The Late Braking F1 Podcast - 2026 Japanese GP Qualifying Review

Episode Date: March 28, 2026

Suzuka delivered some surprises in today's qualifying, and Ben and Sam discuss the lot, from Russell’s struggles and McLaren’s resurgence to Lindblad knocking Verstappen out of Q3, plus Aston Martin’s woes at the back. Note: As mentioned in this episode, our race review for tomorrow’s Grand Prix will be released slightly later than usual. Thanks in advance for your patience! 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

Where is Daredevil? I'm right here. Don't miss the return of Marvel Television's Daredevil Born Again. So what's next? We're to take this city back. In an all-new season, now streaming only on Disney Plus. They're hunting us. It's time we started hunting them.

I can work with that. This should be tons of fun. Marvel Television's Daredevil Born Again, now streaming only on Disney Plus. Forget what you think you know about orchestra concerts. This is different. This is the Illharmonic Orchestra, live May 15th at Roy Thompson Hall. It's the most exciting musical crossover event of the year.

The passion of hip-hop, a fire-breathing MC, and a soul-stirring vocalist, all backed by the power of a live orchestra for a high-energy, one-of-a-kind show that will blow you away. The Illharmonic Orchestra, May 15th. Get your tickets now at Roythththomsonhall.com.

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 today qualifying at the Japanese GP, a qualifying session that found Antonelli get his pole position, the same pole position that he got, of course, at the Chinese GP a couple of weekends ago. It's a Mercedes front row lockout once more with George Russell about.

three-tenths of a second back. Claren's and Ferraris seemingly pretty close. Sam, what did you make of that, Qualley? I am dead inside. Qualifying is so rubbish. I'm sorry, it's so rubbish. Anticlamatic. I found myself, usually I'm phoned down,

unless I'm looking at our Discord. Three minutes within the end of the session, I was looking at my phone just scrolling through Instagram. It's just not captivating me at the moment, and I know they'd made some changes with the Megachulul allowance, to try and stop cars clipping in things, but seeing cars go down 50kph at 130R, lifting off all the way through turn one. Where's the thrill, man?

Charlotte Clorag had one oversteer moment, but apart from that, it's just a bit dull for qualifying, especially at this track as Suzuki, almost one of the kings of qualifying. I'm more impressed. You should have told me that you were looking at your phone with three minutes ago. I'd have kicked off by saying something else happened. Like, oh, man, that Pierre Gasly pole position, Sam. What do you make of that? I love the idea that three minutes ago, I have no idea who's got a pole position.

That's how it works. It's good. Yeah. No, it's Kimmy Atenelli, who's grabbed the pole position for this Grand Prix. The only driver in the 1 minute 28th. Again, his teammate, George Russell, on the front row of the grid. Oscar Piastri, he won't start the race, but he's qualified third at least. So well done to him.

And Charles Leclair, joining him on the second row. A quick one before we get into the action. about tomorrow's race review. Firstly, good news. There will be a race review. That's the most important thing. It will just be slightly later than usual, just a few hours as we navigate our varying schedules.

But yes, if you are expecting the Japanese GP review and it's not quite there yet, just wait a couple more hours and we promise you it will be there. It's worth the way. Yes, we promise it will be worth the way. We promise. So Antonelli, three years. tempts clear of his teammate. He looked

the better Mercedes pretty much throughout the course of this weekend. So far, at least. And that's how it played out in Q3 as well, Sam. Were you surprised? Dare I say imperious to watch Kimi Anten's going to go around two laps that were worth pole position, even with

the mistake in his second run that meant that the lap actually was slower. And again, that was another reason why qualifying felt anticlimactic is pretty much everyone went slower on their final run. No, wasn't surprised, actually. felt quite calm in watching Kimi Anzengeli drive through the sweeping bings of Suzuki. He was so good through sector one.

Those essays are such a challenge. And yet it felt like in a time where cars are struggling with rear tire grip, rear balance, Kimi Antigli is able to just juggle this car through the first six, seven corners, no reference, please, very, very well. And exactly, that's the only answer to that point. And I was amazed at the confidence he seems to have found. It feels like his first wing, his first full race pole position as well, back in China, has just allowed him to settle.

He feels like he's a bit sedimentary, Ben. He's settled at the bottom of the, you get it? Yeah, yeah, I'll be real. When I was going through ways to describe Antenelli's pole position, sedimentary, not in the top 1,000 words I'd have used to do. No, no, but it's a pretty, pretty historic way of describing something that lays low, and I thought it was pretty impressive from Kimi Anthony Allen. he didn't have any problems

and it looks like George Russell has again had problems throughout qualifying 10 kilometres down an hour going through some of these corners in the S's section but by the end of qualifying it appears to be sorted we saw a purple sector come through from George Russell in that first sector

and it does show that the balance must have come back to him because he was able to go fast and the Kimi Antigari there but they can't hook it up for the rest of the lap so to have three tents over someone like George Russell at the start of this era mighty impressive. What a lap it was from Kimi Antigelli.

