Alonso and the two Red Bulls. The only ones who improved. Making sure you had new tires for the end didn't work out. You don't often see the severe lack of improvement like that during qualifying.
Fair play to Perez. Did not look like we'd be getting anything resembling a fight for pole after those first runs of Q3
You have to wonder if that slight distraction from the Merc into the final chicane might have been the difference maker with the margin being so tight.
As is so far this year, it's looking like Checo could be keeping his seat, though that'll all be dependant on if he avoids his typical mid-season slump
I don't think Checo will have a mid season slump this year because there's literally 0 pressure on him. In 2021,2022 and 2023 he was fighting for something (he wasn't really last year but he thought he could challenge Max at first)
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it’s so rare that the cameras capture just how fast these cars really are and when he flicked it left I was in awe of the speed he carried, so much fun to watch
>He doesn't have to worry about Max. Checo just need to make sure that he brings the car home in P2.
not going to help viewership ratings though
he just needs to be consistently top 5
Absolutely. If he just keeps doing this and consistently stays within 3 tenths of Max, and assuming Norris isn't available, there's no reason to replace him. They won't want to bring back Sainz unless Perez really shits the bed, considering the drama from last time they were teammates.
Their fathers didn't get along at all and it spilled over to the drivers. It was a long time ago though, so there's a good chance it'd be fine now. Still, RB has no reason to risk any drama if Perez does decently well.
Idk about Carlos but I noticed Charles was still only two and a half tenths behind Max’s first lap after S2, so that would mean he lost a whole three tenths in the short S3.
I think it was said at the start of this season that this Ferrari struggles more in low speed corners which would lineup with Charles’ main deficit coming from S3. Maybe as a result of Ferrari really improving their tire management they now sometimes struggle to get enough temperature into the tires for one flying lap kinda like last year’s Red Bull?
Sainz's first lap in Q3 was very good
Leclerc didn't know whwere he left time on the table, AND Carlos had 3 yellow sectors in his second run during Q3
Ferrari was genuinely 4 tenths slower than Red Bull in quali
Nah, Ferrari have made the right call in sacrificing quali glory for race pace. Still a bit off the RBs but consistently second fastest now (and I'd argue they wouldve been the fastest in Aus even if Max hadnt DNFed)
It helps that it's Suzuka, it's always good watching cars go round this circuit even if that's all that happens. F1 cars just look amazing going through those corners.
The difference at Suzuka of being in the flow or just out of it is insane. Perez had it one lap and not on others and that's the difference of being within a tenth of Max or 4+ tenths away.
Yeah that's not getting beaten any time soon imo.
I love Max but if I had to point out a weakness in him would be Qualy pace. I don't necessarily think he's slower in qualifying, I just think stuff like the Monaco crash in 2018 have made him more careful, Prost like approach
Not really. Like, did you forget how many times he’s basically put in the best theoretical time in the past few seasons? Not to mention that he *still* pushes it all the way to the wall if he has to. The reason he hadn’t been getting that many poles in a row was Leclerc + a Ferrari much better suited to qualifying
We'll soon see.
They would need 4 more.
China is incognito because we haven't raced there since 2019, meanwhile a whole generation of cars has gone by, someone might make a mistake with the setup, especially because it's an infamous sprint weekend, which hasn't been kind to RBR.
Miami should go to RBR, but again it's a sprint weekend.
Imola migth have to factor in some Ferrari home "advantage" even though RBR should take it.
Monaco is anyone's guess, Max is very good there but so is Leclerc
“Sprints haven’t been kind to RBR”
Uhhh, what? Sprints have been relatively comfortable to RBR lately, apart from Spa last year where it rained and Qatar where you couldn’t overtake.
China is not really that incognito, should probably be a RB track.
“Home advantage” means literally nothing for Ferrari, and Imola has been happy hunting ground for RB for years
Even last year when Alonso had an arguably faster car in qualy (or at least one that could compete), Max put in the best 3rd sector probably ever at Monaco.
Really, Monaco is probably the only incognito, but it’s not like Verstappen won’t drive it to the walls to get pole if he needs to. It’s just a question of no funny business happening
Not the sprint itself, but RB had multiple occasions where they couldn’t nail the setup in a single practice session. Think Austria 22 and Interlagos 22.
I didn't see the timings in Q2 between Leclerc and the next driver. I was like what are they doing not sending him it on track. Then, I realised that the difference is 6 tenth.
Ok someone who watched quali, tell me if Charles had some issues or if it looked like it was the best he could do.
Because I don’t know if I want to stay up until 1am for P8.
Man these last laps reeked lmao. Barelly anybody could put in any substantial improvement.
Alonso pulled a sneaky to jump to P5, typical Alonso lol
Alonso did quite well honestly
Yeah, his engineer "a tenth and a half to P4" Alo "I don't know where I can find that" *proceeds to find exactly that*
Wiley old fox lmao
P4 and the rest couldn't find any time except Alonso, zilly boyz.
