Qualifiers Recap
What a way to get your first pole! Charles was able to get his whole lap together and managed to improve on his entry and exit into the final corner, ultimately expanding his lead to 2.8 tenths ahead of his teammate.
Sebastian would have been frustrated with his 1st run after he was released in the mix of the fight in between the midefeild teams. He also had the pressure of his teamate, setting the benchmark for the rest of the field. Mercedes on the other hand, were well off the pace in all sectors. They are a step behind in both cornering and top speed. The car looked smooth but the pace was not there. It was a session that would be a wake up call for Mercedes to push for improvements back in Bricksworth and Brackley.
Red bull had an average session with Max outperforming his teamate and maximising the car’s potential considering the setup. McLaren and Haas had a fast session and especially for McLaren, this is was a huge step up from last year. Carlos qualified 7th just behind Kevin Magnussen who set a stunning lap under the lights in Bahrain.
Both Renaults were off the pace to the team that they supply their engine too, McLaren. Hulkenberg had a disappointing session considering the pace he showed in practise while Ricciardo just missed out on Q3. Although he will be promoted to the top ten after Romian Grosjean was given a 3 place grid penalty for blocking Charles Leclerc on the racing line at the final corner.
Overall the midfield were close and it is good for the fans to have an unpredictable midfield race. Williams were well of the pace compared to all of the field. As George Russel said in the pen after qualifying, the car’s pace was not optimized. For now, Williams will not be improving until they have an engine upgrade or recieve a change of parts. He also said that as a driver his job is to drive the car to its full potential and he is confident that he is has been doing so. As the race will be extremely interesting with the opportunity to overtake on this track as seen in the F2 feature race, we are set to have a cracker tommorow.