The Late Braking F1 Podcast - 2026 Chinese GP Sprint Qualifying Review

Episode Date: March 13, 2026

Ben and Sam bring you a full breakdown of Sprint Qualifying in Shanghai, covering all the hot topics from today’s session, from more dominance at the front to a surprise Alpine performance, plus plenty more struggles at the back… Get involved in F1 Fantasy this season! ⁠⁠⁠⁠Join the Late Braking league⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and see if you can beat us... LEAGUE CODE: C6Y6R4ZUY02 Want more Late Braking? Support the show on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and get: Ad-free listening Full-length bonus episodes Power Rankings after every race Historical race reviews & more exclusive extras! Don't forget! You can also gift a Late Braking Patreon subscription—perfect for loved ones or your own wish list. Choose anything from 1 month up to a full year of top-notch F1 content: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/latebrakingf1/gift⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Connect with Late Braking: You can find us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠X (Twitter)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Come hang out with us and thousands of fellow F1 fans in our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Discord⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ server and get involved in lively everyday & race weekend chats! Join our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠F1 Fantasy League⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and see if you can beat us! Get in touch any time at [e-mail] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Project Hail Mary, only theaters March 20th. Thank you for listening to the late-breaking. F1 podcast. Make sure to check out new episodes every Wednesday and every Sunday. Welcome to the late breaking F1 podcast presented by Sam Sage and me, Ben Hocking, reviewing the first sprint qualifying session of 2026 at the Chinese Grand Prix, another session dominated by Mercedes. Three out of three competitive sessions so far, Sam, that we're looking at a one, two, in the same order. It's not been a bad start to the year for them. Oh, yeah, first spring session of these new regulations.

And if we were going to see anything go a little wild when it comes to the results, it was likely going to be here. Of course, one practice session is all you get on a sprint weekend. And a lot of drivers missed out quite a long of time. They, something didn't even get a go in that practice session. But Mercedes were unperturbed by such issues. They were straight through, as they have been pretty much every single session. And they've replicated it here again when it matters. They were at the top of every single SQ1.

SQ2, SQ3. And Ben, there was a moment where they went about a second fast in the Ferraris of Hamilton, who was the faster of the two at the time. And I just thought, uh-oh, it is going to be one of those years where they might just walk it.

It's an immediate reaction. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Hey, we're making progress in terms of a competitive field, though, because in Australia, the qualifying gap from Russell to the nearest non-Messades was just over three quarters of a second.

Here it's just over six-tenths. So by the time we get to Abu Dhabi, it's going to be like a 10th that Russell's getting pulled by. My guy is like robotic in the way that he's just, there's no mistakes coming from him at all. No. Every time Antingelli seems to get within, you know, a 10th or two, he kicks it up a notch. And I know Russell's good.

We've always given credit for how good George Russell is. And we were slightly baffled when the idea of Max Verstappen coming and kicking George Russell out the seat was a possibility. It might still be if Mr. ESAG is this good on Red Ball, we'll get onto them, aren't able to match that level of performance soon. but he's so good, so efficient, the ability to pull out this lap time so quickly. I know Antingale is still essentially a rookie.

He's only two races into his second season, but the difference there is vast. And I think Kim is holding his own well for such a youngster, but George is showing what he's made of right now, and I think it's splitting opinions out there with our listeners on whether this is going to be a good thing for Formula One or not. It'll be interesting to see how the season unravels. It's incredibly early days.

You feel like there are still tweaks and changes to be made regarding the regulation. So I think it's maybe too early to say that just because of how it is right now, that it's therefore going to be that way for the rest of the year and the rest of the next five years, it's incredibly unlikely. So Mercedes do need to make hay, right? And that's what they're doing right now, just under three tenths separating George Russell and Kimmy Antonelli in Q3.

Of course, Antonelli, we should mention, at least as we're recording this, is under investigation for blocking Lando Norris on one of his flying laps. So there's a chance it doesn't end in a one-two finish for for Mercedes going into. What were your thoughts on that, Ben, coming out of the pit lane? Do you think he was properly in the way that Lando was maybe handing it up a little bit to try and get a response? What do you think? Yes and yes.

