F1 Dutch Grand Prix 2024 - Qualifying - Live Timing & Commentary

hear him saying for [Music] get [Music] hear for [Music] [Music] get [Music] Along on this Saturday afternoon from the shores of the North Sea we are here in zanor to resume competitive ction after the summer break it's round 15 of this longest SE all the seasons have descended on this circuit and crucially for this qualifying session the winders picked up again today it is it be a Tailwind into turn one it'll be quite difficult to slow the cars down the drivers have got very limited experience second shortest lab on the calendar after Monaco uh so the corners come at you thick and fast as does the finish line and I think when we will have all well probably 19 of them out although they were feverishly working away on Logan Sergeant Williams that'd be some kind of miracle if they got that out on the track in time to do a qualifying run because I'm sure half that car went in the skip let alone got recovered uh after his crash in turn three in a wet three practice three this morning um but yeah I think the conditions are challenging the track is green the any rubber that has been put down has been washed away um and so it'll be quite an adventure for them eight pole positions so far this season for this man Max ven who has won the last three years here from position into this qualifying session knowing that PO is not necessarily theirs until he produces a championship lap because they haven't necessarily got the quickest car this afternoon no we we do know that Mercedes look good if they can switch the tires on McLaren there's no doubt about it once again their updates look as if they were ready to go and they knew exactly what they're going to get and they're not disappointed so but I I think I think sten's right in there still I wouldn't be I wouldn't be at all see surprised to see him on pole but you're right have to work at it but that was a really uh unfortunate accident there for Williams and Logan Sergeant kept his foot in on the grass there steered into the slide which gave him like an anti-lock across the racetrack and then hit a curve piece of barrier where there's a service road um so he didn't he wasn't able to slide down the barrier and just everything was wrong about that and then to add insult to injury it caught fire um but they as I said they they look like we're working hard to try to get him out again they are going to do their very best the chassis didn't need changing uh but I'll be absolutely amazed if he gets on to the track and will pop down the Williams and appla the entire crew because now they work miracles to get that car back on the track as of when it does appear and looking at it I think they might be quite confident because it's not feverish activity that's going on there which either means they've given up which I don't think they have or they're pretty confident they can get them out the next 10 minutes or so yeah it it didn't as you're right as you said it didn't look feverish and the floor's got to go on and that's a massive piece of real estate to to be fixed underneath so as I mentioned Martin none of the last six races have been won from pole position but this is a track where pole is is pretty crucial you can overtake but it's difficult it just makes it a little bit more competitive this afternoon with a number of cars going into this session all with the opportunity to get right out there McLaren think they can catch Red Bull in the Constructor Championship and they still think Lando has got a chance to win the dri Championship so uh you know this every session from here on in till the final check flag in Abu Dhabi will be critical so stay with us then for the roller coaster ride that is the second part of this season and all roller coasters start off with a nice gentle exit from the station and towards the first climb and we're at that stage at the moment nice and gentle nothing happening whatsoever even though we've got the green light at the end of the pit lanane oh we have got a car on track Nik hulberg who has had problems with his breaking in the wet conditions uh going into the barriers and going straight on at turn 11 in the practice session this morning uh which the team say isn't necessarily a technical issue and they haven't found anything that desperately needs fixing if you want to ride on board with hulber you can we've got all 20 on boards and the team radios for you what you need is your Sky Sports app and your skyports ID to log in with and if you are watching on skyq Sky glass or Sky stream or now you can use the interactive button on your remote control take the pick and choose your driver and I dare say this could be one of those sessions where the track evolves lap after lap after LP Martin and leaving it until the very last minute might be your best bet for the best success you can be confident in that prediction um because they will start laying some pelli rubber down it does say here that the chances of rain are 40% which means a 60% chance it won't rain of course but um they want to get out there get a Time on the ball but the track will come to them and the corners come out them thick and fast around here I said in the pre-show today in it's very old school track and in many ways these cars are too big and too fast for this layout but I think that some adds to challenge actually in terms of uh and the car smoking I think it's where it's just hitting the ground it is is where the remember they go out of the pits into park F conditions for qualifying so that is their race setup and that car certainly looked very low didn't it with its new plank underneath and skit blocks which you obviously don't want to wear down too much because it is monitored by the FIA one of the reasons that George Russell came AC Cropper with his weights at the end of the Belgian Grand PR was the plank had worn down the tires had worn down because he was on a one stopper and he said he was a bit lighter himself as well found himself a kilo and a half underweight and was disqualified and lost that race Victory man Michael Shaker 30 years ago to be disqualified from a race win after he crossed the checkered flag niik hulkenberg's lap is a 1130 as he crosses the line last year in q1 12.9 Alex Al with the fastest time but very differ conditions it was at that stage Joe BR 710 behind hulkenberg as he crosses the line and we're on board with Carlos SS who lost most of the second practice session with a gearbox issue and then didn't get much running today in the wet condition so this is going to be a bit of a novelty here and the first lap that Carlo science has done this weekend here on the soft compound tires take it away Martin down into tazan the first corner it was always great quite banked little bit scary on the way in because carrying so much speed and immediately turn two comes up on you and that's the lead in to uh the banks corner you do not Apex on the inside you Apex on the outside of the corner you touch the white line there over the blind Crest and this is a very sweeping section that will be absolutely flat out when everything is going well into turn seven 140 mph minimum and just keep pouring the throttle on turn eight nips a little bit through the exit and we're now starting heading home already last year pole position of 110.5 you'd expect the cars to be quicker this year if the track is good enough in terms of the development they've done and uh use as much track as you can because you minimize the angle of the corner you might travel a couple of meters further but it does enable you to carry more speed it's quite a tricky little section here again the front