Pedro de la Rosa is in the Sauber in place of Sergio Perez following SP’s accident in Monaco two weeks ago.
As I mentioned in my Practice notes, the tyre compounds for this weekend are: prime is soft (yellow band) and option is super-soft (red band).
The “Wall of Champions” claimed SV’s Red Bull in Practice 1, and a different wall got lots of attention in Practice 2 with AS, KK & JD each smacking into it. PdlR also hit the wall in Practice 3.
Earlier in the weekend there was rain forecast for the race but now it looks like it’ll be a dry and overcast Qualifying session.
Qualifying session 1 (Q1)
First on track are the two Virgin cars
JD 1:25.366
NH 1:17.120
VP 1:16.083
All 24 cars are on track
PD 1:15.879
JA 1:14.994
SV 1:14.703
SV 1:14.318
Pit-car from JB saying he’s struggling to slow the car down
FA 1:14.227
JA is looking very ragged – wide in some turns, cutting across the grass
SV 1:14.011
PdlR kisses the wall but doesn’t appear to have damaged the car
FA 1:13.822 – that pushes NK and JD outside the 107% time
JA complaining of too much understeer
2mins left of Q1; bottom 7 are KK, HK, JT, VL, TG, NK, JD
NK now inside the 107% time but still down in P23
VL puts a wheel on the grass in the braking zone; spins but stays clear of the walls
(KK P14, pushing JA to P18)
Chequered flag
(JT P19 ahead of his teammate)
Back of the grid will be: JA, JT, HK, VL, TG, NK, JD*
*JD is outside the 107% time so he’ll have to wait to hear if he’ll be allowed to compete
Qualifying 2 (Q2)
PM is first on track in the Williams
MS has the option (super-soft) tyres on his Mercedes
PM 1:17.871
VP 1:14.354
MW 1:14.344 on super-softs
JB 1:14.209 on super-soft too
SV 1:13.690
FM makes a half-hearted attempt at moving out the way of MS but MS over-emphasizes how he’s “held up”, presumably in the hope that FM will get a penalty
FA 1:13.672
MW 1:13.654
SV 1:13.486 breaking the lap record
FM 1:13.431
KK very close to the wall – keeps it clean this time
KK locks up under braking and cuts across the grass
1min left of Q2; bottom 7 are PD, KK, PM, AS, SB, RB, PdlR
Top 9 cars are in the pits; only NH and the bottom 7 on track
Chequered flag
No-one improved on their position, do the middle of the grid will be PD, KK, PM, AS, SB, RB, PdlR
Qualifying 3 (Q3)
Fighting over the top 10 grid spots are SV, MW, LH, JB, FA, FM, NR, MS, NH, VP
Everyone’s on the super-soft option tyres
NH 1:15.721
MW 1:15.262
(JB P2)
LH 1:13.945
(VP P2)
(FA P6)
FM 1:13.820
SV 1:13.014
(MW P2)
(LH P3)
(FA P2)
(FM P2)
5mins left; order is SV, FM, FA, MW, LH, JB, VP, NH, NR, MS (no time for MS)
(NR P6)
MS looking way off the pace
(MS P10)
1min left; SV, FM, FA, MW, LH, NR, JB, VP, NH, MS
(MS P8)
(LH P5)
(NH P9)
(FA P2)
Chequered flag
Front of the grid will be: SV, FA, FM, MW, LH, NR, JB, MS, NH, VP
Provisional grid: SV, FA, FM, MW, LH, NR, JB, MS, NH, VP, PD, KK, PM, AS, SB, RB, PdlR, JA, JT, HK, VL, TG, NK, JD*(outside the 107% time)
JD has been given the OK to race despite not making the 107% time.