18:24
Hello, I will today be taking you all through tonights qualifying in Brazil. The big talking point coming up to qualifying is the news that Lewis Hamilton will be taking a five-place grid penalty for taking a new engine.
Earlier Practice Session
In today’s practice session, Hamilton came up on top followed by the two Red Bulls of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez, with Hamilton’s teammate Valtteri Bottas fourth fastest.
The Williams is ready to push for a good qualifying result today, with their aim surely to get both cars into Q2.
Lance Stroll will be looking to end a run of two races where he has not made it out of Q1 today.
Verstappen will be looking to qualify on pole position today, to have the best chance to extend his lead in the championship.
18:58
Just two minutes until qualifying, and the fans are loving it!
Some humour from the fans, saying their farewell to the retiring Kimi Rรคikkรถnen
19:00
Qualifying begins and the Ferraris are straight out on track, putting in a banker lap just in case if there is rain. (40% chance)
19:02
Some more cars now onto the track, and more and more now with three quarters of the grid on track
19:04
Pierre Gasly setting the early pace, with a 1:10:062, followed by the Ferrari’s
19:06
Verstappen two-tenths quicker than the rest, setting a 1:09:329, with clouds hovering above the circuit
19:08
Hamilton half a second up on Verstappen, and Bottas just five hundredths behind Max
19:10
Gasly goes third fastest, but is quickly knocked down by Carlos Sainz, who goes second fastest
Charles Leclerc has him time deleted which has pushed him back into the bottom five, not exactly what the Ferrari team needed
19:13
Hamilton goes even quicker with a 1:08:733
19:15
With just three minutes to go, the bottom five from 16th is RUS, MSC, GIO, MAZ, LEC
19:17
Leclerc goes third fastest, he should now be able to relax
19:18
Sebastian Vettel goes ninth fastest, Nicholas Latifi pushes George Russell into the bottom five but is then pushed into the bottom five by Antonio Giovinazzi, who goes seventh fastest
19:19
Lance Stroll visibly angry with missing out on Q2 along with both Williams and both Haas drivers
Stroll (P16) just six-tenths off Bottas (P5) is a sign of how close things are round here, also just under a second off Hamilton in P1
19:27
Q2 has started but nobody is on track…
19:29
And finally cars are on track, its not like we are here to watch qualifying…
19:31
Hamilton is flying round currently, three tenths up on Bottas in the first sector
Hamilton sets the fastest time but then it’s deleted, with Gasly the fastest
19:32
Verstappen goes fastest by over three tenths to Gasly, with a time a tenth quicker than Hamilton’s deleted time
19:34
Hamilton DOES go faster, with a 1:08:386. Also Bottas improves, so now the order is HAM, VER, BOT. I feel like we have seen that before
19:17
Heading into the final runs, currently going out in Q2 is OCO, TSU, VET, RAI, GIO
19:40
Vettel can’t make his way out of the drop zone and neither can Rรคikkรถnen or Giovinazzi
Hamilton improves to make the gap four tenths, and Bottas also improves to go faster than Verstappen
19:42
Out in Q2 from 11th are OCO, VET, TSU, RAI, GIO
19:47
Nikita Mazepin visibly emotional in his interview after his Q1 exit, he made a slight mistake where he belives that wothout it could have outqualified his team mate and maybe even the Williams of Russell. Got to feel for him who has had a tough rookie season in a car that simply is not good enough
19:51
All the cars now making their way onto the track, all very slowly, like very slowly
19:54
First runs see Hamilton with a 1:08:107, followed by Verstappen, Bottas and Perez, Gasly in his P5 slot
19:58
Cars all back on track, here we go! Can anybody stop Hamilton from getting pole?
20:00
Verstappen over two tenths down on Hamilton in the first sector
HAMILTON INCREASES HIS LEAD AND TAKES POLE
Bottas qualifies third, an opportunity missed for another front row start, with Perez remaining in P4, Gasly P5
Post Qualifying Interviews
Max Verstappen who qualified in P2:
Valtteri Bottas who qualified in P3:
The man on pole for the sprint tomorrow, Lewis Hamilton:
Thanks everyone for tuning in for tonights qualifying. It was a slight shock as to how far ahead Hamilton was from the rest of the pack, and especially Verstappen who starts from second on the grid. Tomorrow’s sprint race should be a good one, with the title rivals once again both on the front row for it. Could we see another big moment in this years title race tomorrow?
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