end of the car there looked a little bit reluctant and tip it in then to the penultimate Corner then floor it through the banking they can even open the DRS rear Wings through there they got so much Surplus grip and hang on for the finish line which is a reasonable distance down this pit straight and science then only where did he end up on that yeah a long distance down from L stroll with the fastest time so far but I'll caveat that wi that was his first run on soft tires during the course of this weekend he did put a soft tie run in during the first practice session either his teammate charl Clair crosses the line slly more competitive but Ferrari still off the pace when compared to Alex albon and Lance stroll Here Comes Oscar pastri searching still for his first poll in Formula 1 even though he's got a Grand Pre win and he puts 310 between himself and the Aston Martin yeah the windy conditions and the green track uh we're missing a second at the moment on this racetrack at least so uh the the cars will be sliding around a bit the drivers will be complaining a bit it's not doing what they expected but it's it's almost like starting the a Grand Prix weekend isn't it out there today this is the gimal camera on the top of Lando Norris it's an interesting picture but I have to tell you is not at all what it looks or feels like driving a Formula 1 car but I do like it I've seen opinion split on social media on this one but I I do think and it Smooths out and and and takes a lot of the bumps out of the ride I do think it's absolutely fabulous uh to to watch and you get a very different uh perspective through the first sector 244 for Lando Norris wasn't the fastest first sector that we had so far gets past his teammate Oscar pastri who moves out of the way and continues on his way as Le Hamilton sets the fastest time with a 113 front axle the tires are not warm enough he had to wait so long for the front to just pick up grip and get him into the corner early on in the lap so there's a lot of time in Lando Norris's pocket if he can improve the front end grip on this guy look how tight it looks in that penultimate corner and then boom off you go total trust and belief in the Integrity of your suspension and your aerodynamic as he then goes second they all down in the 11 Theses Hamilton Norris piastri a little bit behind yeah left his best sector until last Lando Norris as well 2000th of a second off Lewis Hamilton's time where did he leave a little bit of time on the track probably there so heared wide and then as so often happens understar leads into overseer you get on the throttle to try to correct it and the next thing is the the back end of the car's sliding instead so um uh he can put some front Wing into that he can change his differential settings maybe his line maybe he's carrying a bit too much speed the track will come to him as well but the front axle on the McLaren not working on that lab so everybody out now on the track or has been out on the track B Logan Sergeant cuz Max must stappord has just left the garage for his out laap and there's Alex Al former teammate who's currently at fifth fastest with a a pretty competitive time of a 118 big upgrades on the Williams this weekend to try and give them uh more pace and they kind of need it at the moment down in ninth in the Constructors Championship seven points off Alpine with only four points so far this season two Ninth Place finishes for Alex alour and he looked a little bit Twitchy and nervous there well certainly the car did as he got his foot down coming out of turn one round hug goes that's the back turn it's turn three continues on his way this is the proper roller coaster bit just Relentless two10 off the pace through the first sector now that is what it feels like to drive a Formula 1 car that is absolutely how it feels CU you got a little camera alongside his ey line and uh the luckily your brain dials out quite a lot of that movement um otherwise you'd struggle to see where you're going but there's an awful lot of furniture in the way isn't there with um the Halo in the middle and the the arches over the front wheels but the drivers somehow you very rarely look out the front of a car actually you're tending to look uh out sort of across the top of each wheel is mostly mostly where you're looking and there again he opens the rear wing in the final turn you could almost see a little step of over steer from the back of the car as he did dump some rear down force and therefore rear drag fifth passes for Alex Al might have been and was another new set of tires that he put on Max for Stapp a 10th off to the first two sectors through the chicane he spun here yesterday in the wet conditions no such problems today on his first run now towards the banking we go then final corner it's so steep on this banking it's hard to actually stand on there without losing your balance at times but it's full speed it's not a problem for these drivers if a Sten crosses the line 18,000 of a second away from Le Hamilton but down in third place this is going to be tight today less than 210 separating the top four currently as we go to Sky race control and Bernie Collins yes hello cof so one thing to point out we've already seen cars trying to do a second lap on the C set of soft tires and that isn't working even though the track is improving rapidly the degradation and soft is such that you can't get a second lap out of a single set so many are boxing at this stage going for that second fresh set now going into this qualifying because of what happened in P3 we don't actually know for most of the field how many sets of soft they have but I'm sure we're going to find out we certainly are the likes of piastri and stroll I think and Fernando Alonso tried a second run on a set of soft compound tires and it didn't work out for them caros SS was one of the early drivers to go for a lap Martin his first lap wasn't particularly competitive as he reaches the line halfway down the main stet we'll see how good this lap is and once again not particularly competitive no Too Many Adventures the back end of the car stepping out he clumped the curve hard and it was a it was a scruffy lap and that was another new set of tires as well as Pierre gazing who was the fastest driver in the wets in fp3 goes fifth fastest Joe Gru crosses the line down in the bottom five Yuki sod just outside of it and estan Al goes 12 fastest and race control noted uh an incident Le Hamilton and Sergio Perez for a potential impeding that's not been passed to the stewards as yet as Russell goes into the top 10 but only just we'll let you know if it does not not a hard track to impede someone on no uh we didn't see it so we can't really comment on it this time but that's worrying lap for Russell that's 610 off the pace and it's that sort of Gap that will give you a lot of headaches today You' mentioned it a couple of times Martin you know you can get a gust of wind in your your favor or not in your favor at any stage on these laps I wonder if this is the impeding here we're on board with Sergio Perez Hamilton turns in and did that compromise Sergio Perez what is [Music] doing I think he FS he did uh this this idiot eight time seven time world champion eight some people say but he was desperately trying to get out of the way well out of his way yeah no sweat he was he was sort of parked on the outside of the corner I mean he was going to have to stop wasn't he so all the right intentions were there but uh Sergio obviously got into the corner felt like he was about to be impeded and and it kind of was a self-fulfilling thing then Sergio Perez despite getting the the vote of