New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.<\/a><\/p>\nHow important is it that the drought has now been broken, even if it\u2019s just sprint qualifying?<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been a while since I\u2019ve been at the top of the timesheets in any session, so it\u2019s nice to remind myself that I can still do it and that I\u2019ve still got it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe summer break came at a good time and gave me the opportunity to reset and come into this weekend with a fresh mindset.<\/p>\n
\u201cI arrived here with an open mind, because my confidence wasn\u2019t at its highest level, so I\u2019ve tried to approach this weekend as though it\u2019s the first race of the season, not overthink things and focus on the basics.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo far that seems to be working well.\u201d<\/p>\n
There are some other stats that will buoy him as he contemplates the rest of F1\u2019s first weekend back from the break.<\/p>\n
Russell has taken two previous sprint poles this year, and on both occasions he turned them into victories.<\/p>\n
Last time he took sprint pole, in Canada, he took the grand prix pole the following day, and he was in a position to win the race before his engine failed.<\/p>\n
Of course you can cut that the other way too: that Russell is better at rolling out competitively, putting him at an advantage on these fast-paced sprint weekends.<\/p>\n
But at 59 points down on his teammate, he\u2019ll take what he can get.<\/p>\n
HE STAYS! Max inks new Red Bull deal | 01:13<\/p>\n
ANTONELLI IS DOWN BUT NOT OUT<\/p>\n
On the flip side, though, Antonelli had a clear explanation for his 0.227-second deficit \u2014 roughly the average arrears to Russell when he\u2019s been beaten in qualifying.<\/p>\n
Carrying too much speed into the final corner on his first lap in SQ1 saw him sliding through the gravel, where he dealt himself serious floor damage.<\/p>\n
Reports in the Italian media suggest it cost him 0.6s of performance, which the team reduced to around 0.3s with some hasty repairs before SQ2.<\/p>\n
Subtract that from his time \u2014 admittedly rough maths \u2014 and he would\u2019ve been on sprint pole.<\/p>\n
It perhaps explains why he was so nonplussed to qualify fifth.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was struggling quite a lot in the low-speed corners,\u201d he said \u2014 and the turn 11-12 chicane was where he racked up almost all his deficit.<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce you\u2019ve had a moment like that, it can be difficult to rebuild the confidence and put everything together. Even so, the gaps were very small, so there are still positives to take from the session.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll use [the sprint] to gather information and put ourselves in the strongest position for qualifying later in the day.\u201c<\/p>\n
Antonelli\u2019s sprint record isn\u2019t stellar, with no poles to date and only one victory \u2014 in Silverstone \u2014 to go with his podium in Canada.<\/p>\n
But with so few sprints paying so few points \u2014 and with his short-race form not having cost him so far this season \u2014 there\u2019s only so much to read into his result before Saturday qualifying and the grand prix.<\/p>\n
Can Piastri claw back ground on Norris? | 02:30<\/p>\n
McLAREN STILL IN THE MIX<\/p>\n
Russell led a top four separated by just 0.099s. Lando Norris was his closest challenger, at just 0.041s off the pace, but Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri were also in contention to pinch top spot.<\/p>\n
Having two cars on the front row is particularly heartening for McLaren, which was optimistic that its big Hungary upgrade would keep it at the head of the field.<\/p>\n
The telemetry demonstrates that McLaren was slightly quicker than Mercedes through most of the meaningful corners, particularly through the second sector.<\/p>\n
But not for the first time, it\u2019s getting beaten down the straights despite having the same Mercedes engine in the back.<\/p>\n
Norris is almost 0.25s down on Russell at the end of the flat-out section from turn 3 to turn 7, but the engine disparity really stings through and out of the final banked corner. The McLaren runs out of battery way earlier, and Russell is 11km\/h quicker when they cross the line.<\/p>\n
Given the fine margins, you could easily argue that pole was won and lost there.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo be so close to pole shows how competitive we are, but of course it\u2019s a little disappointing to end up second when first was clearly within reach,\u201d Norris said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe car is performing well, continuing the strong form we showed in Budapest, and that gives us a lot of confidence for the rest of the weekend.\u201d<\/p>\n
Piastri was also in good form despite looking off the pace in the first practice, with some work between sessions all but zeroing the gap between him and his teammate.<\/p>\n
The Australian was the quicker of the two for around half the lap but lost around 0.3s between turns 9 and 10. They\u2019re equal into the last corner, but Norris then gets a better run out of the first corner to end up 0.058s ahead.<\/p>\n
\u201cAa bittersweet result because we made positive progress from [practice] and the pace was right there during sprint qualifying,\u201d Piastri said. \u201cIt was so close at the top that with a cleaner lap I might have had pole.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are still plenty of positives to take away. Today is all good learning, and we\u2019re improving every weekend, which is crucial because we want to be firmly in the mix.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe performance is encouraging, and it shows we\u2019re moving in the right direction, but we know that it\u2019s going to be tight with Ferrari and Mercedes, and the difference will come down to the fine margins.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur job now is to tidy up those last little details and close the small gaps that still remain. If we execute well, we\u2019ll give ourselves a real shot in the remaining sessions throughout the weekend.\u201d<\/p>\n
Piastri\u2019s Dutch Grand Prix defence could still be alive.<\/p>\n
Will Piastri close the gap to Lando? | 11:04<\/p>\n
FERRARI UPGRADES WORK FOR LECLERC<\/p>\n
Ferrari listed some significant revisions to its floor on its list of aerodynamic upgrades this weekend, which the team hoped could make the difference against Mercedes this weekend, a circuit at which the German marque should be a little vulnerable, similar to Budapest.<\/p>\n
