Hello and welcome to ESPN's live coverage of the Spanish Grand Prix at the Circuit de Catalunya. |
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There were a few drops of rain on my walk back from the paddock to the media centre. The temperature has dropped to 19 degrees Celsius, it's a lot cooler than it was during Friday's practice sessions. |
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After struggling for one-lap pace in China and Azerbaijan, Mercedes looks to be back on form this weekend with Hamilton and Bottas ending FP3 first and second ahead of Vettel and Raikkonen. |
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Red Bull spent the majority of FP3 running on the medium tyres leaving Ricciardo with only one run on the super-softs. The Aussie ended the session 0.7s off the pace while teammate Verstappen suffered an electrical issue and was unable to complete a lap on Pirelli's softest rubber. |
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Haas appears to be best of the rest in Barcelona with Magnussen and Grosjean ending final practice in sixth and seventh. The battle to get into Q3 will be as tight as ever with McLaren, Renault and Gasly's Toro Rosso in the mix. |
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So far this weekend, Force India has been unable to replicate its strong showing from Baku and will find it difficult to make it into Q3. Sauber looks to have the edge over Williams this weekend. |
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The big story from FP3 was Hartley's crash at the end of FP3. The Kiwi lost control of his car on the entry of Turn 9 after dipping his front-left wheel on the grass. The crash destroyed his car heavily and has meant he needs a change of power unit and gearbox. It's highly likely we won't see Hartley in qualifying this afternoon. |
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Hamilton has claimed pole position in Barcelona in three of the last four seasons while Vettel has never claimed pole position at the Circuit de Catalunya. Mercedes has dominated qualifying here in recent years, taking pole in every race since 2013. |
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Other than Hamilton, Raikkonen has two poles to his name in Barcelona while home hero Alonso has just the one. |
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Just 15 minutes until qualifying gets underway in Barcelona. The chance of rain is now at 40 percent which will certainly throw a spanner in the works. |
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No sign of rain just yet in Barcelona but like in FP3, the clouds are grey. |
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As expected, Toro Rosso has confirmed Hartley will not be able to participate in qualifying after his crash in FP3. |
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Just five minutes until qualifying gets underway in Barcelona. Will Mercedes continue its domination of qualifying in Barcelona or will Vettel claim his first pole at the circuit? |
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Q1 is underway in Barcelona. |
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The Williams of Stroll is the first man to take to the circuit in Barcelona. |
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Raikkonen takes to the circuit on a lovely set of super-soft tyres - Pirelli's softest tyre for this weekend. |
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It's a set of mediums for the Spanish home hero Alonso in the McLaren. Teammate Vandoorne is also on the mediums. |
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Stroll is the first driver to set a time in Q1 and it's a 1:20.623s for the Williams driver. |
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Vettel and Raikkonen quickly get to work in their Ferraris and they're straight into the 1:17s. A 1:17.806s for Vettel, 0.180s clear of his teammate. |
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It's third and fourth for Haas with Magnussen ahead of Grosjean once again. |
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Alonso asks: ''Can you tell me the wind direction precisely.'' His engineer replies: ''Tailwind into Turn 7, headwind into Turn 1.'' |
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Alonso's first lap on the mediums puts him an impressive third, 0.901s off Vettel. |
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Raikkonen finds a chunk of time on the super-softs and moves to the top of the timesheets ahead of Hamilton. |
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Verstappen takes to the track for the first time since the mid-stages of FP3. It seems Red Bull has fixed its electrical issue. |
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The Dutchman's first timed lap of qualifying puts him in fifth, 0.363s off Raikkonen. Vettel is also flying out there. |
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Vettel sets a new track record and has nearly broken into the 1:16s. A 1:17.031s puts him 0.4s clear of teammate Raikkonen. |
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Ricciardo puts it third in the Red Bull, 0.592s off the pace. |
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Verstappen goes second fastest, 0.380s off the pace. Further down the field, it looks like Hulkenberg has a problem. His Renault didn't sound too good when going down the start-finish staight. |
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Grosjean finds time and moves inside the top ten into eighth place, just ahead of Magnussen. |