confidence as it were from Red Bull over the summer break is a man under pressure when it comes to qualifying four of the last seven races he's gone out in q1 now his current best time of a 119 is about 410 faster than Daniel grip sliding all over the place you said George Russell's time will be a bit concerning and I think he feels that something needs to be changed on that car if they can to give him a little bit more of a chance it's really hard now though you know another set of tires might be better might be different um they can't really lower the tire pressures too much CU they are limits they they have to stick to 24 PSI front cold before they go on the car they're not cold cuz they're coming out of the blankets at 70° but you know some front Wing angle uh change the electronics but there's nothing they can't change the vertical stiffness of the suspension they can't change the geometry they can't change the rear wing level now um so you're kind of painted in the corner a little bit if you're fundamentally out of sorts Bernie Collins is watching tires GE Russell second run bur he knew or used yes it was a used set so he did a first run on you then he ran that set again for the used his complete and still in the garage about it but that used tire on the second lap just isn't up to it and these top teams that have been used to sealing through qualifier on a single set it's just not going to be possible I think with the track Improvement today and that's the thing the track will continue to improve as more and more rubber is laid down and the sand is blown away so they're going to have to sacrifice more sets of tires a stroll Goes Forth fastest yeah it was quicker out of the box as well wasn't it so what happens on a day on a track like this where the cars are moving around a lot it's windy brand new set of ties of course there then for Fernando Alonso is you bring your focus back in the cockit you have to drive the corner you have to drive the exit of the corner you don't just get the nose in hit the throttle and think about what's coming up uh down the road a bit you that you can tell the drivers are having to drive every meter of the r RAC track because the cars are Lively it's slippery it's windy and they don't know too much about these particular cars on this RAC track at Logan Sergeant still in the garage hasn't set a time yet three and a half minutes just under to go it's getting a bit touch and go to see if he's going to come out or not Joe granu valri botas the two salvas Ricardo sorry sonoda and Ricardo the two RBS they're the five in The Knockout Zone and if you're in that bottom five when all the laps are finished then you're around to qualify oh there's a a queue in the pit Lane as they try and sort out the gaps before all the cars leave the uh pit Lane I was going to say Carlos science at the moment right on the fringes of that bottom five he's coming out on the track already 10th of a second difference between himself and Ricardo if that projected knockout time as a 119 science needs to improve by about 3/10 of a second here he's the big shot potentially in this qualifying session the saving race of a short lap is a short out laap as well but there are there are drivers who are stuck in the pit Lane there whose outl the way they like to prepare their tires particularly will be compromised so here goes Max for stappen for another lap here which is interesting that they've sent max out a 113 with his best time so far he should be comfortably through but Revel feel he might just need to dial himself in a little bit more and get another lap in he's about to across a pair of Aston Martins one of them he's cleared already there's that great turn three over the blind Crest and sweeping the carry such speed through there up close against the barriers and already to the super fast one at the far end of the circuit and everybody staying out of his way as he threads that Red Bull beautifully through the series of turns but again front end of the car it's not quite there is it yeah used tires for Maxa so they' sent him out for I think a CP you're not going to improve your time Max but dial yourself in a bit yeah he's he's really having to wrestle it from from time to time look at that he really he had to slide correct the slide and he's abandoned that lap it's sliding around so much uh so who is improving out there first sectors botas and Joe Alonzo hulberg pastri Norris all putting in their personal best for the first sector slowly yeah George Russell was sliding on his second lap on a set of ties as well but staff's got the same Joe gu crosses the line down in 19 botas gets himself out of that bottom five at the expense of Carlos sits who's now in the relegation Zone and needing to improve and has done in the first sector Magnus goes sixth fastest Ace the final sector shows you the track Improvement that's out there got the best one of the lot so far here's caros SS through the first sector we go and in a couple of sectors it's looks better for him but we'll get the split time round about now and he's fractionally inside the time he needs Martin to clear that bottom five but he's not really flying out there is he uh no not not enough but in terms of threatening the Front Runners at at this time but this should be a better lap it should surely give its uh give science a chance of uh living for Q2 and sorting a few things out always finished at the top five here at Zan needs to get out of the bottom five here in qualifying talking of that top five Alex Alon has gone fourth fastest with another decent lap from him czecher flag is flying these are the laps that are going to need to count right now and science round that banking as Alonzo now goes fourth fastest has he done enough to clear that bottom five it goes fastest overall and what a final sector that was from Carlos SS third time of asking science puts himself right at the sharp end of this qualifying George Russell Middle sector Sergio peris first sector fastest of all charl Clair wants to put a bit of daylight between himself and the top five how about that go second fastest this track is really ramping up now as George Russell next across the line he goes quickest by about 3/10 of a second Sergio perz is down in the bottom five at the moment but is improving and improving enough so that he won't join join botas Joe and sergeant and Aon in making his way towards the media pen at the end of this session he goes quickest overall with this final lap but they've had to burn an extra set of the soft the precious soft compound tires to do that and it just confirms again the track is improving literally minute by minute so Perez Russell sence the CL and Hamilton the top five Hamilton is out on the track now came out on a a set of another set of used soft tires Daniel Ricardo is going to make his way out of qualifying as well he uh has I think taken the check of no he got to the line just before the check of flag uh to complete his final flying lap but he not going to be troubling anyone in Q2 and he has been out qualified Again by his teammate Yuki soda for the 10th time this season estan OT who previously here in in zanol has finished on the second row after the qualifying session is out 17th fastest botas and Joe the two salers the only team not to score a point this season also out and Logan Sergeant didn't get himself on the track after that crash in fp3 but it's Sergio Perez who left it till late to produce the fastest time from George Russell get for [Music] [Music] for for back to Zan vort es bokon out and not happy and he's not the only driver who isn't happy with what went on in that first session but with