Yeah, what are two laps it was, I'd say from Kimmy Antonelli as well. We saw on the on the second run he didn't improve, but he had a lap time that would have been good enough to beat George Russell if he didn't have that banker time that he'd set earlier on in the session. And on that final run, he did set that purple sector in the final sector of the lap. So if he were to combine his two best efforts, he would have been even further clear than the 0.298. that he ended up clear of George Russell. He's very good, running out all different ways to say it,

and he just seems to be getting better. The more confident he gets, the better he gets, which shouldn't be a massive surprise, but as we head into his second season, with a car underneath him now that is, let's face it, pretty clear at the top, it's just giving him a lot of confidence to work with. We saw that in China really for the first time with the pole position he got,

which he then converted into a race win. We don't know whether it will be converted this timeout or not. That remains to be seen on tomorrow's review. But yeah, it was a very good, very good pole position nonetheless. Middle sector, that Mercedes is just a monster. I feel like we saw McLaren in particular pretty quick in the final sector, Ferrari, pretty quick in the first sector. Charlotte-Clair seemed to be purple sector in the first sector, pretty much the entire session.

but that Mercedes through the middle part of the lap, not really, no one else could match it or even come close. A frustration I had with the coverage here was, you're right in the timings that their Ferraris were regularly clocking about three tenths down on the fastest lap time when usually it was a Mercedes at the top. Or I felt really difficult to, as a viewer, and maybe you guys watching are the same,

is that we have no onboard analysis of that middle sector, realistically, to understand where that time is being dropped. Is it a wobble in Spoon? Is it the exit of the hairpin? And unless you're going into the deep dive of the analytics and looking at the mini-sectors and some people don't have the time in their lives who do that, it's really difficult to understand why suddenly one team is three or four-tenths down in a sector compared to being the fastest in the first sector.

So I was struggling to understand that analytics when it wasn't really being spoken about or shown on the live broadcast. Yeah, and it's not too uncommon when it comes to Suzuki, because you do have quite notable differences between the sectors and the types of call that you find in each of these sectors. So this sort of thing we've had before, so it shouldn't be surprised to the F-1 broadcasting team to expect to have to describe and go through

why a team and why a car is particularly good through one portion of the lap. But yeah, I was just, I was mightily impressed with the way that Mercedes set the car up to be, to be quick where it needed to be, and not be too fuss about giving something up to Ferrari in the first sector, knowing that later in the lap they were going to get it back and then some. Yeah.

What amazed me the most was the way they took the final chican in that last sector. Rustling Antigelli is seemingly able to really attack the curbs in the final two corners, but Lewis Hamilton specifically, who lost a lot of time in the final sector, you saw the way he dropped off Lecler, was really skirting around the curbing. He wasn't really wringing over it at all. So they feel like they must have a lot of confidence in the aerodynamics of the car, to be able to launch it over those curbs and still get the most tag of it on exit.

Yeah, and obviously that's not good from a qualifying perspective for the likes of Lewis Hamilton and anyone else who was using that approach. In theory, that might level out when we get into race trim because you won't imagine that most of these cars are going to be

flying over the curbs lap after lap and it is going to look more like the other line taken. But at least for qualifying, that doesn't help anyone who's not Mercedes right now. George Russell just never really at one with the car throughout Quali and it's not costing him too much at the moment

because again Mercedes are so far clear you can be three tenths back of your teammate on pole and that can still be enough for second so he's still going to have a pretty good starting spot but he can't be happy about that. I think he's gotten lucky here. I think he's gotten lucky. I think the cards are falling his way a little bit on a weekend

where he's got being up to scratch against Kimmy and Anting Ellie. Yes, because he had some problems earlier on in qualifying, but the car is good enough that while they were sorting those problems out, it didn't matter. It was comfortable. He was still getting through comfortably into Q3. And then they do sort the problems out. As I mentioned at the start of the show, he was able to match and better Kimi Antingelli in Q1, which was the problem sector. The speeds came up through the corners that he was struggling with previously. But to then be three-tenths off your teammate, essentially, I know he's not a rookie, but he almost is a rookie teammate around a track like Suzuki, the driver's track, the track that they all say they want to. to conquer because it's so driver-centric. I think if Charlotte-Cleur doesn't have that snap coming out of Spoon Curve, there's a chance he's in front of him. I think if Piaastria is able to replicate what he's able to do earlier run in the session, he's in front of him.

