💥 Check out this insightful post from BBC Sport 📖
📂 Category:
📌 Main takeaway:
Piastri’s pole came despite a big understeer moment at the entrance to Turn 4, which he estimated cost him around 0.2 seconds and described as “pretty scary – turning left on a right corner is never good, especially when you’re doing the hundreds of kilometers per hour that you’re doing there.”
Verstappen’s problems caused the Dutchman to lose to his teammate Yuki Tsunoda in qualifying for the first time this season, and the Japanese was faster by 0.009 seconds.
It may turn out that Verstappen’s car was down when he set his fastest time.
He went off the track at the exit of Turn 4 on his first attempt, and bounced through the gravel trap violently, the type of accident in which the floor of a Formula 1 car can sustain damage, although he did not mention this in his interview.
He also complained, with the addition of obscenities, during the hearing over the radio about the car bouncing.
“Not good. From the first lap, there was very bad bounce and very tight understeer that would turn into oversteer at high speeds. That’s not what you want. We tried changing some things on the steering wheel but it never worked,” Verstappen said.
“With that balance, the race won’t be as much fun. It’ll be more about trying to survive and then making some changes before qualifying.”
Although overshadowed by the title race, the star of qualifying for the sprint races was arguably Fernando Alonso, who put his Aston Martin fourth on the grid – an impressive performance for a team sitting eighth in the Constructors’ Championship.
“One of the best results this year,” he said. “Tough circuit, high-speed sections and the car in the window actually came out on top in Q3. There was a little bit of tension in Q2 because of the traffic but we got to Q3 and then had one lap together.
“My twenty-four years of experience, 44 years, has some drawbacks. I get a little tired because of the jet lag, but I know the tracks and the tires and I know how to extract everything on Fridays and then on Saturdays, it is true that we open the Park and make some small changes to the cars and everyone seems to be leading the circuit.
Behind him, Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli finished seventh, while Williams drivers Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon finished second to Leclerc.
Hamilton said almost nothing in his only media interview after the session.
When asked how difficult the car was, he said: “As always.”
⚡ What do you think?
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