No doubt. Who rights can make a right? Yeah, no doubt that Norris is, is having that up, the way in which they, they become so explicit to the point where it's nauseating over Team Radio. So, yes, Antonelli blocked you there. That's Antonelli, A-N-T-O-N-E. I was going to be on a push lap because of this Mercedes. I cannot be on a push-lap.

We get it. You are very clearly not talking to your engineer. You are talking to the F-I-A. But it was a block. So it wouldn't surprise me if Antonelli is docked three positions or so. That's terrifying for George Russell going that Lewis Hamilton and Charlotte Clare might take one step further. Yes. It's true.

Depending on how many places get dropped, but Lecler also could get closer. Yes, indeed. But George Russell, to your point, he has been sublime since the start of this year, just looks very unfazed right now. And why should he be faced with the pace advantage that he's displaying

over his teammate, first and foremost, because three-tenths of a second is not an insignificant gap. What he was able to do in the final sector in particular was seriously impressive. I still don't know how he's done it either. They were neck and neck up until that final sector. Suddenly, he's four tenths clear.

I don't get where that time has come from, that Kimi-hangingly was unable to find. There's not much in the final sector either. Two corners. Yeah. But it's a lot of time that George Russell was able to find over his teammate. And Antonelli, I guess for him right now, again, uncertain exactly on whether he'll stay P2.

But it's a case of if he can get closer to George Russell at some point, that is very useful. But in the meantime, when he's not that close, he can just essentially get in that gap between Russell and everyone else, he's just going to keep on picking up points, picking up these second places and qualifying. It's not the worst thing in the world.

It's kind of a perfect scenario for George Russell to have a teammate who is quick enough that you go, oh, could be a challenge on the right day, but actually not currently quick enough that George Russell is going to be knocked off the top spot in a car where I was thinking about this, How often do you get a chance to dominate, really, in your chosen field? It's so minuscule the window you might get.

You know, you see with Hamilton, who dominated, of course, from 14 through to 20, 21. And then who else got that chance? We saw Ferrari kind of rise up a little bit. Rosberg got that one go and it talked about blood, sweat and tears for one season to make a change. If Russell could get a two-season window when we're saying he's given that opportunity, but his teammate isn't actually ready yet to match him, he is, as you said earlier, They've got to make Haywell the sun shines, because this could be his big chance in his career.

Yeah, and it might not be the worst thing in the world that he's had to, I say, endure. It's not been an awful car for the last few years, but by Mercedes standards, it has. The fact that he was at Williams for a couple of years, he's been at this in Mercedes whilst they haven't been at their peak, it might make him appreciate what he's got now more than if he'd just jump straight into the car

and he was doing what he's doing now, which as we go throughout this season might well be an advantage for him. We saw in terms of race pace as well, slightly less clear in Australia, thanks to Ferrari's wanderous strategy calls, but they look pretty strong there too. So at least in that sprint race, we'll see if he can hold that pole position. And if he does, by how much? The McLarence and Ferrari is essentially third through sixth. So you've got Norris P3, then the lead Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton in P4, Piastri in P5, and then Charles Lecler in Pee. I wanted to start with Ferrari, if that's all right, in fourth and sixth.

So Hamilton, six and a half attempts behind George Russell, LeCler just over one second behind George Russell. It seemed to me like the Ferrari itself wasn't particularly slow, but incredibly inconsistent. We had Charles LeClaire's first attempt in Q1 on board. Was disgusting trying to get some grip. I think he was sideways more than he was straight. Madness. But then in Q2, he improves a great deal, particularly in the first sector, and he is the nearest challenger to the Mercedes and is comfortably clear of Hamilton. And then it completely reverses again for Q3. It never felt like both cars were on it at the same time.

Yeah, I think this stems from Ferrari and FP1 deciding, yeah, you know what? We use the only testing session to test a brand new rear wing, the Macarena wing. I don't get it. If it goes wrong, horribly wrong, where do you go, Ferrari? What's the plan here? No, no plan? Ah, let's say we're shocked. That's all just pretend. Also, David Croft, no to the Luke Littler wing.

