're three-tenths the wrong side
38:34of quite a big gap between you and your teammate.
38:36I would be concerned because he found almost exactly a second
38:41and it's still only put him out.
38:43So George needs to eat his overdrive gear again.
38:48They've got 561 officials and marshals
38:51that have come in here from Bahrain.
38:53They've got a flavour of Bahrain in the fan zone
38:56and the paddock as well.
38:57The trophies come from Sepang.
38:59We've got the golf air jet with the fly pass tomorrow.
39:01And I wonder if George Russell's just slipped a few extra sandbags
39:05into the freight as well
39:07from the deserts in the kingdom of Bahrain.
39:09Or is he just struggling to find that last little bit
39:13that it will take him ahead of his teammate
39:16or potentially on pole?
39:18Have they got the pace to dislodge Max Verstappen and Red Bull?
39:22And don't forget, Max Verstappen has had his warning
39:25for driving unnecessarily slowly and cooling those tyres down.
39:28Absolutely.
39:29But, of course, George Russell has two brand-new sets available
39:32and Kimi Antonelli now just the one new set available.
39:37And whilst they've only done 10 miles,
39:42that's a heat cycle
39:44and it changes the property of the tyre a little bit
39:46and you just don't quite have the same mechanical grip
39:49out of the tyre for braking, turning and accelerating.
39:54And that's what the Box Fresh tyres do for you.
39:57So here's the man that led Q1 and the man that led Q2
40:00as he did in Austin 2025.
40:04That was the last time he did that
40:05and he went on and took pole as well.
40:07Last time that Max led Q1 and Q2
40:09and didn't take pole was also in Austin
40:11and that was a year previously.
40:13He's also going fairly slowly
40:14through turns one and two and three.
40:16I'm sure he's following his delta very closely.
40:20I'm sure that that delta is absolutely spot on.
40:23Yeah, so there's a minimum tyre pressure you have to run
40:27when the tyres are put on the car before you come out.
40:30So if you can reduce the...
40:33They're allowed to be 70 degrees in the blankets
40:36cooked for no more than two hours, I believe it is.
40:41But if you can let those temperatures
40:43and therefore tyre pressures come down on the outlap,
40:47you'll have more mechanical grip from the tyre.
40:49George Russell starts his flying lap.
40:51We'll quickly go to Bernie Collins.
40:53Who's got new, who's got used tyres for this run?
40:55Everyone out there currently are new
40:56apart from Gasly and Bortoletto.
40:59Antonelli as well, the only driver that was discussed there,
41:01the Mercedes or the other driver,
41:03with only one set of new tyres.
41:05He might do what he did at the end of Q2.
41:07He might run early,
41:08earlier than the end of Q3 on that set.
41:11And again, nice clean lap.
41:12Do the outlap as he wants.
41:13Have the push lap with no traffic
41:15and avoid any yellow or red flags.
41:17I wonder what I'd watch out for.
41:19Thanks, Bernie.
41:20Wanted to see how close George Russell got to the kerb
41:23and on the inside of the apex at turn four.
41:26Ant and Jack Villeneuve on the sky pad
41:28were talking about how Kimi was much, much tighter on the inside.
41:31There were a few palm trees in the way,
41:33so he couldn't see it.
41:35But for George, that was a 25-0 first sector,
41:39two tenths slower than Leclerc and Hadjar.
41:42Let's see if he gets payback later on.
41:4424-9 for Lewis Hamilton as well.
41:47We haven't seen Max Verstappen's first sector time yet.
41:51And nobody's completed a flat-out lap yet either.
41:55Hadjar's been super quick in the first sector.
41:57Russell, as you can see, bottom of your screen,
41:59so far very quick in the middle sector.
42:02Yeah, Hadjar, though, matching him to a few hundredths of a second.
42:06So advantage, second Red Bull,
42:08out on track at the same time with George.
42:11A bit of a wheel spin off the kerb there for George
42:13as the car was tobogganing in a little bit.
42:15Let's see how it points its nose into the final corner.
42:19Is it interested?
42:20He's having to wrestle it a little bit.
42:22Coax it to the outside.
42:24Gets on the power.