There's a real chance that I think Russell could have been fourth, let alone second, and I think he's gotten a little bit lucky with how the track conditions are played out that no one really improved on that final run, which meant that he was able to stay in second place. Yeah, I think it's just. that car advantage they have right now that mistakes or not quite being on it or whether it's car or driver of a combination of the two, they're not going to be punished for it as often

as maybe some would like right about now. So you're right, Piastri was half a tenth away. Lecler probably would have been similar-ish if he'd put together a good lap in Q3. But ultimately, Mercedes can get away with it, at least for now. I do want to shout out Oscar Piestri, next because he has, he's done a job on Lando Norris. He's nearly three attempts clear of him. And if you were to try and visualize, as you sometimes see with graphics at the end of a qualifying session, you've got the pole position man sort of crossing the line, and then you've got the gaps back to the drivers behind.

LeCleur, Norris and Hamilton are kind of in their own separate group as of now. Piastri's by himself almost, a couple of attempts clear of not only his team, but made, but also the Ferrari duo as well. A very strong performance, I felt. I was really impressed. I'm not going to be too harsh on Landon Norris here. There has been limited running for Landa throughout the weekend so far, which I do think has probably set him back a tenth or two. But I do also want to praise Piazsche, if you've been able to take that extra step forward, because whilst the limited running will impact the overall lap time, Piasra, I think, has managed to pull out something special here. You saw how Charlotte-Claire especially was running through this session.

He was by far the closest competitor, the biggest threat to Mosegis in Q1 and Q2, topping a session, in fact, for a long time until Antigone came along right at the death to kind of take it back off him. But he showed that the Ferrari was genuinely a threat. And yet, at the end of Q3, it's Piastri that sits in this no man's land between the Mercedes two at the front and then the Ferrari Norris sandwich further behind him. It's going to be good for Piastri. Confidence boosting for Piastri, who has had a really tricky start in this season.

So far, you jested at the start of the episode. that he won't get to start the race. Fingers crossed that that isn't actually the truth. And he does get a full race in because it would be great to see Oscar back to his best and taking some good lap times. But great to see him really reemerge and kind of put the market down.

And hopefully this is what we can see from the battle between Ferrari McLaren and in theory, Mercedes, as the gap starts to shrink up top. We get three teams fully in the mix for podiums, hopefully for the positions for pole. That will help make the session more exciting. Yeah, he just had it hooked up

versus the other drivers in that mix. know, it might be disappointing that he's three and a half temps behind the poll time and it was never really in the fight to get that pole position in the end. But I felt that was inevitable. We've seen that in a couple of qualifying sessions so far this year where it looks like early goings in Q1, Q2, maybe the McLaren's or the Ferraris are closer to Mercedes. And then Mercedes kind of pull that gap back out again when we get into crunch time in Q3. I think that's kind of how it worked because Piastri did improve by quite a lot throughout the session as well. Like he improved from Q1 to Q2 by about seven tenths of a second or so.

He then improves by another three tenths when we get to Q3. So the track evolution, he was taking advantage of it. It's just that Mercedes were able to improve an even faster rate. But that's not really too far away from what we've already seen so far this year. But Piastri, excellent effort. I was really impressed. I think Charles LeClaire will be ruining not only that moment at Spoon Curve on that final run in Q3, but maybe just Q3 as a whole, because he did get two runs at it and ultimately never got the most out of the car.

He was actually quicker in Q2 than he was in Q3. So it might have only cost him one position, maybe even no positions at all. But to be as many attempts behind Piastri as he was, I think will be a disappointment. Yeah, I'm a little bit more ambitious in where I think he could have achieved. I think front row is definitely possible. If he could take him the same step forward from Q2 that the likes of Piazsche manager could do in terms of percentages gained,

I realistically think there's a chance that on a really top lap that LeCler is capable of, he's able to actually get in front of George Russell after a disappointing qualifying from him. And what's nice to see, with this reduction in this kind of megajoules of deployment and recharging over these qualifying laps, whilst I still don't love the system,

I don't think it's working for qualifying. It is allowing someone like Charler, I think, to drive the car more on the ragged edge because he's not having to worry about recharging as much in things like the limited braking zones that we're seeing. So you're seeing him get on throttle earlier. You're seeing power coming quicker. You'll see braking being later, which is great because Charlotte Clare on a qualifying lap, he wants to drive that car at 110% over the edge.