No. Oh, that was Ted Kravitz, wouldn't it? I don't care who it is, but no. Because in FP1, Kroft was talking about how it's a 180. And then Ted Kravitz, I think, was ribbing him slightly on the start of the comms. I actually think that might be the funniest thing that's ever been said. Oh, really? Yeah, yeah.

I can really see it on your face. Yeah, really amusing. Oh, good, good. No, it's the Maca Rane wing. Ferrari, why are you testing a brand new rear wing setup where rear wings ability is so integral to a Formula One car success? Well, you haven't got another practice session. It goes horrifically wrong.

And then Bernie Eccleston on the Sky Sports Group. Bernie Collins. I'm pretty sure it was Bernie Collins. No, it was Bernie Eccleston. It was Bernie Eccleston. I'll let you go. Yeah. Good, good.

But Bernie Collins, who's a much more efficient tactician here and understands Formula One cars, excellently, raised a really good point where the balance difference is going to be huge between this old rear wing and the new rear wing and the way they're alternating, but the car will run differently based on how the rear wing setup sits. And so you saw the stability loss on that Ferrari. I think Hamilton enjoys a really pointy front end, a slightly over-scarry car.

I think he enjoys wrestling the car from his kind of older school days where he came into the sport. I think LeCler, where he's come into the sport, is used to more of the ground effect style of car and is kind of adapted to that better. But you saw, as you mentioned, you get one corner slightly wrong out of whack, and you are, you're off with the fairies,

you're out of the point, you know, there's no time on the board for you. And I think Hamilton make a slightly better deal of it than LeCleurs. We saw with the way they finished up. But if you can get it right, you can be much, much closer to Mercedes. Ferrari and consistency,

bringing that rear wing into FP1, not the way to do it, Ferrari. Yeah, I've been confused by Ferrari's approach to this weekend as well, because how are you supposed to, the teams will get together, the team will get together, the drivers included as well, and try to figure out what happened in sprint call or thing. And it's not like it was a terrible result. Like, that's pretty much where their car is right now.

But how are they supposed to diagnose issues and make progress when you've got one driver who has made a grand to- of one-tenth improvement from Q2 to Q3, which isn't a lot because we did go from the medium to the soft tire. And then you've got on the other side of the garage Lewis Hamilton, who managed to improve by one second, pretty much, from Q2 to Q3. And it just makes it very difficult when I'm sure they're not going to be saying exactly the same thing about the car, because the results are just different every time. And I've got no idea why they were trialling this, this, this, rear wing during practice. It might later in the season be a good, good invention, something that

actually helps them out. I wouldn't be surprised at all. But in terms of getting used to it and introducing it, I mean, what are your options? You've got option one, use Suzuki, which is coming up very shortly and we'll have three practice sessions or there is a fairly good chance that we have a break in the season coming up soon. Not that you can get track time during that, but there will be a lot a time for these very clever people to think about the implementation of this rear wing. Go with either of those options. No, we're going to go with the only free practice session that we've got at the Chinese weekend, not use it anyway.

And if that has caused a real lack of balance in the car, it might well have cost particularly LeCler here. Yeah, as silly as running intermediate tights on the tri-track, that's what you do. I only one team I know would do that. Well, very true. So McCarron 3rd and 5th, which in terms of a gap back to Mercedes, is relatively similar to what they had in Australia, ever so slightly closer. But as we saw in the race in Australia, it doesn't seem like qualifying is their biggest weakness right now. Norris ahead of Piastri this time, but similar to Australia, there's not much between them in qualifying

trim under a 10th. This is an easy way to be to be. deceived, I think. Of course, they're taking a slight step closer. And again, they've, they were the filling between the Ferrari sandwich in Australia, whereas this time, they are kind of, you know, one two, one, two. I think McLaren fans don't get your hopes up too soon. They're good over one lap. And I say good, I mean good. They're not great. They're not the saying his pace at all. I think they're going to be close for a while. But they are right up there with Ferrari when it comes to one lap pace. And that says a lot, you've got the likes of Charlotte, Claire and Lewis Hamilton doing one laps and you're right there