42:25There is the line coming up.
42:27And Russell then finds a quarter of a second from his Q2 time.
42:31Behind him, though, they are all going quicker.
42:35Isaac Hadjar goes nearly half a second quicker than George Russell.
42:39Verstappen has absolutely smashed the first sector with a 24.5.
42:44Leclerc to the line, second fastest behind Isaac Hadjar.
42:48For George Russell, pole sitter last time out in Baku.
42:51This has not been a good first run.
42:53Lewis Hamilton next to cross the line.
42:56Goes on to the front row along with Isaac Hadjar.
42:58Lando Norris will be next to cross the line.
43:02Lando Norris has actually never qualified in the top five
43:05for a Bahrain Grand Prix before.
43:07What can this weekend do him?
43:09A Bahrain Grand Prix at a new venue.
43:11And that wasn't great.
43:12Going around the final corner.
43:13Norris to the line.
43:14Losses has lost time.
43:16And only P4 for him.
43:18Yeah, he got bittering happy on the throttle.
43:20I was thinking, well, he was on the throttle.
43:22Then the car just wouldn't tolerate it.
43:24Is Piastri faster than Norris?
43:26Yes, he is again here.
43:27And is Verstappen faster than them all?
43:29Let's find out as he crosses the line.
43:31And by three tenths, yes, he is.
43:33Provisional pole for Max Verstappen.
43:36Nine years since we came to Sepang.
43:40And in those nine years, he's won four world titles.
43:43He won, of course, the last race here.
43:44And he's back doing what he does best.
43:46And on provisional pole, could this be a first of the season for Max Verstappen, I wonder?
43:52Yeah, and that's going to be hard to beat, that 35-2-5-0.
43:58And then out comes Kimi Antonelli, as Bernie predicted, to get some nice, clean track and get himself his outlap
44:10at the pace he wants, the place he wants on the racetrack and to build.
44:14And he knows that by the time he starts the hot lap, all the other bandits will be in the
44:19pits.
44:20So George Russell, P7, only Gabriel Bortoleto behind him.
44:25He's got to try and find eight tenths of a second to Max Verstappen, which, even for a driver of
44:33his calibre, Martin, it would take some doing.
44:36Yeah, I don't think George doesn't seem to have the raw pace, does he?
44:41He's been looking sort of tail end of the top ten so far, hasn't he?
44:46So he needs to pull something a bit special out of the bag with his final set of new tyres.
44:51But what a difference, though, six days or seven days makes.
44:54George Russell in Baku was absolutely imperious in qualifying in the race.
44:59And he's come here, and it's just not clicked for him.
45:01So, you know, different demands on this racetrack to Baku, different surface, obviously a dramatically different layout.
45:11So, you know, George, with the heavy braking turn into the slow car, he's very good at that as a
45:17swim in Baku.
45:17But whatever it is, it's not gelling for him at the moment here.
45:22Right, they are all back into the pit lane, except Gabriel Bortoleto, who's just coming in now,
45:27and Kimi Antonelli, who's a cruising route, in preparation for his one lap on the new tyres in Q3.
45:36He has got Sepang International Circuit all to himself.
45:41And because he exceeded track limits in Q2, he's only got one new set of tyres.
45:47This is the lap that is going to count.
45:49And the eyes of the world, and certainly everyone here at the circuit, are all on Kimi Antonelli.
45:54He can handle this pressure, but there is a lot of pressure on this young man's shoulders to try and
46:00get pole position here today.
46:03Yep, hanging a little bit right down the pit straight, moves to the middle.
46:07He'll be on the outside.
46:08You want to break in a straight line, get all the shifting.
46:11And they ship really late into the corners now, though, to keep the turbo spooled up,
46:15so when they hit the throttle, they've got some instant and controllable power.
46:21And the car looking pretty well dialed in, as you would hope, in the early part of the lap.
46:27If he's got any...
46:28It's two or three metres he's looking for on the...
46:33And the car looking pretty well dialed in, as you would hope, in the early part of the lap.
46:40If he's got any...
46:42It's two or three metres he's looking for on the braking points everywhere, picking up the throttle.