Sergio Perez it's less about the car and more about someone else's car he was on a flying lap leis Hamilton was on an out laap and that impeding incident has been reported to the stewards who will inv after the session let's Head to the Sky pad Anthony Davidson yeah thanks cofy so yeah we just heard that message I couldn't see what was being shown there on the world feed but I did spot this as perz was getting C to the W Bridge as Hamilton comes faster and goes up in disgust uh now yeah we see this moment on the side by side of Le basically what I see here there's he's on the outside of the corner he knows that Perez is coming up you can see there on the left hand side he knows Perez is coming up but where do you go you kind of if you do damned if you don't if you go to the inside you're on the racing line on the inside and you can't stop the car on the track so I feel like Le was just in that predicament where he's completely in in the he was in the way and tried his best to get out of the way but unfortunately you end up on the racing line on the exit the corner so it' be interesting to see how the stewards read that one from my experience I wouldn't have known where to put my car there in that situation I really do think it it's bad luck for for czecho that he found himself in that situation and for Le from throwing the car off the track and driving through the gra or just phally I really don't know where else he could have gone in that moment it's it's a strange Corner that one uh down in turn nine uh we also saw George Russell really struggling with the balance of his car before he put the new set of tires on this was to turn eight and then into turn nine of course we just looked at really fighting the car there so that set of new tires helped him as well but many drivers uh complaining about the balance of their car back to you copy I'll get your thoughts on the Hamilton incident Martin in a moment but to Williams first the team boss is James vals he's with us this weekend James you tried your hardest but you couldn't get Logan Sergeant out in the end no the the damage are extensive he the chassis's in a good enough state but gearbox destroyed engine has severe damage so it when it's that sort of Crash that you saw and then caught fire it's a lot of work to get it back out absolutely had the guys working flat out on it guys and girls but uh without unfortunately success I'd have lost money on that bet James that the chassis would be salvageable without going back to the factory yeah it looked pretty big to me as well but um no there's a there's a mirror stay broken uh so if that helps you better all I'm not sure but no he's he's lost and that's a big dinner he owes me now um James Alex albot uh seemed like he had enough Pace there to get you thinking about Q3 is that right yeah that was sort of the intention with this update coming into the weekend here uh it's a very close Midfield and what we bolted on just doing some rough math should have put us in that region now really we were about 10th because pastri didn't R his new tires and would have been ahead of us but yeah know were there thereabouts but what you can see is it's just a few milliseconds is between in or out so let's see what happens this session yeah so Alex's time was very good wasn't it both his runs were were solid out there so you must be pretty satisfied with that yeah very satisfied the other one you you were talking about it just as you joined me but the wind through 910 is really tricky for the drivers it's very lustery but it's a good sign of a good car and a good package where you're strong in those conditions so I'm fairly happy that we're performing well glad to hear it thanks James uh speak to you after Q2 uh Martin before we uh Focus too much on what's happening on the track with science going for his lap and L Clair out there as well Lewis Hamilton Anthony's just analyzed that on the sky pad is bad luck defense when you go to see the stewards when you're accused of impeding a driver impeding is impeding I I think he can demonstrate he did his best to get out of the way should he have stopped um did Perez need to lift off will be another argument Mercedes will be making of course Red Bull will just be making the argument 100% that he was impeded and that of course will be a three Place grid drop for Lewis Hamilton if the stewards agree with that you need to see a few more angles and and you need to see the data which is exactly what they'll look at um but you know Perez threw fastest but his point is he's only got one new set of tires now for the end for the Q3 assuming he gets through there and his main Rivals will have two sets those looking handy so far Lewis Hamilton and Oscar pastri Max for Stafford and Lando Norris who all used just one set of the new soft tires during the course of q1 car SCI still sliding around and giving it some some drift on this lap his teammate sh declair was 410 faster through the middle sector alone science crosses the line 118 and half a second down on his best time from q1 the CLA crosses the line goes fastest by a couple of T of a second it is worth stressing here the Ferraris are not looking like they're sharp enough and fast enough here even on new tires these are used to be troubling pole maybe the second row today yeah car looks a handful and and Carlos looks a bit frustrated I think I've said a time before this yeah he looks like he's overdriving sometimes sort of the grip isn't there so he's just going to have to be a little bit more patient with it but uh as you pointed out it's a US set of tires that were new 10 minutes ago and car of science's future secured Beyond Ferrari during the summer break announced as a Williams driver for two and potentially three years starting from 20 25 as he Lees Ferrari and Lewis Hamilton goes the other way ending his association with Mercedes uh winning in spa in 2013 on the anniversary I think it was his in Spar last time out on the anniversary of his first win for Mercedes in the air that's correct we throw double six wouldn't it well it's gloomy and the wind will carry whatever rain is coming to the track quite quickly here Martin because it is a very stiff breeze and it's all coming from the North Sea yeah which is literally just over the back of the grand stand uh on the pit straight so the drivers are really good they're going to have to push but as I said earlier on their focus will move back towards the car itself and and the meters they're actually driving they're really going to have to jockey these cars around and and they will not just be able to trust and just rely on the down for squashing the car and squashing out the problems Oscar pastri sets off for his first flying lap and for he and Lando Norris the mission is clear get both cars into Q3 which McLaren have done and the only team to do at every race so far this season Oscar takes a tighter line through two and then a slightly lower line in three actually uh quite quite interesting and certainly different to to some drivers there and uh again from this angle it looks like the cars are behaving beautifully doesn't it and as soon as you go on board uh they're all over the place yeah quite it's a very it's a very different perspective we get sat watching the same pictures as yourself for Stafford starts his latest lab difference between used and new tires being shown up here at piastri already a second faster uh than charl Clair who has headed back to change his ties along with caros for their first lap yeah we should be into the 10 now shouldn't we finally the one minute 10 and we'll see how far he can get in there a 10 five that's a handy lap that's