with them, there's worse things you could be. But over the race pace, they don't seem to be able to deploy the same level of consistency that the likes of Ferrari who are seemingly further away in qualifying from the Seagis, but in race pace are a step closer to Mercedes than everyone else. I think with the launch off the start,

that again, we're likely to see when it comes to the sprint race and likely the main Grand Prix, I do think it will be, Lecler will get his way past the McLareings. I'd be shocked if Hamilton isn't already up there with Russell. and I think they will head off into the sunset as we saw again in Australia. So it's good to see that they have taken their step forward,

but their focus should definitely be on improving their long-form pace rather than this one-lap pace because currently that's acceptable. They're much further ahead than, let's say, Reg Bull, who are absolutely struggling at the back end of SQ3 right now. Yeah, it's a bit brutal for McLaren because we saw in Australia, Lando Norris was the only representative from McLaren

to take the race after what happened to be Astry beforehand. But Norris was over 50 seconds behind the race win of George Russell, which once you take out a few laps for a virtual safety car and a full core safety car, you're effectively looking at a second difference between him and Russell per lap. So more than what we've seen here in qualifying where it's closer to six tenths. The ironic thing for them is they could give up about half a second's worth of qualifying pace and it wouldn't make a difference. If Norris was say one point, point one seconds behind rather than six-tenths. He would be behind Lecler in sixth place. We know how good that Ferrari is at starting. That's where he's going to end up roughly anyway. The midfield is far enough behind at the moment that you have got this bit of a gap between the front runners and the midfield.

Not that you can do this, but like, McLaren would kill for an extra half a second worth of race pace if they had to sacrifice half a seconds worth of qualifying pace right now. Yeah. Overtaking off the line is definitely easier than it has been. That's what we've seen on that one occasion so far. So yeah, I think you're right. I think they definitely want to have longer form pace and they do right this second. It'll be interesting to see how good they are in their tyres.

China on ties is very different to Australia. And last year, of course, they were pretty much the tire-ware king. So let's see if the Mercedes powered cars. Let's see if McClaring are able to reinvigorate that perk that they had last year or if it will actually be very much the same as their competitors around them. Important session for Piastri coming up in this sprint as well. Not even necessarily related to where he finishes, but just this will be his first running.

Race experience. Yeah. New era, of course, crashing out on the pilot laps, so I can speak, to get him to the grid in Australia. It means any race running. This will be the first time. And we've only got a handful of laps. That's in 20 laps, of course, for the sprint.

It's fascinating to see if he's able to, I'm sure he will adapt very quickly and be right there with the likes of Lecler, Hamilton, Norris, off the line. Do you expect just before we go to a first break, the top six, top three teams, normally with sprints we see a fairly uniform strategy across the board. Is it worth any of these six trying something different, or do you expect that all six will start most likely on the medium tire? I think at most you'll see one car go for the hard tire,

at an absolute most. If we see higher dead due to heat or something like that that's going on, you might see a hard tire at a real push, but it will most likely be mediums. Yes, I suspect so, but we'll have to find out in less than a day's time. Of course, we'll be reviewing that session and main qualifying this time tomorrow. So make sure you check that one out. We're going to take a quick break on this episode. On the other side, we're going to run through the rest of the top 10 and then get outside the top 10. Welcome back, everyone. We need to give our flowers to Pierre Gazley, because what a performance. It might be 1.3 seconds. away from George Russell, but let's face it, Alpine, not in the position to be worrying about what Mercedes are doing right now, as much as they wish, Flavio wishes it was different. But clear of everyone else, nearly four attempts ahead of Vastappen, Gassley in P7, he's done a phenomenal

job. He's done an incredible job. And I think if you walked into that Alpin guy, he'd say, hey, Flav, what if Gassi beats both Red Bulls without any context? He's going to be overjoyed. That man must surely be so happy walking around. and then he realizes that one of them is eighth and one of them is 10th. But Alpine, this is really good.