Unfortunately, on a day like today, I think that's exactly what cost him in Q3. You can see him. There was a little preview while he was sat in the garage, eyes shut, memorizing the track layout, moving the steering wheel of his hands to kind of replicate a lack going around the racetrack. Unfortunately, it was far better in Q2 than it was in Q3 and he's going to be so disappointed in himself that as a bare minimum, he's not ahead of the both McLaren's. I also think he should have been in front of George Russell. Well, we'll see what he could do from fourth place on the grid. We know that Ferrari is a fast

starter for sure. And yeah, we had that moment obviously at Spoon Curve, but it does look like that Ferrari is a bit unstable through some of those corners. a real handful at times, not only with him at the wheel, but also Lewis Hamilton, who is qualified sixth here. So they've got Lando Norris in between them. Hamilton, about a tenth and a half behind LeCler, which honestly might have been best case scenario with how it was looking at times today. Yeah, I was disappointing in Lewis. It's gone straight back to, oh, there's another two cars in the mix. Lewis Hamilton is behind those two cars in the mix. And that's what we saw last year. That was the problem. Wherever it was close, Hamilton regularly,

he got shuffled to the bottom of that pack at the moment. And you kind of thought with the way the cars felt more comfortable for him, the way he seemed to be so overjoyed with the way the cars drove, that actually when McLaurin had felt comfortable to properly step up and challenge them, it might be Hamilton that sits alongside the Clare, beating at least one of the McLaren's. I was most disappointed that he lost out to Norris, especially as I mentioned with the limiting running. And I gave almost some kind of leeway to Norris's time,

expecting him to maybe be six because he was still warming up into the weekend. but it didn't come to fruition and he seemed so regularly to be dropping a long of time when LeCler wasn't, especially that middle sector. Whilst the Clor was slower than the Mercedes regularly through sector two, it was Hamilton who was four or five tenths down

and that was what's really, really causing him to struggle. So, disappointed. Let's hope the fast start gets it back in the action. But if Leclerc gets an equally good start, he could spend the whole race at least three or four places behind his team mate. And it's legal margins like this across the season that eventually grow to be quite a big gap in the

points tally. You mentioned on the preview as well with the race starts here, how narrow the Suzuki track is on the, on the start finish straight, not in the same way as, it's China where you are able to really use the left and right hand side to the track to, if you have a great start, take advantage of that and get those overtakes done. It's not as easy at Suzuki. I'm not to say it's impossible, but it's not as easy. And it's especially not easy when you're starting from P6. Like if the Ferraris are starting third and fourth, then suddenly you think they have a chance of being one, two, maybe, going into that first corner. From sixth place, he might well get ahead of Norris.

He might well get ahead of Piastri. It will be a struggle for him, I think, to overtake those Mercedes on the start. But we'll see. Yeah, dare I say it, I think a pogion might be, I got the cards, unless something drastic happens in front of him. Yeah, we'll see. And Lewis Hamilton, I feel like he needs a result against Lecler at a circuit that LeCleur likes, because it's not to diminish what,

Hamilton has done so far this year. He's had a couple of really good races at both Melbourne and then at China. But they are self-admittedly from LeCler's side, two of his least favourite tracks on the grid, ones that he does not think he's very good at. Suzuki, though, he is much better. And we saw him much better than Hamilton today, I think. So whether it's in the race tomorrow or another track coming up that LeCleur likes,

I think Hamilton needs a win over him. So I'd probably one of his weakest tracks, Hamilton, He's only one here twice. Obviously, he did really well at Fier. Is it twice? Of course, I get confused if you went to Fiji, of course. Well, yeah, not quite Fiji. Fiji, but not quite Fiji.

I'd be up for a Fiji Grand Prix, though, if we can get out there. I'd take up the whole island. It might be interesting. But yeah, nonetheless, this isn't one of Hamilton's strongest tracks. You look at his record in previous years, even at Mercedes. He wasn't exactly the dominant nature that he showed across other racetracks that he had. So it's not his best. So I'm not expecting miracles.

Yeah, we'll see how the Ferraris go tomorrow. We'll round out the rest of the top 10 on the other side of this break. So there were six drivers within one second of Kimmy Antonelli. We've already discussed pretty much all of them, his teammate, the two McLaren's, the two Ferraris. And then, of course, Pierre Gasly. My boy, my boy. Nine times back. There he is a game.

So he's doing everything. can. I don't think there's any thought, anything more you could get out of Alpine. And previously, where we've seen the likes of Oli Behrman be kind of a key challenger, the heart is just not on that same level that Pierre Gastle is able to pull out around here. He hasn't got the same challenges either from the likes of Lawson or Limbaugh in the RB. It's further back. The Stap and, of course, Alton will get to that shortly. Hage are not able to capitalize.