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Only a minor improvement for Vandoorne which puts him on the cusp in 14th place. |
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Drivers are improving but the chequered flag is out in Barcelona. |
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Hulkenberg improves and is up to 14th, will Ocon respond? |
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Ocon does improve and goes 13th, he's safe at the moment. |
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Vandoorne makes it through just at the expense of Hulkenberg in the Renault. Out of Q1: Hulkenberg, Ericsson, Sirotkin, Stroll and Hartley. |
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A spin for Stroll in the Williams. The Canadian understeered wide on the exit of Turn 12, went into the gravel and spun into the wall. He's out of qualifying. |
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That is the first time Hulkenberg has failed to make it into Q2 since the 2015 Spanish Grand Prix while driving for Force India. |
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Q2 is underway in Barcelona. |
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Soft tyres for the Haas duo, as well as the two Mercedes. Expect that to be the case for many teams up and down the grid. |
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The Ferraris are on the softs as well as drivers begin their first timed laps of the session. |
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Vettel reclaims top spot on the softs ahead of Raikkonen, Bottas and Hamilton. Ferrari has certainly turned its engine up! |
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Verstappen slots into fifth ahead of Ricciardo, Magnussen, Grosjean and Vandoorne. |
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Hamilton complains: "They did a really poor job to clean the track, there's so many stones there, it's dangerous." |
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Alonso's first attempt of Q2 puts him only ninth, less than a tenth shy of Grosjean in eighth. |
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Drop zone with five minutes to go: Vandoorne, Ocon, Leclerc, Perez and Gasly. |
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Super-softs for the Mercedes duo but I'd be surprised if they complete these timed laps as you start the race on the tyres you set your fastest time in Q2 on. |
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Magnussen improves to sixth fastest on the softs, while Grosjean stays eighth but improves his time. |
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Confirmation from Renault that it was a fuel pressure problem for Hulkenberg as the reason to why he got just one run in Q1. |
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The chequered flag is out in Q2. |
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Alonso fails to improve on his final timed lap but he safely makes it into Q3. |
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Out of Q2: Vandoorne, Gasly, Ocon, Leclerc and Perez. |
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Q3 is underway in Barcelona |
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Super-softs look to be the tyre of choice up and down the grid. Can anyone stop Vettel and Ferrari from claiming a fourth straight pole? |
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A 1:16.858 for Ricciardo on the super-softs, a strong early benchmark from the Aussie. |
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Hamilton beats Verstappen to top spot by 0.325s. Two fantastic opening laps there. |
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Vettel only manages fifth while Raikkonen is seventh. Mistakes for both of the Ferraris? |
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Replays show Raikkonen losing the rear under braking into Turn 1 hence his slow first lap of Q3. |
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Top ten currently: Hamilton, Verstappen, RIcciardo, Bottas, Vettel, Alonso, Raikkonen, Grosjean, Sainz and Magnussen. |
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It's a soft set of tyres for Ricciardo. An interesting choice by Red Bull. |
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Raikkonen is on softs, as well as Vettel. Will this tyre choice pay off? |
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Raikkonen is improving on the softs, but it doesn't look like he will be able to topple Hamilton. |
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Hamilton goes even faster! What a lap, a 1:16.173s for the reigning champion. |
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It's a Mercedes front row lockout as it stands. We are waiting to see what Vettel can do. |
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Vettel manages third place on the grid, 0.132s off Hamilton. |
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It's yet another pole position for Mercedes in Barcelona as Hamilton claims pole position ahead of teammate Bottas. Vettel will start third ahead of Raikkonen, Verstappen and Ricciardo. |
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Alonso is eighth ahead of Sainz and Grosjean. |
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Thanks for joining us in qualifying. We will see if Hamilton is able to convert pole position into a win tomorrow afternoon. Keep across ESPN for all of the latest news and paddock reaction. |