This is a real step forward and it shows you what Gaslight is able to do. If a car is given to him that actually has some basic speed capabilities, and it can actually go kind of fast. 1.3 of pole is still abysmal, and the gaps up and down the grid are huge. They're ginormous. I think Bottas was six seconds slower overall than what Russell was able to do. Ben, I may I correct me on exact timing's there, but it was pretty slow. Well, Q1 to Q3 time, yeah, it was just over six seconds.

There you go, right. Just over six seconds between those two fastest times overall, which, hey, look, Bottas might have gone faster. And I say might with some emphasis. But Gassley, the gas man, I'm so pleased that he's able to showcase what he's able to do. Right up there with the McLaren's, because he's not too far off the time of the likes of Charle-Lacler. He's only a couple of tents back from him. Closer to LeCler than he was to the guys behind. Exactly, right.

Culturally ahead of the likes of Bairman, Max Verstappen, Isaac Hagear, who, again, is half a second behind his teammate. This is good. This is better from Gassi than I think it is from Alping. I think Gassley is elevating that car as I expected him to do so. But the gap between Gassi and Colapinto is slightly worrying. It says that Colapinto hasn't been able to adapt and adjust as much as we expected them to do so. But the worst part for Alping here is, as much as Gassley has put it in P7 and tremendously so,

I can't see him moving forward in the slightest. Oh, no. I think at most he's getting P8 and that's like a really good day. which is brutal because in a sprint race that will get him a grand total of one point which matches what he got for his P10 in Australia. I'm going to make this point, I think, with a few teams,

but it's early in the season and we're still getting used to where the cars are quick. So it's not just going to be the case that if you're quick at one track, you are automatically quick at another track, unless you Mercedes. But at least with some of these midfield teams, I think you'll find there are going to be strong

and weaker tracks, and I think that applies to Alpine. We know that China, in terms of energy management, isn't as strenuous as Melbourne was. And Bahrain, similarly, not a particularly strenuous one either. They look very good in Bahrain preseason testing. They look less good in Australia, and they look better again. Now we've come to China. It might be that these tracks that don't rely as much on saving the battery, that might be a strength for Alpine this year because they do look at least early on. They do look more comfortable

here. To be 1.3 off the poll time. I know it sounds like a lot. It's pretty impressive for a midfield team right now. And you get the sense that Alpine might continue to improve throughout the year if they can get more adjusted to this Mercedes power unit. I know these power units are new for 2026, but they are still V6 hybrids. Like that hasn't changed. And they are are the only one in the Mercedes family who have just moved on to it. You've got Williams and McCarron who have got a longstanding relationship. Alpine are still learning these things that these other teams have had learned quite a few years ago. So I think Gasley's in a position to maybe hold where he is in terms of that sprint.

But well done to him for getting there in the first place. I mean, to be august, with how bizarre the drive is in that Red Bull, there is every chance that actually if Gassley can get a couple of consistent lapsing. early on, there is a chance he's far enough away that he can just keep himself with some clean air between the Red Bull and Bearman behind him and Lecler and the lights in front of him. He might just get

lucky enough that it is a really boring sprint racing. He does finish in seventh place because that Red Bull looks an absolute state in comparison to what it was in Melbourne. It does. And I think the way that you can immediately tell that outside of where they're qualifying is, with the

exception of the last lap in Q3, Hadjar and Vestappen been neck and neck all weekend. There's nothing to choose between them. Throughout Q1, Q2, they were separated by less than a tenth on multiple occasions. It's only in Q3

where Hadjar just did not get a good lap together whatsoever. I think he actually matched his time in Q2, which should tell you the Q3 lap after track evolution with better tires. It wasn't a great lap. But even Vastappen, to be 1.7, behind Russell, that is a big old gap. It's damning. It's really damning. And I don't think there's one

singular problem with this Red Bull either. I don't think it's a single fix. And suddenly a lot of that lap time comes back to them. The power train isn't delivering in the same way that it was expected to is it did in Melbourne. But aerodynamically, the way that the ties are having the power deployed to them at the rear, it's causing a very shaky exit. When they're going on downshifting, it feels like the car loses a lot of stability. Even Max Verstappen, who drives arguably the pointiest car in Formula One history who loves a car on the edge is still not able to wrangle something. It's almost credit to Hajar to be

four tenth or so away from Verstappen and only one and a half two places behind him, sorry, because that Red Bull seems like such a different car to what it was only a week ago. Right, after the first sector, Vastappan is down by like six or seven tenths. How do you do that? Three corgans.