Gatley, again, stands alone in this middle sector between the top five or six and the rest of that midfield. And the Alping is not a perfect car by any means. It's still well off the pace. But I think Gassar is just showing that once again, he's able to level up a car. He's able to be better than those around him. Such an underrated driver. He's showing it again here. Sensation on lap. It will go relatively unnoticed, I imagine, because of where he sits in the top 10, sadly. But I want to make sure he gets to praise is due because another great qualifying. He's going to keep Alpine in the mix this year. And he was closer to Norris in fifth than he was to Hadjar directly behind him in eighth. Like, it's not just where he's qualified. It's the fact that he's put a good chunk of

time between himself and Hadjar and Borto Leto and Limbluda as well. Like to be nearly three-tenths of a second faster than Hajar. Like that is good going in that final part of qualifying. And I've correct me if I'm wrong. I think you said this where you maybe weren't expecting Alpine to be as strong here as maybe we saw at Shanghai. We'll see how race pace develops. That still might turn out to be true. But I kind of thought that looking earlier on in the weekend at least, their race pace might be better than their qualifying pace and that they might have to do something similar to Melbourne, where Ghazley just about finished in the points, but he didn't qualify inside the top 10 on that day. And yet he's managed

to qualify all the way up in P7 here. So I'm almost maybe more impressed by. his position in qualifying today compared to what he did in Shanghai. Yeah, I thought they'd both be back where Colopinto actually is and they have to work their way back through. I just hope they haven't made any changes overall to the car that means when it does come to race pace, they're actually now at a disadvantage

and they can be caught by those behind them. I just want to see Gasly, calm, out there on his own, run a really, really boring race, pick up a good haul of points. Yeah, I don't think Alpine have changed anything to the car because that would require people working for them to change things. So I think we're safe.

If you haven't noticed, they're all on this podcast. Yes. Yeah. Hello to new viewers. That's not actually true. We don't actually work for a bit. Just to confirm. Hadchar, the one and only red bull in Q3.

The gasp I gumped when Arvid Lindblad came in and knocked out Max Verstappen. You really gumped that gasp. I gumped to that gasp straight down, honestly. Could God believe it. And I couldn't believe it. not because of Max Verstappen being knocked out. That's right now, that's okay. The car is not there.

He was incredibly close to being knocked out in Q2 in China. It didn't happen, but he was right on the limit both times. And I'm almost not blaming him because of the car. But when your teammate is able to get through to Q3, then it becomes a question because Hajjah's had better starts. Hadja's had an overall higher qualifying position so far this season. And Hajjah is now the one that's in Q3 when you're not. So I get that he hates the regulations.

He's moaning a lot about the car. The car is able to do something. Let's see where they end up in the race because the points of score on Sunday. But this is another performance, again, where I think Hajar has been equal to, if not better, then Max Verstappen. Yeah, just able to get a little bit more out of it.

And even like earlier on in the session, I know Vestappen had the advantage in the first part of qualifying, but that was only a tenth and a bit. But then in Q2, like, it reverses. it does feel like there isn't too much to choose between them. And whether that's a Red Bull-specific thing, or whether it's these regulations that are causing a driver-light Vastappen to not be able to get as much out of the car as he's been used to, I'm not sure.

But we still do see at least some gaps forming now between drivers. We saw in the top six, for example, Leclair definitively better than Hamilton, Piastri definitively better than the Norris. and of course Mercedes as well, nearly three temps. So, you know, maybe this is just Hachar being able to adjust to the car better than the last couple of Red Bull drivers have been able to. Them young kids love these new regulations. Dem young kids.

Speaking of, Gabrielle Bortoletto, the only Audi in Q3, really pulled it out of the bag in Q2 versus his teammate. Yeah, I was really surprised about this, because it felt like Hulk had Gabby pinned pretty much for the whole time that we built up to qualify. neck and neck. At one point when Holkenberg goes, I think P5 in Q1 sets a really strong lap to get himself right up there to begin with. You think, hello, Audi can go big two cars, Q3. They're surely looking like best of the rest here after the big dogs. Yeah, no, it's Gabby

Borsoletto that's able to put out a really fantastic qualifying lap. And that's what Borsoletto needs to be doing over Holkenberg on a weekly basis, because if he can just get himself two or three positions in front of Holkenberg, every single time, the points will start to drip in at that point. Holkenberg, I don't think has the car under him to make up that massive difference. I don't think there's enough in that Audi right now to jump three or four cars in the Grand Prix unless something does go his way. So great starts of the weekend for Gabby. He'll look to capitalize. He needs some solid points under his belt. I think this will be a really positive moment for him. Yeah. And you say how close they were. There was 1,000th of a second between

the two drivers in Q1. But whereas Holkenberg actually went very much. marginally slower in Q2, Bortoletto was able to find about three and a half temps and get into the 129s. He might be annoyed that he then couldn't take advantage of it as much as he liked in Q3. If he set his Q3 time in Q2, he wouldn't have got through to Q3. Actually, I would say quite slow in Q3. Yeah, he was in 130. Yeah, he was in the 130s again, so it was about three temps slower that he did in Q3 compared to Q2. So I think he'd be disappointed to actually not qualify ahead of Hadger. I think that was definitely doable.

