Air temperature 33°C; track 42°C; wind 3.4m/s; humidity 22%; dry
Tyres for this weekend are: prime=hard (orange) and option=medium (white)
Grid-spot penalties from China awaiting WEB (3 spots) and GUT (5 spots)
HAM picked up a 5 grid-spot penalty for a gearbox change
Qualifying session 1 (Q1)
2mins in to Q1; GUT first to exit the pits
MAL posts the identical time to his teammate
Seeing a mix of prime and option tyres on track
Chequered flag
Back of the grid: MAL, GUT*, PIC, BIA, VDG, CHI
*GUT’s 5-spot penalty will drop him to P22
Fastest was VET, 1:33.327 so 107% time is 1:39.379 – everyone’s easily inside that
Qualifying session 2
HUL on track first, followed by WEB – both on options
HUL 1:34.947
WEB 1:33.907
VET 1:33.471
DIR 1:33.335
Only GRO yet to leave the pits
ALO 1:33.316
MAS holding up HUL?
5mins left of Q2; bottom 6 are RIC, BOT, VER, ROS, HAM, GRO
ROS 1:32.867
Quick stop for fresh tyres – everyone on options
Chequered flag; bottom 6 are BUT, PER, HUL, RIC, BOT, VER
(RIC P2; SUT to P11)
VET 1:32.746
(HUL P11)
(BUT P9; PER to P11)
(RAI P4; GRO to P11)
Middle of the grid: GRO, PER,RIC, HUL, BOT, VER
BUT scrapes through in to Q3
Qualifying session 3
Battling for the top 10 spots: VET, ROS, WEB, RAI, ALO, DIR, HAM, MAS, SUT & BUT
DIR, ROS and HAM quickly out of the pits
DIR 1:33.388
ROS 1:32.543
(HAM P2)
(ALO P2)
SUT back in the pits without setting a time on primes
4mins left; everyone in the pits
MAS on primes leaves the garage just ahead of ALO on options – team strategy at work?
Everyone’s left the pits – all on options except MAS
Chequered flag; BUT will be last to set a time
(WEB P4)
(SUT P5)
(RAI P6)
(DIR P5)
ROS 1:32.330
(VET P2)
(MAS P6)
ALO aborts his lap and dives into the pits, as does BUT
Front of the grid: ROS, VET, ALO, HAM*, WEB*, MAS, DIR, SUT, RAI, BUT
*HAM will drop 5 spots and WEB will drop 3.
Provisional grid: ROS, VET, ALO, HAM*, WEB*, MAS, DIR, SUT, RAI, BUT; GRO, PER,RIC, HUL, BOT, VER; MAL, GUT*, PIC, BIA, VDG, CHI
*Penalties to be applied: HAM +5 grid spots; WEB +3; GUT +5.
(My GridBid picks for this weekend were: VET, WEB, BUT, ROS & HAM.)