Like, what I found quite damning was that towards the end of Q3 when we expect to see Vestappan's laps to see where he is towards the top, there's no focus on him. All the focus is on what are the Mercedes doing, what the McLaren's doing, what the Ferrari's doing. Vestappen was out there and he was kind of an afterthought, which is not in any way a statement towards Fustappan. It's a statement towards where this Red Bull car is, particularly this weekend. And similar to what I said about Alpine, I think the same might be true here,

because you'll notice Red Bull, at least in terms of one lap pace, maybe it looks better in terms of race trim, but in terms of one lap pace, they have clearly taken a step back from where they were in Australia. The same can be said of the racing Bulls team that of course run the same power unit. Direct correlation. It might be that the tracks that are actually more difficult

in terms of harvesting, that might be where Red Bull have their strength right now. We might see them take a step forward again in Suzuki. We don't know how that's going to be, but that's very meg throttle. in Suzuki. So they could take a step forward there. It wouldn't surprise me at all.

I think in terms of race pace, I would expect them to clear bear, well, Hajar only has to clear bearman, but, and Ghazley as well. I would imagine they will at least get to seventh and eighth, but whether they can, in terms of race pace, maybe they can battle with McLaren.

That wouldn't shock me, but I just don't think Mercedes and Ferrari are in their league right now. Definitely, Mercedes. They're gone. But Ferrari, I think with this start procedure, the way they held their own in Melbourne, even with the pit stop shenanigans under VSC, they were so far clear, despite everyone else utilising the VSC,

I think it's going to be at least half a season before the likes of Red Bull get back up to where they need to be. Yeah, and whilst both have made it through to Q3, it was touch and go, whether that would happen. It was really close in that midfield to make it through or not. based on Q1 rankings, Agile would not have got through to Q3. And really, you look at the likes of Holkenberg and Ockon, probably more specifically, they were right on the cusp of beating them. So it's not like they've made much as a result of getting through to Q3,

but they could have been out in Q2 as well. I expect them to be able to work out when Park Fermay is lifting after the spring race. I think they'll solidify things. They are a very good team when it comes to set up. So I expect it to take a big of a step forward for the main qualifying, but I don't think you'll be enough to start challenging the likes of Ferrari and McCarran. Yeah, that's an important distinction from at least a couple of years ago, where it used to be the case that once you've got your setup locked in after practice,

it is locked. You can't do anything about it without taking a penalty, that penalty being a pit lane start for the main Grand Prix. Now you are able to freely change your car between the sprint and main qualifying. So if there are some teams that aren't particularly happy with their setup, they can do something about it. At least, at least try and do something about it. Let's go, let's go Haas next. So ninth and twelfth, pretty similar to where we've seen them so far. Yeah, Ben, again, I think he's impressing doing a great job.

He's still capitalizing as well where other teams are struggling to find that form. As you mentioned, we saw the reduction in the racing balls very similarly to how Red Bulls step back. We haven't got Bolteleto inside the top 10 this time as well to display. someone but Holkerberg. We finally see him have a qualifying session and he's right there better than Borsela letter this time, which is great. But Baerman is able to say that step forward and actually

displace a few of these people who are maybe still adjusting, learning the new setups. Ocon is, again, slightly off the pace. He's a few tenths down on his teammates. Not able to be right there with him. And actually, if you look at many of the teams, teammates are pretty much right next to each other. I think

it's actually Alpine that have the largest gap between two teammates where Colopinians, So it's what, backing 15th, 16th place. 16th, yeah. And of course, gasoline, seventh. But I think next is the horse drivers, where you got, you know, eighth or the way, sorry, all the way through to 13, 12.