Whether he could have got up to Gasley or not, I'm not sure. But even so, great effort to get into Q3. Audi looked pretty reasonable here to the point where I think Holkenberg's going to be pretty gutted to only be 13th. I actually think it's going to be really tricky for him, though, despite them looking good. The cars that is in the mix with around him are all so closely matched. You've got for Stappen, you've got the likes of Limblad,

who's looking really positive so far at this session. Hagjar is in the mix as well. You're really mentioned Bortoletto his teammate. Gass is too far ahead. There is a real struggle to get those last couple of points. And if you're not in the mix early, there's a chance that you just drive around in 13th, 14th place. Yeah.

It's a bit of a trait as well with Gabriel Bortelato, I just realized that we had this last year. He had a few Q3 appearances and then couldn't quite take advantage of them as well as he might have liked. Quite a few where he got through and then would qualify 10th, not being able to replicate what he he did to even get there in the first place. So I think that's maybe an area for him to work on. Speaking of young kids liking these new regulations, part three,

Arvid Limblood getting through. And a good margin ahead of Liam Lawson in that Q2 session. I was so impressed. Out of all the drivers that I thought were going to knock out, Max Verstappen, when we had this, you know, oh, he's right on the bubble, he's right on the line, he's going to knock him out. And, you know, Holkenberg went nowhere, Colopinto went nowhere.

And suddenly Limbaugh pops up. That's when I was really taking aback at how good this kid could be. Because out of all the tracks I expected him to struggle along, it was going to be this one. I really thought, you know, it's so technical, it's so tricky. Through that far ahead, I really lost him, but to beat Max for snapping and be right behind Hager, really quite impressive the way he's able to hook that up.

And he's improved with every session that we've gone through. He's really stepping up to the plate. So two Q3 sessions within three Grand Prix at the start. start of this new era. He's got some tandem. He sure does. Very impressive. And like you, I have to say, my focus was primarily on Holkenberg as being the guy who would not for Stappen out. And then maybe after that, it was Collopin, so I'm not sure. I wasn't necessarily looking as much at Limblud. And he, he proved me wrong, because that was, that was an excellent lap. Same story in terms of Q3 as compared to Bortoletto, where he's gone a couple of attempts slower in Q3.

So I think he'll be looking at that and saying P9 might have been on the cards, maybe even P8. But to even get into the top 10, three races into your F1 career is very impressive. And I just loved this reaction to making it through to Q3 as well. It's like, that's good. That's got to be good. Come on, tell me that's good. And they did tell him that's good. I live for good regular reactions like that.

I love it when it means the world. Indeed. A bit further outside the top. 10. Shall we talk Hass? Because six positions between them here. Estabana Ocon, obviously, Berman's qualified where that hash should be. An Ocon is a goat. Is that how we're doing it? Yeah. That's my take on it. Yeah, yeah. Well, you know what? Whilst I don't want to go that far with it, I do want to say, well done to Estabon Ocon, because I do think this is the most we've seen harsh struggle

as a manufacturer. We're sitting in the first three Grand Prix here. And whilst I think Beerman has undersold it. I do think Ockong has done a good job at putting it where it probably should have been. The competition is really stiff, as we've already mentioned. It's really tricky to make sure you're getting into that top 10 section. Ocon's done really well to be in the mix. And this is the first time we've seen him properly step up this season against Olly Beerman. So whilst he needed to take advantage of Beerman's struggles, whilst I think there maybe was a little more in it, maybe a place, I do think O'Conn's done himself proud here. And hopefully it can capitalize on it, get some points made where Beerman won't be

able to and start to bring the ball back towards his direction. Ben will be really gutted here. He had that sping in free practice, which he got lucky to catch and didn't put it in the wall. He aimed up being slower. You know, the fact he's out in Q1 is really disappointing, beating by Williams and Carlos Sites, of course. Oh, he's being by both, William. Well, he was ahead too. Of course.

I may be out of the second by Carlis-in-the-Wilk. Yeah. It's just not really good enough when that Williams is so tricky, so slow, over. overall to be behind them. Something hasn't clicked here. Something has gone wrong overall for it to be that far off, I think. Yeah, I tend to think the Haas qualifying pace here was actually something in between what Bearman and Ockon was able to produce.

