Q2: Red flag
Schumacher flew off, it was a violent crash. Q2 is interrupted five minutes before the end. The car is broken, hope Mick is ok!
Q2: Ricciardo is in trouble
Another investigation is ongoing. Ricciardo stood in Ocon’s way. That’s why the Frenchman is shaking now too. Besides him, Zhou, Ricciardo, Magnussen and Stroll would be out at the moment. Schumacher would make it into Q3 for the first time on P9.
Six minutes left on the clock.
Q2: Let’s go!
The second section is running. 15 minutes are on the clock this time, again the five slowest drivers are eliminated. Let’s see who gets caught now. After Q1 you can’t actually rule anything out!
By the way: Apart from Tsunoda, who couldn’t drive, only Mercedes drivers retired in Q1. So the picture from the training has been confirmed.
For the first time …
… Hamilton has failed in Q1 since Brazil 2017. At that time, the Brit had an accident and couldn’t set a time. Today we still don’t know what caused it. But what is amazing is that Russell ended up in P4 in the second Mercedes.
The Mercedes newcomer was almost 0.7 seconds faster than the record champion. Have you tried a completely different set-up? We are trying to resolve!
Q1: Hamilton is out!
That’s the surprise: Hamilton is out! Stroll pushes him into P16 with his last try. Wow! Also out are Albon, Hulkenberg, Latifi and Tsunoda, who couldn’t drive anymore.
Meanwhile, race control is investigating an unsafe clearance in the box between Magnussen and Ricciardo. There could be trouble later.
Q1: Problem with Tsunoda
It just doesn’t work with AlphaTauri. Tsunoda is ordered to pit with a problem. He has not yet set a lap time. Looks like an end in Q1 and the last place on the grid.
Ricciardo, Hülkenberg and the two Williams pilots would also be out at the moment. So no big surprises. Seven minutes left on the clock.
Q1: Let’s go!
Eleven minutes are left, so plenty of time for everyone. But: Nine of the 20 drivers have not yet set a (relevant) time. So it will soon be full on the route. And then traffic comes into play again.
So it could be a hot final phase. It’s on in a minute!
Q1: Red flag
That’s what we feared: The first red flag is already out, Latifi flew off in turn 13. Luckily he’s okay, that wasn’t without it.
Unlike in training, the clock is now stopped. But of course that ruins the plan for one or the other driver. That’s exactly what we warned you about.
Q1: Let’s go!
The first session is running. The well-known game: 18 minutes are on the clock, in the end the five slowest drivers are eliminated. According to the impressions of the training, the three Mercedes customer teams in particular seem to be in serious danger.
Incidentally, the two Haas drivers were the first pilots on the track. Will Mick Schumacher make it to Q3 for the first time? Haas shouldn’t be far away. But first of all, it is now important to survive Q1.
Q1: Open the session ticker now!
Qualifying begins in five minutes. As always, this is the time for you to open our session ticker with Stefan Ehlen at the same time. Only there you get the complete coverage, here we limit ourselves to the most important information, pictures and voices.
As announced, the track has cooled down a bit and is only around 26 degrees warm. The air temperature is still around 24 degrees. As usual, we expect the fastest times in Q3 at the very end of qualifying. Then the track gives the most.
Marko: Mercedes engine only third force
And so once again briefly to the engines. Helmut Marko explains on ‘ServusTV’: “I think that Ferrari has taken a big step with the engine. We’re just behind it. And the Mercedes engine is in third place for the first time.”
With regard to qualifying, he also explains: “I think we can drive to pole position. Max loses time in curves 1 and 2. But it has to do with the fact that he drives carefully there to protect the underbody.”
Jeddah from the driver’s perspective
Speaking of Leclerc: For all fans of the helmet camera there is a nice little video before the qualification. The action starts in 20 minutes!
Leclerc: Don’t think Ferrari has an engine advantage
Before qualifying, we’ll stay with the engines for a moment. Many observers believe that Ferrari has the strongest drive this year. But Leclerc says: “I don’t think we have an engine advantage, but of course we’ve made a big step compared to last year.”
His complete statements on the subject can be found here!
Wolff sticks to it: the engine is fine
We talked earlier about the Mercedes engine. “It’s not because of the power unit,” emphasizes team boss Toto Wolff again on ‘Sky’ when asked about the fact that Mercedes is losing time, especially on the straights.
Rather, it is due to air resistance, emphasizes the Austrian. Incidentally, he expects his team to be in “no man’s land” again this weekend. Means: Ferrari and Red Bull are too far away, but there is enough room to move backwards.
Qualifying: That’s what counts
Qualifying on a street circuit always involves certain risks. On the one hand there is the traffic, which already confused some drivers in training. That should be a factor, especially in Q1 with 20 cars.
And then there is the above-average risk of an accident or a red flag. Means: You shouldn’t take too long to set a time. Because the risk of losing your round through no fault of your own is always there.
So there could be a few surprises right away. It starts in 45 minutes!
Expert does not expect an attack on the route
Yesterday’s attack on Jeddah remains an issue. Security expert Prof. Dr. Friedrich Steinhäusler explains in an interview with ‘ServusTV’: “From a diplomatic and strategic point of view, I would not expect another attack to take place on crowds of people with the highest priority. Because: “That would be extremely negative for the attackers from a media point of view.”
The full story is here!