a very handy lap time from Oscar pastri and his teammate Lando Norris going faster even through the first sector and pretty much being matched by Max V and just a few difference horrible hor had to wait so long to get on the on the power there did Max let's see what it does through this Little P path chicane getting around a little wide on the way in but um it's a 251 he's lost a 10th in the middle set his first his first sector was good but um it it's not where he needs to be at the moment it'll put him up front but it's there's so much more time to come yeah lost a couple of tents uh after completing the second sector three tents down overall behind Oscar pastri Lando Norris now goes quicker by 91,000 of assist second so tight between the two McLaren drivers and pastri gets out of Norris I should say gets out of the way sharpish so that caros s can dive through on his flying lab he gave SS a nice slip stre him down the pit straight though as long as he didn't distract him on the way into turn one caros might be quite grateful for that from his former team to be honest as Sergio Perez will be next to cross the line charging down the straet and he finishes six t of a second down on Lando Norris three1 down on his teammate Max with stappen Fernando Alonzo who celebrated his 43rd birthday just after Spa crosses the line sixth fastest Alonzo the second driver to race beyond their 43rd birthday in F1 since Graham Hill back in Brazil in 1975 happy birthday to him yeah so the Aston Martin looks half tidy around here not too shabby um which I'm saying as a compliment it is it it looks like they've got a bit of speed this weekend looks like Russ found a bit of grip as well on a new set of tires Martin half 10 down on Lando Norris and Le Hamilton into the but half a second down Orlando Norris and Carlos SS with the a of a bit of a slipstream does get into the top nine his teammate charir is still out on the track and through the final banking we go with charir around about 125 milph as he heads off that banking sixth fastest for him yeah s on new tires that's not fast enough in 112 if he wants to be in Q3 he'll need to uh need to find some Pace right watching the track watching the timings watching the tires and the weather radar the multitasking Bernie Collins trying to keep an eye on everything for you Cy the first thing to say on the weather radar is here because of the location so close to the Sea as we've discussed very hard to get anything on the radar very hard to see any front coming and the front that we're watching is the that has been affec in the UK all day but we think it's not going to arrive soon after qualifying quick update on Ferrari we've seen them do the first run on news tires then they actually did a pit stop for new tires and that I think allows them enough time in this session to get three runs in two on new sets of tires at the end of the session and one on used and the very final bit of INF Cy is we've seen McLaren they've done their first run in this session both marar and many many others between run in q1 a little over 20 minutes ago to their first run now have gained a second of lap time so that's how big the track Improvement is and that is all track Improvement that that lap side that's new tire to new tire so that's all TR we should be rolling this in fuel across both they're obliged to run the same engine modes so that is track Improvement and that is from their first run in q1 to their first run now we'll see that track Improvement will reduce as we go through the sessions as long as the weather plays ball just looking at those right and you can feel that behind the wheel because you're so much a part of the car you you instantly feel a little bit more load in the steering wheel and you can get on the you instinctively pick up the throttle earlier carry a little bit more speed break a meter or too late uh I don't know how you know that but you do yeah you just you that that grip ju just comes through you especially through your hips for example in in the seat of the car and all of the feed back you get is hang on this is better which and you you see that in an extreme circumstances when it's going say from wet to dry where every lap can be three seconds quicker than the lap before Rouses four and a half minutes to go incredible 21 years ago he won his first Grand Prix and still competing at the highest level Fernando Alonso for Aston Martin who last year here managed to finish second in the race chaotic race that it was too we get 112 overtakes after that one yeah I I love the fact that we've got youngsters coming in like Duan and bman probably ant almost certainly antelli but you do need a couple of reference points as well and we've got two great champions in Hamilton and Alonso I don't think they're seat blocking I really don't uh of course Hamilton's notot especially but you know Fernando is very much pulling his weight and getting the job done and and it's not been anything like as good a season as last year but um you need those reference points I think they're so important but you need the fresh blood as well Fernando Alonzo racing alongside at Lance stroll who celebrates a 158th start in Formula 1 uh this weekend which we know is a magic number because it makes you one of the more experienced drivers in Formula 1 because it's how many starts you had in your career yeah and I could barely remember one of them and it seems like somebody else's life to be honest when I when I wander up and down the grid getting in everybody's way I never imagined that I used to be on that Grid it's funny it's like a different life yeah and I've talked to other drivers about that and they're exactly the same way seriously yeah 158 starts 10 podiums I'll give you that one but they took away George Russell wants the win to remember still from Spa we'll give you that Podium they 10 trophies and a broken ankle to confirm I was definitely there in two in 1984 right Oscar pastri and Lando Norris still in the garage and I think they can stay there the uh the cut off shouldn't be affecting them too much with 1104 1105 for Norris and piastri but Lewis Hamilton is coming out once again I dare say sha declair will be out the track he is he's just appeared at the end of the pit Lane right now and everyone from Hamilton down is on the track and some of them need to improved more than others including this man Pierre gazley and there's the Gap to caros SS just under 3/10 of a second uh with gazley in that bottom five along with Magnus soda hulkenberg and albon here he goes then for this final flying lap for him in Q2 heavy Tire wi but we haven't seen a lot of lockups into the first Corner they're running a little bit wide on the on the way in but this is the part that comes at you very fast indeed and uh that's brilliant isn't it and you just throw the nose into the banking banking will always help you carry a lot more speed and uh you can hear the car hitting the ground which you just ignore from the wheel and uh carry all this you can see the cranes there because there's no service roads anybody crashes out there you have to Crane them out of the way you're not going to tow them into a service access and um a little bit ponderous is isn't it on the Apex there is the Aline but it's a personal best first sector a personal best middle sector can gazley get himself into the top 10 shootout well hul BS crossed the line with a 112 and he's just missed out on the top 10 but gazley is going faster by about 410 of a second to hul conver through the first couple of sectors on this lap crosses the line now goes fifth fastest competitive lap time there a 11 108 that might be good