It opted not to fit the entire new floor during practice given a scarcity of spares \u2014 a wise decision in retrospect after Hamilton found himself scrambling over the kerbs and through the gravel, damaging his old floor, during the opening hour-long session.<\/p>\n
The team was confident it could bolt the floor straight on for sprint qualifying and find instant gains.<\/p>\n
But the results were mixed.<\/p>\n
Charles Leclerc was right in the mix \u2014 in fact he was 0.15s quicker than Russell into the penultimate corner \u2014 until the car\u2019s familiar weakness completely undid his chances.<\/p>\n
Despite this being a relatively power insensitive track, Leclerc is totally outgunned by the Mercedes engine exiting onto the front straight to the tune of 16km\/h.<\/p>\n
There is some decision-making playing a role \u2014 Leclerc was quicker over the line on his preparation lap, so perhaps there\u2019s some tactical tweaking to be made to the engine mapping for Saturday qualifying \u2014 but the result really only underlined how desperately Ferrari needs its next engine upgrade, due at the next race in Monza.<\/p>\n
\u201cHonestly, I think it\u2019s my best qualifying lap this year,\u201d Leclerc enthused, noting the small time gap despite the big power difference.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat means we are doing something right, also with the feeling. It doesn\u2019t mean it stays there forever, but at least it\u2019s good steps in the right direction.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hamilton, on the other hand, had a disastrous session that left him seventh and 0.569s behind Leclerc.<\/p>\n
He looked in good form in practice \u2014 before the new floor was bolted on \u2014 but after being thereabouts in SQ1, he drifted further off the pace, describing a car that gradually fell further out of its sweet spot.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnfortunately the car felt different during sprint qualifying, which made the session more challenging, so we\u2019ll carefully review the data overnight to understand the reasons behind this and identify where we need to improve,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Leclerc\u2019s result shows that the potential is clearly in the car, but Hamilton demonstrated the risk of bringing meaningful updates to a sprint weekend.<\/p>\n
At least he still has time to sort the car before qualifying.<\/p>\n
“Angry on your behalf!” Brown opens up | 17:12<\/p>\n
LAWSON, TSUNODA START WELL \u2014 BUT THE REAL TEST IS STILL TO COME<\/p>\n
Friday was a tough day for Red Bull Racing but a good one for stand-in Red Bull Racing driver Liam Lawson.<\/p>\n
Lawson was booted from this seat after just two rounds last year, having been obliterated by Max Verstappen by an average of 0.934s across three qualifying sessions, including one sprint weekend.<\/p>\n
The Kiwi has long argued that he was set up to fail in his extremely brief shot at a top team.<\/p>\n
Isack Hadjar\u2019s training injury has given him a chance to make good on that argument.<\/p>\n
Despite having just one practice session to adjust to the car, he was a respectable 11th and 0.365s slower than Verstappen \u2014 only 0.14s further adrift of Hadjar\u2019s season-long average in all qualifying formats.<\/p>\n
It probably should have been better too. Lawson had been quicker in SQ1 but then struggled to find as much time as Verstappen in SQ2 as the track continued evolving.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s not unexpected \u2014 chasing a rapidly evolving track requires a deep understanding of how set-up tweaks affect car behaviour. While it\u2019s not clear what changes Lawson did or didn\u2019t make, his lack of familiarity with the car was always likely to be exposed at the pointy end of qualifying.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a lot to learn today,\u201d he said. \u201cHonestly, I feel quite good in the car. I was honestly feeling okay through quali. I thought we\u2019d get through, so it\u2019s a shame.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll obviously try and fix it and put it together for quali, but we definitely had the potential to be right up there today, so it\u2019s frustrating.\u201d<\/p>\n
The real shame, though, is that SQ2 was pretty much the pointy end of qualifying for Red Bull Racing.<\/p>\n
Verstappen snuck into SQ3 in eighth. He qualified sixth, but he was more than half a second off the pace of the leaders \u2014 he was closer to Alpine\u2019s Pierre Gasly behind him than he was to pole position.<\/p>\n
Red Bull Racing has a habit of finding performance on Friday night. Combined with his better understanding of the car, grand prix qualifying will give Lawson his chance to make a statement.<\/p>\n
Yuki Tsunoda was in an almost identical boat.<\/p>\n
The returning Japanese driver \u2014 covering for Lawson at Racing Bulls \u2014 qualified 12th and 0.36s behind SQ3-bound teammate Arvid Lindbald. He was only 0.009s slower than Lawson.<\/p>\n
It was another decent showing, particularly given it was his first qualifying experience with the finicky 2026 engine.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverything feels like [I\u2019m a] rookie,\u201d he said. \u201cEverything is a lot different to previous years.\u201d<\/p>\n
But he said he was pleasantly surprised to find himself more or less on the pace.<\/p>\n
Like Lawson, Saturday qualifying looms as his chance to stretch his legs a little more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"George Russell needed that. This was Russell\u2019s first pole in any qualifying format in four races. His previous,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":863950,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[573],"tags":[64,63,817,813,816,85],"class_list":["post-863949","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-formula-1","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-f1","tag-formula-1","tag-formula1","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/863949","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=863949"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/863949\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/863950"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=863949"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=863949"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=863949"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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