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  • 20/05/2024
Transcript
00:00 19 cars on the grid, one in the pit lane in terms of Fernando Alonso.
00:04 Green flag flies at the back of the pack. Norris in second, Verstappen on pole position.
00:08 It's all eyes to the lights and foot to the floor as we go racing in Imola.
00:12 And it's an even start from the front two. Verstappen is going to have the inside line
00:16 going into Tamburello. The two Ferraris side by side as well. Leclerc going round the long way
00:21 but into Tamburello. Verstappen with a clear view in front of it. Norris holds on to second.
00:27 Little snap on the front end for Charles Leclerc in third. Sides follow through. Then Oscar Piastri
00:32 following suit. Sergio Perez further back in the second red ball. Starting 11th as they make their
00:38 way through the Villeneuve chicane trying to pick off cars in front of him. He's managed to pick off
00:42 Daniel Ricciardo already as they head into the left-hander of Toza. Side by side for Stroll
00:48 and the Ocon Alpine through Toza. Side by side running uphill now through the Piratella.
00:55 Downhill towards Accominarale and it's the Alpine that wins out on that factor. Here we go then
01:00 another chance to look at the start, Corrine. Yeah, there Norris gets that initial launch
01:05 but then Verstappen does manage to get the power down. Sides got a better getaway than Leclerc. Had
01:10 a little sniff around the outside of Norris. Ptot Berovic backed out. Russell had a look as well at
01:16 Piastri and backed out of that one. But Hamilton initially got a very good getaway. Sunoda as we
01:23 said before did have a chance. Piastri had a half look. On board with Hülkenberg. Look ahead Sunoda
01:28 up on the left. Look on the left-hand side and he's there behind the two Mercedes cars. Opens
01:35 up the clean part of the track. This is the racing line for Hülkenberg. Yes! Come on! He enjoyed that.
01:46 Lance Stroll. This is the battle with Esteban Ocon. Up into the Toza hairpin. Ocon left the
01:53 door open there and Stroll gave a little kiss for good measure but got the move done and is...
01:59 Well, at the moment he's got back behind. Isn't he? There's not anything to write home about but
02:04 the sim drivers have been working so hard. They turned it around. On board with Oscar Piastri
02:09 running through Tamburello. Right on the back of Carlos Sainz now. The Ferraris know McLaren are
02:16 quick but finding a way through Karun is so difficult. Oh Alex Albon's going slow. Well he's
02:20 just come out of the pits on the hard tyre. Running slow through the Wilma chicane. Fastest lap goes
02:29 to Max Verstappen. Piastri all over the back of Carlos Sainz for fourth as Williams cannot believe
02:36 what is going on down on Albon's car. Let's hear from him.
02:42 Yeah the FIA normally give a... Here we go there's a replay. The FIA normally give a team a fine if
02:47 they've released a car with a loose wheel. Let's see the replay here. Yeah can't see it. Well let's
02:56 go on board. I mean when he came for his second stop there the front right was a bit slow. I'm
03:00 just watching. You see the front mechanics here. Can't really tell anything from this angle. What's
03:08 this from Fernando Alonso? Rough weekend so far for the Spaniards. Slow pit stop. Makes his way
03:16 back out now. Alonso getting rid of those soft tyres. Moving on to the hard. Yeah front brakes
03:21 were on fire. Copy Fernando. Copy. Oh yeah look at that. Wow. You see I mean air is a good way to put
03:29 them out. So going long into this race. The trouble for we see Perez here heading down into the
03:35 revaters. Are we going to see a lock up? Yes. Yeah he's lost over five seconds with that mistake
03:49 there Harry. And that's going to cost him because obviously you've got Tsunoda on the straw.
03:54 Piastri and McLaren will be waiting for that gap for when they can pit into that. Ferrari and
04:01 Sainz of course they're not sleeping. They'll be 100% wise to the fact that Piastri is looking
04:07 for that gap but they might just cover him off. Bit of air for Max Verstappen. Crucially where is
04:14 Norris going to come out? They find themselves a nice gap behind Hamilton. Can they get out in front
04:19 of Sergio Perez who's running long into this race? It's going to be side by side. Norris needs to be
04:23 in front of Perez but Perez manages to get the position through Tamburello. Can Norris find
04:29 enough pace on this fresh set of tires to get in front of Perez? That's what we want to see
04:33 as we're watching on board with George Russell up against Esteban Ocon in the Alpine. I can tell you
04:40 that Verstappen's gone past my commentary box. McLaren mechanics out of the pit lane. Leclerc
04:45 has stayed out. Slightly quicker stop than his teammate. 2.2 seconds. Here though is Sergio
04:51 Perez who's running long into this race. Hasn't pitted. Lando Norris alongside. Has pitted.
04:56 Manage to get through on Perez into the braking zone now into Tamburello. Gets the move done.