enough for Q3 but this track is ramping up and improving behind him sonoda and albon SS and alono and this man Sergio Perez who left it until his last lap in q1 to go fastest overall and this is going to put him right up there at the top as well onto fourth place for Sergio Perez Lance stroll has just put a 239 in for the first sector and that's the fastest we've seen so far his teammate Fernando Alonzo is improving and is coming to the final corner now but not improving by as much albon goes fifth fastest ahead of maxford once again then science is driving for his life to get a time in to get him through to the next stage and the one who missed out in the first sector was leis Hamilton as Alonzo goes only eighth fastest Hamilton down in 10th place needs to pick up the pace a little bit on this laps he's now in the bottom five as science Go's ninth fastest overall stroller said ace the first sector here he is around the final turn he's currently 13th this is going to take him higher goes fourth fastest push his sights now down in the 10th and Hamilton is going to need all the pace out of that Mercedes and he hasn't got it I said the first sector wasn't great and the rest of the lap paned out and not the way Lewis Hamilton or his boss Toto wolf were expecting charir goes sixth fastest pushes his teammate Carlos SS out of qualifying and that is quite the dramatic end here with Lewis Hamilton who has qualified 13th last year now going 12th fastest this year one two the last three races but that's a difficult grid slot for Lewis Hamilton I think we saw the carass science thing coming didn't we of not making it through but I did not anticipate Lewis Hamilton uh struggling for raw Pace he lost three1 in that first sector you referred to and it's a Too Short a lap to make that up only two 2 and a half miles long and whilst caros science was struggling throughout Hamilton to the surprise I think of him his boss and those that were expecting more the Mercedes F stayed in front for the all high spe Corners so so what what's C out the like to SS in Hamilton are to an extent out performances by the likes of Alex Alor the Williams both Aston Martins going a little bit better as well particularly stroll strolls look quick right from the GetGo and and that's what's caught them out we and gazley too gazley up there in nine so um they're not necessarily cars you would have expected to be in front of a Works Ferrari and a Works Mercedes but on this day in history they are yeah equal top point scor in the last four races but he's out in Q2 for the second year running here in zanville p13 p12 for Le h he joins Magnus and hulkenberg and sonoda and sence in making their way out that is sence failing to reach Q3 for the second time this year get [Music] [Music] get [Music] e e e kind of character from the car there back to you he was a tenth of a second slower than Max ven who didn't come out for a second Run brave called cuz ven could easily have been knocked out himself if Hamilton and Science and sonoda were only a tenth behind him and had have got their laps together Alex albon is in Q3 his boss James vow is with us on that Williams pit wall another fine lap from a man who produces them from time the time James yeah really strong LA from him really strong effort a strong effort from from Alex Alon he was fourth on the grid last year he likes it here doesn't he yeah I I think there's elements of this track that suit the car obviously we we've had an upgrades here again this weekend that looked to be working quite well and that's moved us back forward and then there's an element of wind there as well the wind sort of is gusting which means if you get it at a bad moment and I think Lewis did I sort of overheard an talking about it there it will make it'll make it a very difficult corner for balance I think Alex had just a little bit of a drop and wind where we look at the sensors which may have helped too so the track temperatures dropping a little bit bit more James is that affecting warm up at all tie warm up it it is I mean I don't know if you saw from the TV shots a second ago but it looks like the sort of rain it's not on the radar but it looks around sort of 10 km away visually on TV and that's also bringing a truck temperature drop and the front axel is really where there's a problem here so we're generally low on temps and it's the fun that's struggling to come up James thanks every so much indeed good luck for the final part of qualifying leis Hamilton if you haven't been with us throughout this qualifying session as well is also going to have to go to the stewards and defend a potential impeding against Sergio Perez which if he's found guilty of could could see him lining up 15th on the grid yeah it's not out the question it depends how that inquiry goes with the stewards with the incident and Sergio Perez and McLaren then wanting to get out early well they've got a luxury here uh the two McLaren as has the Red Bull that's come out to the pit lane behind them of running two sets new sets of soft compound tires for this session they're the only three cars that have two sets yeah and you can see they're used on the Ferrari and they want to get a run in with this whole remaining Ferrari now Charlotte C but uh 11 just under 11 and a half minutes to go and you can see how Breezy it is out there the wind speed is only showing 3 m/ second yesterday it was seven or eight so um but I think it is gusting but as I found out yesterday out on track so much of the track is sort of down low you feel like you're sheltered from that so you'll pop up into the wind uh and a particularly a crosswind the the cars are long that great big engine cover you can see there uh behind the driver acts like a sail in a crosswind and of course you're using the the air to push the car into the ground anyway and if that is Disturbed uh a little bit like uh when you're in an airplane you start ping around a bit when he going to disturb a so the first seven races of this season saw Max must stappord start on poll at each and every one of them but he's only started from poll once in the last seven races and he took pole here by 38,000 of a seconds uh in 2021 closest margin of the Year by 21,000 of a second in 2022 and by half a second last year he's going to get poll today I dare say it might be another close one rather than that half a second but let's see what else happens and the first flying lap on the new set of soft compound tires is Oscar piastra yeah the car looks nicely balanced it really does and again that tight line through two not as high through three for piastri it's clearly what he prefers cuz he's placing the car very consistently there in that sector over the blind Crest and then just pour it into turn seven and the car look at that so much downforce is rubbing along the ground sealing the side of the floor to give the extra down force and hits the throttle hard back end Wags the tail and piastri looks confident in that car really confident chucking it around getting on the power the front axle the front tires look like they're pretty good let's see how it turns in there that was fine this into the throttle squeeze the throttle on through the exit so much power on that particular area and again then past fast through the middle sector but Norris even faster through the first sector yeah Norris had a couple of tents in that first sector on its teammate pastri crosses the line 111 that is The Benchmark they all have to attack and it's 410 faster than last year's poll position which belong to this man Max mustapan who can't beat Oscar pastri and slots in a few thousandths of a second behind the young