46:49Minimum corner speed, just two or three kilometres per hour.
46:52That's what he's looking for.
46:53They're not huge gains.
46:55It's just all the way around the track.
46:57And again, giving turn six a wide berth in terms of track limits on the throttle, shifting up between seven
47:06and eight.
47:06And again, then, braking in a straight line, off that brake pedal, pick up the throttle, tickle it a little
47:12bit.
47:12Just missed the apex, slightly gave him some oversteer through the exit.
47:17Ten and eleven.
47:19Looks fine from up here, doesn't it?
47:21Yeah.
47:22Twelve then.
47:24There used to be a horrible bump in the middle there, but that seems to be squashed by these cars.
47:29And again, a nice, good rotation, no wheel spin off the exit.
47:35It's okay, isn't it?
47:37Yeah, it's mirroring, mirroring, I should say, his run, his run that got him through into Q3 in the last
47:44part of qualifying.
47:45And if you remember that, he absolutely aced the final sector and produced the best time, had all the grip
47:51left at the end.
47:52Where is this going to put Kimi Antonelli?
47:54It's going to put in P3 provisionally for the Bahrain Grand Prix.
47:59However, there are others now coming out onto the track that can severely hamper that P3 for the championship leader.
48:08Yeah, that's all he's got, isn't it?
48:10That's all he's got.
48:11And the only salvation, his main championship rival, as you can see there on the screen, is having an even
48:16more torrid afternoon.
48:17But right now, Kimi Antonelli would gladly shake your hand for a P3.
48:23Yep, he'd certainly take some of that.
48:25George Russell on the team radio after his first run, that was very bad, wasn't it?
48:29And it wasn't great, but he's got another chance.
48:33Verstappen has another chance.
48:34Hadjar is currently P2, but it won't be a Red Bull front row lockout.
48:39He's got that penalty, so it won't be a 29th front row lockout for the Red Bull team.
48:44Lewis Hamilton tied with Michael Schumacher for the most poles here in Sepang.
48:52And in terms of Bahrain Grand Prix poles as well, he's got three of those in his career.
48:56So, can he force his way up the pecking order a little bit?
49:00Is the track ramping up a little bit and getting quicker and quicker the more runs that we're doing?
49:05I mean, they're not getting quicker at the moment.
49:06Martin, they're crawling around, trying to keep these tyres cool.
49:09Yeah, you don't want to put any more load to the tyre than you have to,
49:13whether that's accelerating, braking or turning,
49:16because you're just taking life out of it.
49:18And then you get ready to pin it.
49:21It impresses me so much, these drivers,
49:23how they have the confidence and belief of coasting out there
49:27and then pinning the last metre of braking down into Turn 1.
49:33Occasionally, it goes wrong.
49:35What have you got for us, young Isaac Hajar?
49:38Right, whatever he does, of course, is going to be subject to that five-place grid penalty.
49:44His teammate Max Verstappen's on provisional pole.
49:46He has just started his latest flying lap as well.
49:49Hamilton tied with Sebastian...
49:51Sorry, Verstappen tied with Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel
49:55for the most Bahrain Grand Prix poles.
49:58And Hajar, a little bit down through the first sector
50:01compared to the best we've had so far.
50:03Track is cooling by a couple of degrees.
50:06Antonelli did a 24-9, Hajar did a 24-8.
50:09Verstappen had done a 24-6.
50:11Even that is not as good as his best first sector.
50:14I think Hajar went slightly deep in Turn 1.
50:16Took him a while to get the car back to exit of Turn 1,
50:21but it might have cost him a tenth there.
50:24And Leclerc, 24-8 first sector.
50:26Hamilton, 24-7 first sector.
50:29That's his personal best too.
50:31But to be on a par with Verstappen's pole lap,
50:34provisional pole lap,
50:35you want to be doing a 24-5 for the first sector.
50:38Lando Norris crosses the line now.
50:40He is the last driver to start his final flying lap.
50:47Piastri, 24-9 in that first sector.
50:49Hajar will be powering his way down the back straight now.
50:54Leclerc's lost time in the middle part of the lap too.
50:57Look at Hamilton.
Comments