Leclerc, having not played almost all FP3 due to an engine problem with his SF90, he immediately got on the track to take advantage of every available minute and find the right feeling with his car. Vettel, on the other hand, was the protagonist of a block in his launch lap. On the first attempt Hamilton took the best time, detaching 95 thousandths Verstappen and two tenths of Bottas; fourth Vettel. Leclerc, seventh, subsequently made a mistake in the second sector and failed to get back on top.
For the first attempt in Q2, Hamilton, Bottas, Leclerc and Vettel opted for the yellow ones, thus trying to qualify for the Q3 and, consequently, starting with the intermediate compound among those chosen by Pirelli for the Austin race. The same choice was also perfected by Verstappen. The best time was taken by Hamilton, who took down a tenth Bottas and Leclerc. Fourth Vettel, a few thousandths from the team-mate.
Good Red Bull, with Verstappen which is inserted between Hamilton and Bottas, and Albon, who, with the favor of red performance compound, jumped to the top. At the end of Q2, space for a close encounter between Kvyat, who was about to launch for his lap, and Hamilton and Verstappen, who had already caught their own attempt. It was the Dutch who crept most furiously, and shortly after the incident, the commissioners made it known that they had noticed what had happened. At the beginning of Q3, Bottas played the role, able to outclass Vettel for just 12 thousandths.
Sixth position for Alexander Albon, of Red Bull, in front of the two McLaren pilots, Carlos Sainz is Lando Norris, which once again confirm the solidity of the Woking team. Complete the top ten Daniel Ricciardo, of Renault, e Pierre Gasly, under the Toro Rosso.
The German of Renault remained excluded from the Q3 for a tenth, Nico Hulkenberg, unlike his teammate, Ricciardo. Hulkenberg preceded the hated rival Kevin Magnussen, under the Haas. TO Daniil Kvyat, of Toro Rosso, the last lap of Q2 was removed, but it would not have arrived in Q3 anyway. They follow Lance Stroll, of Racing Point, and Magnussen's teammate, Romain Grosjean.
The first of the excluded from Q1 is ours Antonio Giovinazzi, which, however, at least takes away the satisfaction of winning the Alfa Romeo Racing internal battle with Kimi Raikkonen. The Finn, winner in Austin last year with Ferrari, is seventeenth. Sergio Perez in difficulty: the Racing Point Mexican didn't pass the cut, unlike his team mate, Stroll. Perez joined the two Williams drivers, George Russell is Robert Kubica.
Qualifications minute by minute
23:01 Pole position for Valtteri Bottas!
22:59 Great tension for a very open qualification.
22:58 Bottas, on provisional pole, will be the last to repeat itself.
22:57 Everyone on track for the grand finale of Q3.
22:56 Will the time taken in the first attempt suffice for Bottas? Vettel is only 12 milliesimi from Finnish.
22:54 Now it's time to return to the pits before the last, decisive, attempt.
22:52 Bottas on provisional pole, ahead of Vettel and Verstappen. Fourth Leclerc, fifth Hamilton.
22:50 Hamilton will be the first of the top riders to catch a time trial.
22:49 Everyone on the track with soft performances, of course.
22:48 Here we go: start Q3.
22:44 A close encounter between Kvyat, Hamilton and Verstappen was noted by the commissioners.
22:40 These were eliminated at Q2: Kvyat, Hulkenberg, Magnussen, Stroll and Grosjean.
22:38 The first pilot at risk is currently Magnussen.
22:37 Even the top finishers regain the track route.
22:36 Except the top six finishers, all on the track.
22:34 Soon the pilots will be back on track for the last attempt in Q2.
22:33 This is the elimination zone at the moment: Kvyat, Ricciardo, Stroll, Hulkenberg and Grosjean.
22:31 Albon takes the best time, with the favor of the compound: he wears the red ones.
22:31 Verstappen second.
22:30 First position for Hamilton; behind him Bottas, Vettel and Leclerc.
22:28 Yellow tires also for Verstappen.
22:27 Same choice also for Leclerc and the two Mercedes of Bottas and Hamilton.
22:26 Vettel chooses the yellow ones for Q2.
22:25 Here we go: start Q2.
22:18 These were eliminated at Q1: Giovinazzi, Raikkonen, Russell, Perez and Kubica.
22:16 Two minutes to the end.
22:14 Almost all in the pits awaiting the last attempt of Q1. Hamilton is among the riders still on track.
22:13 This is the elimination zone at the moment: Raikkonen, Giovinazzi, Perez, Russell and Kubica.
22:11 Leclerc does not improve due to an error in the central sector.
22:10 Fourth Vettel.
22:09 Hamilton takes the best time; third Bottas.
22:08 Verstappen takes the lead.
22:07 Leclerc third, behind Sainz and Albon.
22:06 Even Bottas and Hamilton with the red ones.
22:05 Vettel on the track with the reds.
22:03 Leclerc leaps into the lead, but is not yet a competitive time.
22:02 The first half is Kubica's 1'38 "302.
22:01 Out immediately also Leclerc, who missed FP3 due to an engine problem.
22:01 Kubica is the first to take to the track.
22:00 Green light: the Q1 starts.
The qualifications of the US Grand Prix 2019 of Formula 1 I'm at the door, and the question is a must: who is the favorite for the pole position in Austin? Watching yesterday's second free practice session, Lewis Hamilton would seem to enjoy an advantage over the competition, but, in hindsight, its launch was strongly conditioned by the wake of Robert Kubica, which allowed Mercedes' Englishman to have an advantage of around 2/3 tenths over the competition.
Three tenths that, incidentally, are exactly the gap remedied in FP2 by the runner-up, the Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc. The advantage on the straight of the Rossa, although less important than in Mexico, could still represent an ace up its sleeve for the Red Army and allow Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel to impose itself in qualifying. These assumptions have been based on the results of today's FP3s, which have however also seen the problem of the Leclerc power unit.
Should Ferrari actually score a new front row, or at least a pole position, he would most likely face the challenge of managing the race with a step lower than that shown by the Mercedes, fast with all the compounds chosen by Pirelli for the United States Grand Prix. The discrepancy between the pace on the dry lap and the race pace, with a Ferrari favored in the first case and Mercedes in the second, could give rise to an interesting race weekend.
In the fray, at least today, it could also fit Max Verstappen: the Red Bull proved to be fast on the dry lap, and the Dutchman, at the top in the third free practice session, will certainly want to make up for the debacle of Mexico, with the pole position thwarted by the penalty of three grid positions and the race between light and shadow. The ingredients for exciting qualifications, in short, are all there; to find out who will win, we will have to wait for the Italian evening.
The qualifications will start at 22:00 Italian.
Source link
https://www.automoto.it/formula1/f1-gp-usa-2019-la-cronaca-delle-qualifiche-in-diretta.html
Dmca