Australian Lando Norris crosses the line and Norris goes fastest it's a 10 Z for Lando Norris who has been on Poll for three previous occasions in a Grand Prix and now provisionally has a fourth to contend with he's gone one better than he did last year as well and that's exactly what he was looking for from those first runs on the new tires and we concentrate on those three because if you look at sh declair on the US soft tires there's such a big margin between new and us here yeah and but 21 is a lot between Norris and ven for example it's a lot around this short track let's see what George Russell can do personal best but of course it's his first that oh that was wide wasn't it and just kept the throttle pinned to the firewall and down the straight he goes Russell goes over the line and up into fourth place yeah head of charlot Clair Pierre gazley is the only other to get a lap time on the board and there the six cars that are out on the track so Norris with a 110 Z 10th up on Oscar piastri at McLaren of course who had that front row lockout in Hungary a couple of races ago that's a first front row lockout for the team since Lewis Hamilton's final start for them in Brazil in 2012 might make it two front row lockouts in three races so McLaren the McLaren looks better balanced the stappen is just making the best of a bad job I think I think Mercedes are struggling to warm up their front tires we haven't seen Li yet on new tires and as you pointed out it turns in so hard there double check the floor when I come in do like 13 went a little bit wi yeah okay under subx it carried it carried so much speed in there and it just walked him wide onto the onto the sort of old again old school curbs very serrated it's a cracking track it really isando Norris saying y they maybe not the track that we really want to return from a summer break at purely simply because it is such a Relentless hard ride for the drivers and look there's the the track dominance orange is a predominantly decent color around here but it's the papaya of L Norris that shows the major track dominance between himself and maxford Bernie Collins what you got for us yeah so just a quick off on run the teams are running at this stage coffe so the two Aston Mart Perez and Al not yet that's CU they only have one new set of s we see actually Lance stroll out there now he's going to do his single and only shot a Q3 in the middle of the session the others not wanting to do a run on used tires cuz because we see from gaz's lap time those used tires were 510 slower than the lap we've previously done on you and a bit like Martin described that reset in grip isn't often what drivers want at this important Ste of the qualifying session well strolls out qualified his team Fernando Alonzo five times uh this season prior to to today uh his last lap in Q2 uh would have raised a lot of eyebrows in a positive direction his way he looks supremely quick absolutely so both ason Martins out on the track then Looking For Freedom Looking for clear space and the counter strategy here goes last Str then his previous visits here to zamvil has only started in the top 10 once 2022 the only year he scored points here as well yeah he had a big correction to make in the first corner he runs up to the white line and again had to correct the car in the heart of turn three not the smoothest first couple of corners for L stroll his teammate Fernando Alonzo also out the track Aston Martin at the racetrack where they made their Formula 1 debut in 1959 it was a very different outfit back the day of Rory salvadori and Carol Shelby have the track all to themselves currently and his L stroll fighting that smoother Rhythm as he makes his way around turn 10 into the second DRS Zone another car then that's not got an aient front end on it at this stage 251 middle sector for stroll is okay but it's not going to trouble Norris pastri or stappen the top three is just the final banking to go now for Lance stroll we want to be ahead of George Russell currently in fourth place so Russell's run on new tires to come but only six fastest and that might have been a missed opportunity there for L stroll yeah I think that was probably the least impressive lap we've seen from him actually and but the car did not look ready to go on that lap his teammate Fernando Alonzo though Martin 10th of a second down through that first sector so are these track temperature changes not helping as Martin as the wind picks up just that little bit more as well Alonzo matches stroll through the middle sector yeah I I think they've just reached the limit of how fast they can go to be honest they got there nice and early and that's put them both in Q3 which is important here but Alonzo drives for the line then it's the second half of the top 10 where they're aiming at and at the moment he's right there he goes 210 faster than he managed in Q2 by parison stroll was 210 slower than he managed in Q2 and that's what put Alonzo into the top five as the rest now all file their way out and we will get the remainder of the eight flying laps to decide Pole Position here crost PK and then three vens the last five previous polls here at the Dutch Grand Prix which has been one from pole the last six times on four occasions and one from 10th on the other two occasions strange naly that one I was in that race in 1985 it's a fearsome race it was back then mly terrifying actually but um especially with the banking always Lively I cannot do more than this he sounds like he gave it maximum effort as well yeah he's done 11 115 108 1 minute 10.6 that's that's a decent progression and he was as you said he was struggling a little bit in the first sector but it was a a best he could do as he says and he knows this man has won 16 Grand Prix when he hasn't started on the front row and that's where he finds himself at the moment down in third fastest the last time he won from third Mexico 2023 and talking to team members at Red Bull before this session the message was we are not confident that we're the take pole but Max can produce some Stellar laps when called upon and what better place to try and produce a Stella lab than here in front of his home fans and it's a better first sector but it's not good enough to be the best first sector it's not as a 10th shy but let's see what he can do through the rest of the lap 238 first sector for Norris that's an astonishing time Norris then on another great lap at the moment and Sergio Perez down as well through that first sector his run and he's only running Q3 on a new set of soft compound tires but stappen has hooked up the middle sector rather nicely we had to up a big slide there with some opposite log and he was two10 down to Norris through the first sector one1 up on Norris through the middle part of the lap so it's all going to come down to the final few Corners here Max with dappen charging for a fourth consecutive pole and he does put his Red Bull on provisional pole for the time being the fans at zanor are very happy but that time is short lived as Lando Norris absolutely demolishes that Red Bull Advantage by nearly 410 of a second he puts his McLaren on pole Sergio Perez goes into the second row much improved qualifying from him that's where Red Bull wants him but how long will he stay there Oscar pastri on the track at the moment seems to be struggling a little bit in comparison to his teammate as Alex Alor goes seventh fastest for Williams Russell picking up the pace two for Mercedes yeah past's had a so so middle sector not even a personal best a lot of work to do in the final few Corners if he wants to be on the front row in this McLaren it is top six for