I think they'll be again quicker tomorrow versus what they're able to show today. But the question particularly for Bearman is, is he going to be able to show that even if it's true? Because there is a chance that there will be more traffic here than what they've been accustomed to at the first two races. It's not particularly easy, we don't think, to overtake at Suzuki. And the other issue that has have had in the first couple of races is that they often get stuck behind a car, like one second behind the car in front and then might have the

energy to get by, but then don't have any energy to defend it. So that they almost get a bit stuck versus some of their midfield rivals. That is a potential worry for Berman going into tomorrow. But he had a very good Japanese GP last year where he, I think he got his first career points. So first, sorry, first points in a house, I should say. So, yeah, we'll see what he can do from P18. It's not brilliant, but it's better for Williams, I think.

Better for one of them. One of them seems mildly happier than the other one, don't they? Well, yes, there is that. Carlos Sykes has cut his hair. He's clearly doing the work. He's shedding the weight where he can, bless him. I imagine they'll both turn up to Miami as skin eggs. Pit bull, bald caps on.

Must be all a business when you go to Miami. You know what? This is a transition phase for Carlos Sines. He's just like... And I respect that. Yeah, yeah, yeah. He's not going straight off. No, as a man who's on the other end of that transition phase,

who lost his hair and is now growing it back, you know, Carlos, my brother. Does this mean by the end of the year? You're going to look like Carlos Sines, and Carlos Sons is going to look like you? If that happens, I will be the world's happiest man. You'll start doing your Spanish accent as well, won't you?

Oh, don't get me starting on my Spanish accent. If I look like Carlos Sites come December, Christmas really has come early. I'll be very happy. Sorry, Carlos, thought you'd have to go through after this. Tough one for you. Anyway, he's doing all right as Carlos. Picked up points, of course, in China after. Yeah, a lot of things went the Williams' way

and allowed him to get there, but it was still a very good drive. And now he's carried back on. He's carried that forward in the sense that in qualifying, he's been able to get more out of the car than what Alex Albin has. Alex Albin is seemingly confused, a bit distressed over the radio. And then we hear the interview post-qualifying where he says, oh, I don't really want to talk about it. And we work out it's all in the straits. It's a very peculiar situation for Alex Albin to be. But he doesn't want to talk about it.

Don't ask him about it. Don't want to talk about. We actually didn't hear it. You can say anything. That's how it works. a lot of questions already about whether he can actually deal with a teammate that's on the same level as him already coming out as well which I think I think that's premature I don't think we should be jumping down that just yet but not good this is not a good start even with the Williams being this poor science clearly has the better of the situation I'm fine by it album was I know I know one's been knocked out one hasn't but there was a tenth and a half between them we've seen bigger gaps up and down the grid than what we saw with the Williams duo so I'm actually surprised that like I don't know I

know Alex Almond would be annoyed not to get through to Q2, so that's probably why he said something. But equally, he's not like Colopinto versus Gasly. He's not dropping like half a second and can't understand why. It seemed pretty slim margins. So I don't think he'll be overly disappointed when he's had a chance to reflect on it. Carlos signs, this is going to sound weird, but obviously him getting P10 at China, I think him getting P-16 in qualifying here is actually more encouraging. I think this in terms of an idea of future performance is more representative. Something that the F1 teams are quite focused on when it comes to particularly qualifying is not necessarily how many seconds and temps you are away from the fastest time.

It's what percentage are you away? Because that can translate track to track. Being two seconds away at SPAR is not the same as being two seconds away at Austria. But if you use percentages, then it kind of, it's relative. they were, if we're using 100% as being the poll time, in China, Carlos Sines was 101.5% away from Antonelli as it would have been again. Here, it's been dropped to 101.1.1. So it's actually a pretty good margin that they've able to find in the space of a couple of weeks. It could just be that they suit Suzuki,

better than they suited Shanghai. But to get that much close to, to the overall fastest time within the space of a couple of weeks, that should give the Williams team at least a bit of encouragement that they're going the right way. Thank you, Ben, our resident math teacher. That's quite all right. Love a little bit of percentage chat, so it's good to get on the show. You know, it's frequently ignored, presented chat.

I agree. On a less Mickey taking side of things, because I've got a ruby for it anyway, on a more serious side, genuinely really interesting to hear that in a understandable and measurable instincts, because seeing you're right, those 10th times and second times, track to track, very hard, especially for a new listener to understand what's going on there, the fact they move forward, 0.4 of a percent. Do that for the next three Grand Prix?