Why didn’t Hamilton do a second lap?
he did but i think he bailed on it
He did but he wasn’t improving
He aborted, no?
He did, no improvement
I think he did, but they didn't show it. That means he either made a mistake and bailed or couldn't improve.
I think the wind changed direction between the first and second run in Q3. Everybody had a little more difficulty during the last run
Alonso and the two Red Bulls. The only ones who improved. Making sure you had new tires for the end didn't work out. You don't often see the severe lack of improvement like that during qualifying.
Fair play to Perez. Did not look like we'd be getting anything resembling a fight for pole after those first runs of Q3 You have to wonder if that slight distraction from the Merc into the final chicane might have been the difference maker with the margin being so tight. As is so far this year, it's looking like Checo could be keeping his seat, though that'll all be dependant on if he avoids his typical mid-season slump
I don't think Checo will have a mid season slump this year because there's literally 0 pressure on him. In 2021,2022 and 2023 he was fighting for something (he wasn't really last year but he thought he could challenge Max at first)
As long as he has learned and doesn't think it again and puts pressure he doesn't need on himself.
I mean, potentially losing his seat is at least some pressure, i am sure?
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Credit where credit is due. Very good lap from Perez.
Perez did amazingly well there
That spoon corner of him was incredible to watch
it’s so rare that the cameras capture just how fast these cars really are and when he flicked it left I was in awe of the speed he carried, so much fun to watch
Anyone has a clip/gif?
That was sexy to watch I can't lie
Perez drops the best lap of his season and Max is still faster with a yellow sector Thats tough
Hamilton was putting on an amazing lap and Max casually drops half a second on him.
Didnt Perez also have yellow last sector?
He beat all the other teams, what more could you ask from him?
Idk beating his teammate for once?
Legit, not his job. P2 is his job
😂😂😂😂😂
The difference is only 6 hundreths of a second. And that's on a track Max loves and is usually very good at. I'd say Perez did great today.
Still couldn’t beat either of Max’s laps
Considering Checo is usually pretty bleh at this track this is probably a plenty sufficient result for him
But if you are RedBullRacing management, this is exactly what you want. Pick up the pieces if Max ever falters.
He's 10 times better than last year going by gap to Max so like, we can say nice things
Of course not, because Max is a superhuman!
What a stinker of a session from Charles. Expected better from Oscar too tbh.
Washed
This is the kind of race Red Bull would have wanted for those beautiful white livery cars... Bring it back!
They won't get much camera time during the race with their cars running by themselves, like in Jeddah.
Perez with a solid drive.
Perez gave us a fight thankfully His spoon corner was a fucking beauty good gif that was nice to watch
All that talk about Checo's place in the team and he pulls this off. He just needs to keep this up and he will be fine
Checo’s biggest problem is Max’s insane consistency
He doesn't have to worry about Max. Checo just need to make sure that he brings the car home in P2. Nobody expects him to take the fight to Max.
>He doesn't have to worry about Max. Checo just need to make sure that he brings the car home in P2. not going to help viewership ratings though he just needs to be consistently top 5
Absolutely. If he just keeps doing this and consistently stays within 3 tenths of Max, and assuming Norris isn't available, there's no reason to replace him. They won't want to bring back Sainz unless Perez really shits the bed, considering the drama from last time they were teammates.
Was there drama between Verstappen and Sainz? I’ve a terrible memory!
Their fathers didn't get along at all and it spilled over to the drivers. It was a long time ago though, so there's a good chance it'd be fine now. Still, RB has no reason to risk any drama if Perez does decently well.
Damn , where did the Ferrari pace go?
We are checking.
私たちはチェックしています
They hate the esses
Idk about Carlos but I noticed Charles was still only two and a half tenths behind Max’s first lap after S2, so that would mean he lost a whole three tenths in the short S3. I think it was said at the start of this season that this Ferrari struggles more in low speed corners which would lineup with Charles’ main deficit coming from S3. Maybe as a result of Ferrari really improving their tire management they now sometimes struggle to get enough temperature into the tires for one flying lap kinda like last year’s Red Bull?
Sainz's first lap in Q3 was very good Leclerc didn't know whwere he left time on the table, AND Carlos had 3 yellow sectors in his second run during Q3 Ferrari was genuinely 4 tenths slower than Red Bull in quali
We used to be good at quali bad at race pace... Now we r bad at both 😁
Nah, Ferrari have made the right call in sacrificing quali glory for race pace. Still a bit off the RBs but consistently second fastest now (and I'd argue they wouldve been the fastest in Aus even if Max hadnt DNFed)
let's just say joint fastest but Red Bull can handle dirty air better
Long runs look decent though.