It's just four or five places in a new regulation. And you're the more experienced driver. It's a little bit worrying, I think, for Rockog, especially after we heard the words come out from the team. We're expecting a little bit more from Ocon. He hasn't delivered after 2025. This isn't the best start for him. Behram doing really, really well.

Ocon's good. I hope that the race pace comes good, and they get a good launch, off the start and he can be right there with his much younger teammate. It's not ideal for Ockon that Behrman is able to extract that a little bit more out of the car because where Hasse are right now, that can very easily be the difference between a Q3 and Q2 knockout. I will say it was just over a 10th between Behrman and Ockon in Q2, so we're not talking about a huge margin.

And in fact, if you look at all of the teams outside of McLaren that were separated by under a 10th. I think the next closest teammates might have been Bearman and Ockon. We've got, you know, half a second between the Williams drivers, four temps between the Ferrari drivers, same between the Red Bull drivers, and Alpine, you know, like seven, eight, nine temps even. So I don't think in terms of a time gap, it's too bad for him right now. And that race pace for Has looks pretty solid. So I wouldn't be surprised if with a DNF or two,

he is fighting in and around the points. But he just needs to find a way, particularly in terms of qualifying, to get that little bit more out of the car, the same as what Bayermann's doing. And suddenly these opportunities are going to become far easier.

And he'll leave himself a bit less to do on race day. Yeah, I think where Ockon could shine is this race management. Again, Behrman's still learning the sport very much. So like Anting Ellie, only two races into his second season at this point. Ocon's going to be like a shine elsewhere, that battery management, the recharge,

the way the tyres are working. If he can utilise those factors and get near Behrman throughout the race, that might be his chance to get in front of him. So a couple of double Q2 knockouts. We had Audi 11th and 14th, Holkenberg and Bortoletto, not too much separating those two drivers.

Lawson and Lindblad, about three temps, just over three temps between them, but we saw Limblud had a reduced free practice session, so given it's his second race weekend, I don't think that's an awful result for him. But a couple of drivers that didn't even make it through to Q2, the Williams duo. We had six drivers knocked out in Q1, three teams, both drivers, signs in Albin, 17th and 18th. I kind of said midweek that they might have to treat this sprint race, like Aster Martin and Cadillac, is a bit of a test session. And I don't think this qualifying session has done anything to put them

away from that. It's just too heavy. The car is just too heavy. I think I saw a news report that it was what, 25, 30 kilograms too heavy at the moment, which is ridiculous. It's like 10% too heavy at the moment. And they have claimed that if they can get that weight off, which they believe they'll be able to do over the next couple of race weekends, it will look like a very competitive car. I believe them. I really have hoped that they can take that step forward. But right now, as you mentioned, races like China where down that long back straight, you need the car to be as light and as powerful as possible, they just can't maximize these areas. The car just has so much more to shift. The engine has so much more to push. You know, the battery has to propel more

weight than anyone else. It's going to mean lower speed, you know, more mass, same power, less speed. And that's what they're struggling with at the moment. It was interesting to see the difference between Albin and science again. I thought they might have been closer. But what does it matter when you're... coming out in what, 16th to 17th place? It doesn't mean anything, really. So, yeah, pretty tough weekend for Williams. I think that will continue throughout the whole weekend.

They can't see them gaining massively in the competition. They might just turn into a test session. Yeah, it's rough for them. And I do wonder exactly what their plan is this weekend. As you say, the car right now is just fundamentally heavier than the most of its rivals. And that will cost you more than pretty much anything in this sport. In a straight line, the two fastest drivers today were signs and Albon, which you might automatically think, well, that's a really good thing. It probably means that they've either got the setup slightly

wrong and other teams have found a more optimal balance between downforce and drag, or it means that they are having to compromise so much somewhere else to get this car quick enough in a straight line, that they are then not quick enough through the corners. but yeah, they were actually the fastest two drivers in the speed traps. I wouldn't be surprised if they are breaking slash decelerating super clipping later than everyone else because they're having to try and get to that top speed later than everyone else. So therefore, the speed trap, they're technically at a higher speed. But they're not able to recharge the battery and have the same capabilities in the breaking zones.