Could be in the top 10. Yeah, yeah, exactly. So we'll see what they're like in terms of the race trim, of course, tomorrow. And we'll see how that translates to Miami in seven years' time. Another year added for the mix, good. Yeah, it just gets a year longer each time we mention it. Right. Anything else from Q1 that you wanted to mention?

I don't think there's any surprise at all about the bottom four drivers. There isn't the way that they're set up at the bottom four, though. I am surprised that Kagalak are so handily beating Aston Martin. I know that they struggle with the race, the vibrations. I think both Cadillacs have been in front of both Ashton Martins this quickly. Alonzo, I would say Alonzo's got to be hurting. He's a dad for the first time. So maybe he's not.

Congratulations, Fernando. But in the car, he might be hurting right now because... I think he's vibrating, my friend. I don't think he's stopped. Yeah, yeah. That might be Alonzo forever now. Can we clip that, by the way? That's got to have use at some point.

He's three steps behind Bottas, who was the slower of the two galax. That's not good. Actually, he didn't put a very good laughing either. He was beating quite comfortably by Perez, who's beating his teammate for the first time. I miss it's, what, 2018? So Bottas, who we usually see as a qualifying specialist, that far off Perez, but yet Alonso is still that far back from Botas,

oh, it's not good. It's not good. I'm hoping it's track-specific. Oh, could you just imagine the beginning of the year before we know how bad this Aster Martin is, saying to Alonzo, you're going to be three-tenths faster than your teammate and Suzuki qualifying, be like, yes, that's got to get me a good stuff. And that's a pass-pole.

Come on. And that will get you only three-tenths away from the slowest Cadillac. Sorry, what? A Cadillac on pole? Am I third? How good a Cadillac? Oh, not very. How bad are we?

Not very. No, that doesn't make sense. You get the point. Yeah. So we'll see how many laps they do. It's sad that that's the question, in it. It's not what can they,

it's just how many laps can they do? Oh, I stink. They whiff. It's like, go check if the bread's all right and realizing it's on moldy. Oh, oh. You bought that three weeks ago, lad. Yeah.

You've left it out. It's got a tinge to it. It's not good. Jack it in the bin. Never mind. Anything else you wanted to mention before we do driver off the session? No, I don't think so. I think we've done a reasonable job of getting through the entire grid today. Who was your driver of the session? I hate going for the pole man, but Kimmy Antingale was just heck of his shoulders above everyone else today. It was the margin to his teammate that made him stand out. Otherwise, I was going to give it to either Piastri or Gassley when my other contenders. but it was just such a great poll app. I did do it twice, essentially,

give two lapses' worth a poll. Phenomenal stuff from Kimmy Antigley. I enjoy how driver of the session in qualifying is now resulting in, who are we picking? The fastest Mercedes or Gassley? Like, those are the two options that seems to be picked. Yeah, fair, fair play to Gassley again.

I will join you in going boring and going with Antonelli, just because of the margin. If it was a 10th or so, I'd probably go for Gazley or Piastri instead. But to be three temps clear on a pole position lap, very good indeed. Well, as mentioned, a later review for the Japanese GP tomorrow, but it will be there. Don't you worry.

Unfortunately, Sam, you won't be here on that one, but you can be subbed out, not for Carlos Science, but with Harry Ead instead. A slightly more wonderful, but slightly more British version of Carlos Sites. I often think of Harry as the British Carlos Sines, yeah. Yeah, Carl Sine, I think is what we call him when he's not on the show. It's not a song. Thanks for listening, folks. We will be late.

I'll emphasize that again. You know, it's like going to be seven, eight hours late, all right? We've got a whole day of stuff going on. Sorry that it's delayed, but there will be a show. It will come out on the same day. Stick with us. Give us the time. Give us the patience.

We appreciate it. And hopefully you enjoy a really brilliant race review from Ben and Harry. Sorry, I can't be there. is just one of those Sundays. Make sure you join us in the Discord, though. I will be in the Discord for the race. It's always lovely to talk to all of you that join us and chat with us. I know for the States, it's super awkward for the Japanese Grand Prix.

So if you can stay up or if you can get up early, we really appreciate the support. Love the support across Europe. And again, if you're in Australia and Asia, maybe this one's a bit more comfortable. Come and join us in the Discord. It's great to chat to you. Patreon is the biggest and best it's ever been right now. And the support has been massive. Thank you for everyone that does support us.

If you want to support the show, that is the best way to do it. I promise it's really, really cheaper. You get some great benefits. Go and checking out. Follow us on social media, late breaking F1. Subscribe to us on YouTube in the same name, and their boys, not me, will see you tomorrow. In the meantime, I've been Samuel Sage.

And I've been Ben Hocking. And remember, keep breaking late.