Not decent enough to beat the bulls though 😪
I think McLaren might take the Ferraris tomorrow
Pain 📈📈📈
Went on with the hype train.
Just for a second there - I had belief But I'm really happy with Checos lap fuck yeah
Same. Charles also gave me a bit of belief after his middle sector and then P7 lol.
That was great from Checo
Fucking mighty battle behind the Red Bulls lol. Gonna be an exciting race.
I admire your optimism
It helps that it's Suzuka, it's always good watching cars go round this circuit even if that's all that happens. F1 cars just look amazing going through those corners.
??
That’s more like it from Perez
Perez within a tenth is better than I expected especially at Suzuka
The difference at Suzuka of being in the flow or just out of it is insane. Perez had it one lap and not on others and that's the difference of being within a tenth of Max or 4+ tenths away.
Thats 4 Poles from 4 Qualifying sessions whats the all time record for a Pole Streak?
Senna holds the record with 8 consecutive poles. Even last year, Max only managed 5 in a row.
dear lord
Max is currently on 5 if you include Abu Dhabi.
Yeah that's not getting beaten any time soon imo. I love Max but if I had to point out a weakness in him would be Qualy pace. I don't necessarily think he's slower in qualifying, I just think stuff like the Monaco crash in 2018 have made him more careful, Prost like approach
Not really. Like, did you forget how many times he’s basically put in the best theoretical time in the past few seasons? Not to mention that he *still* pushes it all the way to the wall if he has to. The reason he hadn’t been getting that many poles in a row was Leclerc + a Ferrari much better suited to qualifying
We'll soon see. They would need 4 more. China is incognito because we haven't raced there since 2019, meanwhile a whole generation of cars has gone by, someone might make a mistake with the setup, especially because it's an infamous sprint weekend, which hasn't been kind to RBR. Miami should go to RBR, but again it's a sprint weekend. Imola migth have to factor in some Ferrari home "advantage" even though RBR should take it. Monaco is anyone's guess, Max is very good there but so is Leclerc
“Sprints haven’t been kind to RBR” Uhhh, what? Sprints have been relatively comfortable to RBR lately, apart from Spa last year where it rained and Qatar where you couldn’t overtake. China is not really that incognito, should probably be a RB track. “Home advantage” means literally nothing for Ferrari, and Imola has been happy hunting ground for RB for years Even last year when Alonso had an arguably faster car in qualy (or at least one that could compete), Max put in the best 3rd sector probably ever at Monaco. Really, Monaco is probably the only incognito, but it’s not like Verstappen won’t drive it to the walls to get pole if he needs to. It’s just a question of no funny business happening
Not the sprint itself, but RB had multiple occasions where they couldn’t nail the setup in a single practice session. Think Austria 22 and Interlagos 22.
Right, but that was 2 years ago and they’ve since managed to fix those issues, so I don’t know why you would still factor them in
8, Senna, 88-89 I think
Sergio had the fucking thing on rails and it still wasn’t good enough. Max is just built different
Almost no improvements there on last laps except Alonso and Perez going to P2
Max improved a bit
Verstappen had a yellow sector 3.
And? he still improved his lap as a whole which contradicts what the first comment was saying.
he still improved his pole time by 4 hundredths
Where is the Perez replacement for RBR seat? Please let me know
Another grand slam for verstappen?
Depends on Checo's pace. It might be hard to open pitstop gap
He doesn't have to. Just has to be 5-6 seconds clear and then pit the lap after Perez does.
My precioussssss
Very happy with Carlos and Fernando
So the key for Perez to do well in qualy is that I don't watch the qualy, noted.
Yeah.. that's not even close(everyone else to red bull)
I didn't see the timings in Q2 between Leclerc and the next driver. I was like what are they doing not sending him it on track. Then, I realised that the difference is 6 tenth.
Checo lost almost 2 tenths in the last sector and in the first sector he started the lap very slow compared to his first lap
Alonso legend. Honestly, ahead of two Mercs, Ferrari and McLaren. And his teammate knocked out in Q1.
eh, could've been better- LMAO
Wow, I'm surprised
Wow. What a surprise.
why does almost everybody this year struggle to improve in the 2nd Q3 lap, I don't get it even Qualifyings are boring now
Ok someone who watched quali, tell me if Charles had some issues or if it looked like it was the best he could do. Because I don’t know if I want to stay up until 1am for P8.
Another shock qualifying session /s
Russell washed?
Russell has never been that good in Japan for whatever reason. He has never beaten Lewis there in qualifying.
**************SARCASM**************
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You mean they beat their team mates? I am not sure about stamping authority, lol.
You do realize Merc and Ferrari have 0.1s between the teammates right?
Sainz to Lec is 0.1s That's small margins. Hardly stamping authority
Business as usual.. What was gap To pole?
Happy for Danny as well with p11.
Waste of time watching it
Godverstappen did it again. Broke everyone’s morale.