I wouldn't be surprised. Yeah, it's interesting. They were going like 11 or so kilometers an hour faster than, say, Ferrari, were towards the bottom of the speed traps. But as you could see from the times, that clearly isn't the be all and endel. Astor Martin has no surprise there really either. At least on this occasion,

both cars have got out in qualifying and set lap times. Alonzo a few temps away from Albon, stroll another six temps back from him. Yeah, I think, I think a long-suck I don't want to be there at all. But in an ideal situation, I'd almost argue I want the car to be breaking down

and you need to fix it, if you fix it and it's suddenly good, it was worth the car breaking down. But now they fix the car and it's gone out without a problem and it's still, God knows how many seconds away from being remotely good as a race car right now. So they still have more work to do. Just because it could do a whole session doesn't mean that it's actually viable. And that engine isn't performing how they want it to. The bodywork is at fitting properly with the engine. There's still so many fundamental flaws with that car. I think it could come good. It's just going to take so much longer than a long so especially needed to. Yes, indeed.

And then, of course, the Cadillac drivers bringing up the rear of the field. Perez didn't set a lap time in this session due to an issue. And I guess where Cadillac are right now, whilst they want to get as much track time as possible, the risk versus reward here is they were going to qualify 21st and 22nd anyway. Do you really want to risk, I don't know, worsening the issue, losing time and understanding the issue to qualify where you're going to qualify anyway? Arguably, they lost three laps. You know, like three push laps, nine laps in total.

It's really not devastating for them. It was 12 minutes of running. I'm sure if they can get out for the actual sprint race and do a full race circulation, that's far more valuable. Yeah, and we'll see how they go in that sprint race, as we will, the other 20 cars on the grid. Before we go, did you have a driver of the session? Yeah, Pierre Gasley for me.

I thought that was really impressive what he was able to achieve. And whilst, I know we're judging him against a slightly out of sorts, Colopinto, So the gap between those two teammates was still vast. And I thought he elevated that car beyond all it was capable of doing. So for me, Pierre Gasly, absolute standout. Yeah, for me, it was a clear Gasley versus Russell scenario for driver at the session. That famous jewel. Yeah.

Yeah, why not? And I also went with Pierre Gasley to not only get P7, because that in itself could put you in contention for driver of the session, but to be four-tempts clear of Vestappen, half a second clearer of Behrman who you would consider the next midfield rival. That's pretty good going. Very impressive stuff.

Yeah, really solid. My George Russell meme moment of the race is where he realized he had a pole and then thumbsed up really close to the camera behind his steering wheel, which I don't think I've seen a driver do that quickly ever. So good job George, keep it up, please. That's the only thing we are going to get some Russell memes

this year if this continues. Come on. We have to embrace it. Otherwise, we will just have sadness. We can't have a title fight. give us memes. That's like breaking. Personified, yeah. Yes, please. If you mind then, Sam, getting us out of here.

Folks, we will be back tomorrow for a sprint race review and qualifying main review all in one episode. So there won't be two episodes if you knew to the channel. We do one on a sprint weekend on Saturday. And that encapsulates the whole sprint race and then all of qualifying in one. So make sure you're back on Saturday for that. Or then back again on Sunday for the Grand Prix review, of course. And then if you're a Patreon subscriber, then you still can be. Links in the description.

You'll get your power angle. where we're asking Patreon as well to get involved and we get your average rankings for each driver as well. It's very interesting to see how you, the listener, gives a different opinion to us, the three morons that run this show. So thanks so much for listening. Thanks for joining us. Hope you're enjoying the Chinese race weekend. Let's know your thoughts. And remember, Discord on Sunday, we'd love to hear your moment of the race. So get involved.

We'll see you very, very soon. In the meantime, I've been Sangu'll Sage. And I've been Ben Hocking. And remember, keep breaking late.