Formula 1 Live Ticker: The Qualifying in Madrid now live!

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In ten minutes, qualifying in Madrid begins and we are moving the action back to our session ticker for now. So there is a short break here, after the end of qualifying it will continue here with the voices for Saturday.

And if you want to know how you can watch the Spanish race live this weekend, you can find out here!

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Who is the favorite in qualifying? Expert Jolyon Palmer explains that it is very close between Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren. He therefore emphasizes on F1 TV: “The best driver will win in Q3 – not the best car.”

Before the Formula 1 qualifying, the Formula 2 sprint race took place in Madrid. There was no red flag, but at least two safety car phases. Among other things, championship leader Nikola Tsolov retired after a spin.

The win went to Ritomo Miyata. The Japanese driver thus took his first Formula 2 win in his third year. Oliver Goethe finished twelfth outside the points.

During the practice, there was speculation that Lewis Hamilton could still receive a penalty because he continued driving with a damaged car after his crash. The FIA does not like that.

So far, no investigation has been initiated, so we assume that the Ferrari driver will start qualifying without a handicap.

A small side note before qualifying: Lance Stroll has received a new engine for this race. Since he is over the allowed limit, he must start from the very back tomorrow.

Some say that this might have been the case anyway, even without a penalty…

… is now also available here again in video:

The Mercedes team boss explains on Sky: “No one really knows what to expect. The practice was very close. It’s about getting a lap without mistakes and without traffic.”

“It will be interesting to watch the situation in Q1 when all cars are on track. And then also in Q3: Do you do the lap early to avoid the risk of a yellow or red flag?”, says Wolff.

Mercedes should not be badly positioned, as the Silver Arrows set the best time in all three practices.

In less than two hours, qualifying in Madrid will take place. Ferrari should manage to repair Hamilton’s car by then. Since the Brit hit frontally, not much should be broken.

It looks different for Haas. Oliver Bearman’s accident happened later and was also more severe. It could be tight to repair the car in time by 16:00.

Report

Result

The third practice is interrupted after a crash by Lewis Hamilton. Here is his off in video:

Read more Third F1 Practice Madrid: Hamilton Crash Causes Long Interruption

In ten minutes, the third and final practice in Madrid begins. We are moving the action back to our session ticker for now. So there is a short break here, after the end of practice it will continue here as usual.

And if you want to know how you can watch Formula 1 live during the Spain weekend, you can find out here!

After the impressions of Friday, a few minor changes were made to the track again. For example, the white line that regulates the track limits was adjusted again in corners 17, 18 and 19.

Expert Alexander Wurz had already announced yesterday on ORF: “[In corner 17] I would change the white line tomorrow. Because it is miserable to set a track limit there, where the wall is anyway, for five centimeters. We don’t need that on a street circuit.”

In addition, new bollards were installed in corners 1/2 and 5, which the drivers must drive around if they go off the track there.

The first race on the new Madring just took place. The Formula 3 sprint race went without major incidents or a red flag. Not even the safety car was deployed in the 16 laps. So apparently there is no chaos in Madrid.

Not much has changed in the championship fight. Ugo Ugochukwu finished eighth, while Audi junior Freddie Slater clearly missed the top 10. This brought Ugochukwu within twelve points.

Later in the day, the first main race will take place, tomorrow the second, which is also the last race of the season.

Corner 12 in Madrid (“La Monumental”) is now the toughest corner on the Formula 1 calendar – at least for the tires, according to Pirelli. “Basically, the peak vertical load is not higher than in other corners we have on the calendar,” says chief engineer Simone Berra.

But: “It’s more about the duration of the load and the continuous load you are exposed to,” he emphasizes and explains: “Instead of two or three seconds, you are exposed to these loads here for 5.5 seconds. The work cycle in this area is therefore twice as long.”

However, there are no concerns because of this. “At the moment, it matches our simulations,” says Berra.

A small side note from Madrid: Aston Martin broke the curfew during the night. However, there is no penalty because the team has used the first of four allowed jokers this year.

It may have something to do with yesterday’s defects. At the end of FT1, Fernando Alonso had a clutch problem, and at the end of FT2, Lance Stroll also had to head to the pits with a problem.

“Lance was called into the pits towards the end of FT2 due to an irregularity in the battery data,” said Honda.

If there is another duel between the two Mercedes drivers tomorrow, Toto Wolff hopes it will not be as close as in Monza last weekend. “We put our finger right on the wound,” he reveals on Sky.

“There is absolutely no margin between hero and zero. If they crash into each other there, we look like idiots,” Wolff emphasizes and reveals: “I said I don’t want to see that.”

“I don’t want to see braking on the last edge and overtaking on the last edge either. I don’t want them to get stuck in the gearbox. Racing yes, but not as if the world championship is at stake in the last lap.”

“We don’t want to leave points on the table. We want them to race, but not like enemies in the last race,” Wolff makes clear.

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