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That’s all for today!
With that we have reached the end of today’s ticker. The race starts tomorrow at 3:10 pm our time, and we will go back to the start with a new ticker from noon to get you in a good mood for the Grand Prix. But it’s over for today. Have a good night, sleep well and see you tomorrow!
Ferrari 1.3 seconds slower than 2019
One more thing for all stat freaks: Ferrari was 1.3 seconds slower in qualifying today than a year ago. At the time Leclerc was on pole with a 1: 27.8, today both he and Vettel drove a 1: 29.1. This accident is already serious. Especially compared to the competition, because Hamilton was 0.9 seconds faster (!) Than in 2019, for example, Verstappen was even 1.1 seconds. Brutal for the Scuderia …
Verstappen: advantage at the beginning?
For a change, it’s not about the tires, because this time everyone in the front starts with the same tires. However, the Dutchman is glad that tomorrow he starts in P3 from the “clean” side of the grid. That could be an advantage in the fight against Bottas, because the Finn is on the dirty side at P2. Also, Bottas didn’t get off to a perfect start this year …
Ferrari: tire advantage in the race?
Sporting director Laurent Mekies explains: “Our approach was very race-focused. We put away two sets of hard tires. […] We’ll see if we need them tomorrow and if it will be worth it. “He also believes that tomorrow you’ll have the pace to ride in the big group behind the front.” I’m not saying we’re faster, “Mekies said, but if you can at least keep up, then something could go beyond strategy.
Grosjean: “Sad” how time ends at Haas
The Frenchman has been with Haas since the team’s first Formula 1 race. Now his time there ends at a time when the team is at the back of the field. “It’s not ideal, and it also makes me a little sad,” admits Grosjean, explaining, “I’ve invested a lot in this project.”
It feels like the team’s successes, for example finishing fifth in Bahrain, are “centuries ago”. About the team itself, he explains: “I think they deserve more. But that’s what we have. And miracles are not possible.” Somehow a sad farewell.
Ocon: I had no luck against Ricciardo …
The Australian leads the internal qualifying duel 14: 1. Alone in the rain at Spielberg, Ocon prevailed once. He was often close, as he is today. This time, Ocon was only 0.002 seconds behind the teammate. It is not the first time that less than one tenth makes a difference at the end of the classification.
“He’s had a very strong year, he was faster than me for most of the season,” admits Ocon. But Ricciardo was also lucky. “When he was tight, I always ran in his direction,” the Frenchman shrugs and explains: “In the next two [Qualifyings] it’s up to me to change that. “
At the same time, his last two chances, because then Ricciardo moves to McLaren.
Hamilton’s lap from pole …
… is here again in the video. The world champion himself reveals: “You can always get better and better a little bit, but today was a very clean lap. I don’t know exactly why, but I had a good feeling here all weekend. I just wanted today. I just wanted to have fun, that’s the most important thing to me. “
Doesn’t work with one stop
Everyone seems to agree on this at least. Even the “tire whisperer” Sergio Pérez answered the question of whether he could make a stop tomorrow: “No, not here. I think tomorrow we will see between two and three stops. It will be a long race.” Still, I wouldn’t be surprised if one or the other tried. Especially since, according to Pirelli, the medium hard variant is supposed to work …
Top 10 start at Medium
Tomorrow at the start we will have the very unusual situation that none of the top 10 drivers will start the race on soft tires. The ten drivers start in the middle, behind which there is a free choice of tires. But is this “choice” really that big? Because nobody really wants to start with the soft ones. So the only real alternative was still the hard tires. And those are actually a disadvantage at first. It will be exciting!
Sainz: I had no luck in Bahrain …
Thursday’s press conference was also about the fact that Carlos Sainz is simply out of luck in his career in Bahrain. He has never scored there. He was eliminated in his first three races with Toro Rosso between 2015 and 2017, and in 2018 and 2019 he lost points to McLaren. And on the sixth attempt this year, it doesn’t seem to be going any better …
Battle for P3: Advantage at Racing Point?
The walk only starts from P13, Pérez starts from P5. That made him “the best of the rest” today behind Mercedes and Red Bull. That is also important in the battle for third place in the World Cup. Racing Point (154 points) currently leads ahead of McLaren (149), Renault (136) and Ferrari (130). As a reminder: McLarens will only come from P9 and P15 tomorrow, Ferraris from P11 and P12.
An opportunity for Renault, where Ricciardo and Ocon start just behind Pérez. “His long runs were good and he was always a master of proper tire handling. We have to really push him and maybe try to catch him off guard at first so that he can’t follow through on his strategy.” Ricciardo.
“If he has a clear streak I think it will be difficult to beat,” said the Australian.
Ride: That’s why he was eliminated in Q2
We wonder what was happening to the Canadian in the second quarter. Now he explains: “After the red flag there was a misunderstanding that robbed us of a potential spot in Q3. We went into used media while the rest of the field had new tires. So we had no more chances in the third quarter.” .
You want to discuss the situation at night and “learn” from it. Regarding the race, he explains: “The positive is that we have a free choice of tires in 13th position. Here you can overtake, and the strategy is important. So that we can advance. We can score points, and with him I am happy with him. car pace “.
No Ferrari in the top 10
In Bahrain, Ferrari’s engine weakness is seemingly coming to light again this year. None of the six Ferrari drivers made it to Q3 today, and all four customer cars even finished Q1. There were three Mercedes, three Renault, and even the four Honda cars in the top 10. That doesn’t give much hope for the race, but let’s see what else is possible for Vettel and Co.
No meeting between Verstappen and Wolff
His colleague Chris Medland caused a stir on Twitter today when he claimed he saw Toto Wolff talking to Jos Verstappen in the paddock. But that’s not true at all! “My father is sitting on the couch and taking care of my little brother. Maybe he can teleport?” Max has meanwhile replied with a smile.
Medland apologized for the confusion but continued by saying, “I swear this person looked like him!” This is how rumors can arise. At least now we know that Jos Verstappen seems to have a doppelganger in the paddock 😉
What role will Albon play tomorrow?
P4 is a good starting position. But it would be even more important to keep this position to finally be able to help Verstappen against Hamilton and Bottas. “P4 is great. Hopefully we can use it to disrupt Mercedes’ strategy,” Albon says aggressively and reveals that this location did not surprise him.
“The first practice session was quite good, as was the third. P4 didn’t seem unrealistic there. I thought it was possible before qualifying. Of course it was good to get the result. The car feels good this weekend. . Especially today it clicked again, “Albon said.
Let’s see what happens tomorrow.
Sainz: It was the brake
Now we finally have confirmation from McLaren. Sainz’s car did have a problem with the brakes at the rear. That’s why the car blew up so strangely at Turn 1. The good news is that it should be possible to fix the problem without incurring a penalty. For example, if you had to change the gearbox, there would have been a penalty for the place of departure. So that I can at least hold the starting position 15 tomorrow.