charl lir as he completes his lap in the Ferrari and here comes Oscar pastu then to finish his lap and he stays third fastest it's Norris and bapen the two leading contenders in the driver Championship that are first and second as it stands George Russell desperate for a good weekend here to make up for that disqualification in Belgium last time out crosses the line goes on to the second row decent lap from George Russell yeah very good effort there because that car has not really looked uh ready has it with the front tire temperatures but he's done an 110 a 105 and now a 102 in Q3 good progression shows commitment and Zack Brown there extremely happy with pole position and what a pole position for Lando Norris a third what nice job and confirm that his bot wow Lando Norris puts himself on pole then for the fourth time in a Grand Prix he started P1 in a couple of sprint races as well in the past he hasn't LED beyond the end of the first lap when he started on pole but as the song says if you get it wrong you'll get it right next time and maybe this is the weekend that he will get it right and so far so good for Lando Norris I mean that was that's he smashed that hasn't he and look at that a third of a second around this track against Ven and 410 up on piastri that's an astonishing lab that's the sort of thing we've seen we've seen from Center in the past and and Hamilton and veren that was a sensational lap from Lando Norris no doubting he is capable of some stunning one laap performances Lando Norris but he's up against Max for stpp and on the front row tomorrow uh the fist bumps and the Hand slapping can start in that McLaren garage as they celebrate the 350th front row start in Formula One in their first poll here since alros back in [Music] 1984 and underneath that crash helmet I'm sure there's a very calm but very wide smile on the face of L Norris the color here is orange but the color on this Saturday afternoon is very much papaya and V stappen playing second fiddle but from the race strategies yesterday was about a tenth of a second advantage over McLaren in that dry running yeah I mean V stappen found 810 in Q3 there there's another great performance he has he was how much he was only he was 410 quicker than Perez in the end but was his was the pappen his teammate so um a good a really good effort from Max but it was not going to get anywhere near that lap from Lando Norris in a McLaren that looks even better than it has of recent times so the big headlines from this qualifying Lewis Hamilton and Carlos SS both out in Q2 Hamilton will go to the stewards he's been investigated for impeding Sergio Perez Perez manages to put his red into the top five and it's the second time only the second time he's been in the top five here at xanor in the previous years charir for Ferrari the lead Ferrari only sixth on the grid Alex albon with another Splendid lap from him manages to split the two Aston Martins and it's Lando Norris on pole joli and Palmer with the interviews maxen it's second place today in zamber but what a show you put on there was a huge cheer for from the crowd when you provisionally took pole just wasn't quite to be today yeah I think uh the whole qualifying you know we just lacked a bit of pace um I tried the best I could I'm still very happy of course to be on the on the front row uh it's very tricky out there with the win I mean um you know you have these gust of wind coming in so every single lap just feels different so you can't really go off a reference as well um but yeah I'm happy with second I think after yesterday as well this this is a good result how tricky was it with the balance we saw your lap at the end f in the car in the chicane 11 and 12 some under steer some over steer piecing a up together just look very hard yeah it's how it is at the moment um not the easiest to drive but uh the rest of the lot was quite solid I think yeah only 112 was a bit uh a bit difficult um but yeah we'll we'll see hopefully the car is okay tomorrow in in the race but no one's ever beaten you at this circuit three wins on the bounce here you at least start from the front row can you win uh we'll give it a good go but of course when you are more than three1 behind in qualifying I I think we have to be realistic you know I I just Tred to have a good race tomorrow all right well you're on the front row Le well done Max good luck Oscar not quite the front row in the end you were so close all the way through qualifying just slipped back to third what went wrong on the the final lap uh yeah I just didn't do a good enough job really um I think the first half lap was pretty solid and then the second half just uh wasn't wasn't quite what I needed so um yeah clearly the the car has been very quick this weekend and um yeah a little bit disappointing to to not be a bit higher up but um we still got a a good race car underneath us and we can get some some really good points and hopefully some trophies tomorrow so um yeah get you got upgrades on the car obviously with the weather that we've had this weekend it's been very difficult to get too many great reads I imagine from it but they seem to be working well yeah I think they're all doing what they expect what we expect them to do and um yeah anything you can put on the car especially when it's as tight as it is it's uh always a always a good thing so um yeah not the easiest conditions to see what it's like but as long as it makes the car quicker then I'm happy and the car looked good on the long run as well you thinking that should give you a chance to bring you into play for for a victory tomorrow perhaps yeah I think it's it's definitely not out of the question um yeah the the pace did look good in the long run and um yeah we've been we've been pretty quick the last few weekends so hopefully we can have a good day tomorrow um get a a good start and try and make up uh a couple of spots if I can but um yeah some some good things on off for tomorrow all right Oscar well done hope you can get in the fight cheers Lando what a performance that was we're back from the summer break and you're back with a bang P by three and a half T today incredible thank you uh yeah uh an amazing day nice to be back and uh and start with a poll uh it was a nice lap honestly the qualifying was always pretty smooth and um put in some good laps especially the one at the end which is always the most important so um great job by the team and and happy with today and everyone's talking about these these weather conditions the wind the rain you seem to be happy across the board every lap that you're doing is wild at the front rain or shine wind or no wind uh it's it's harder than it looks I think um I mean everyone's complaining of it cuz it it is tricky it's not easy out there and every every lap you have to kind of know what to expect and know how much more you can push where the limits are uh but that's our job in the end of the day so it's it's not easy but I felt comfortable out there the car was feeling amazing we've got some uh some upgrades on the car for first time in a while and um everything's working very well so uh a big thanks to the team to and looking forward to tomorrow it's a shorter run to the first Corner than Barcelona and Budapest can you I don't know why you're saying that but uh no I'm I'm I'm excited for it tomorrow I'm sure it's going to be tough um Max has been quick all weekend I know we got him today but he's uh he's still second and he's going to be putting up a good fight especially at his home race so um looking forward to it we're looking forward to it too well done Lando thank you e e pi get hear say [Music] get for that