05:02 For the earlier stops and they are hoping to undercut the Ferrari. This is crucial for Piazzi.
05:08 Gets the RS. Gets the toe. Gets past the Astrid Martin. Off Lance. Up into Tamburello. Fastest lap
05:15 for Norris. In the Ferrari versus McLaren battle this is getting super super tight now.
05:21 Onto the main straight. DRS will open for Charles Leclerc who pulls out to the left hand side. It's
05:26 going to be side by side down towards Tamburello. But Leclerc with pressure tired. The DRS, the toe
05:32 makes the move. Stick is in front by the time he hits the brakes. And Piazzi now here for the party
05:39 to get past Perez. Manages to carry a lot of speed out of Tamburello down towards Villeneuve. He's
05:44 going to have the inside line. Perez doesn't fight that one too hard. Nice move and a quick move as
05:50 well. Russell's teammate Lewis Hamilton. What happened to him coming through Aquaminerale?
05:54 Oh, stashy inside front. Just locked up and understeered wide through the gravel. So,
05:59 yeah, driver error unfortunately there for Lewis. And you can see, weight is arm up in a little bit
06:06 of frustration. Sonoda finally does he get past Logan Sargent. That is a fantastic move from
06:16 Yuki Sonoda. Wonderful. This was going to be a test for Sonoda's patience and he made it work.
06:23 And then just as Sonoda got through, Holkenberg's going to go around the outside of Villeneuve on
06:27 Sargent as well. Perez who we can see from the front nose of Carlos Sainz holding on to fifth.
06:33 Can Sainz get a good enough exit from the Ravazza with the aid of DRS plus a bit of toe. George
06:40 Russell with a good view in the house as well. Further back Sainz to the inside. Can it be a
06:45 late dart on the brakes into Tamburello? Yes, it can. Sainz through on Perez into Tamburello
06:51 and up to fifth. On board Lewis Hamilton going up towards Variante Alta. Very slow moving
06:58 Aston Martin there. We are by so much slower than the guys behind. They're using their tyres a lot
07:06 more than we are. Yeah, but I have no pace. Round two for Lewis Hamilton on Sergio Perez. This time
07:14 he picks the outside into Tamburello. Much later on the brakes. Sweeps around Perez. Makes it look
07:21 easy. Hamilton through on Perez and up into seventh spot. Get this push. It feels like when you get
07:28 the DRS you've got the slipstream effect. You should have an extra 25 kilometers an hour and breeze
07:35 past the HASS of Nico Holkenberg there into Tamburello. Stroll. The DRS moves to the outside
07:42 of Holkenberg into the braking zone. Sweeps around the HASS and through goes Stroll. Stealing that
07:48 final point. It just seems we're getting one of those usual... We've seen this before, haven't we?
07:53 Towards the end of a race that Perez just struggles for... Oh, what's happened? Sorry, Ted. Just seen
07:58 Leclerc cut across the chicane at Variante Alta. Turned in and then just cuts across the grass.
08:04 Couldn't keep it turned in. But surprisingly, Harry, only lost half a second there. The main
08:12 loss is to Lando. Turn two, turn six. Yeah, my tires have worn out. Just information, Max. That's all.
08:19 Yeah, same for me. What's happened with these complaining about... I see, I see, I see.
08:25 Oh, good. Norris has got the pace in this McLaren here to catch up. Lap 57 of 63. Time is ticking
08:36 for Lando Norris to make this move and a move for the win of this race. Happy to push turn nine
08:42 a little bit more. I'm pushing as much as I can, mate. Thank you. Verstappen chasing his 59th win. The crowd
08:51 are being entertained here. Norris, now this is it, into the chicane. Does he launch it over the
08:57 kerb? Trying to get closer as they get to the Rivatas. The only opportunity, if there is one, will come
09:03 in the form of a mistake for Max Verstappen, who has had to work hard all race long. Started on pole
09:11 position, managed the gap, but Norris fighting in the McLaren, closing up to the back of Verstappen
09:18 within a second, but it's not going to be enough. Max Verstappen makes it three wins in Imola.
09:24 Lando Norris pushes him hard to the line, will have to settle for second, and Charles Leclerc
09:30 to the roar of the Tifosi gets on to the podium for Ferrari and rounds out the top three.
09:40 Had to work for that.
09:41 Oh, anyway, we did a great race, considering how the weekend started, you know.
09:50 Had to work hard for that. Well, mate, that was a very, very, very strong drive. That's
09:59 two wins for you in a day, I think. You have to work hard for it, but let's take a look at how
10:04 they all ended up. There is your top three with Max Verstappen finishing on top after a tricky
10:10 start to the weekend. Oscar Piastri in the end, what could have been were it not for the grid
10:14 penalty, ended up in fourth ahead of Carlos Sainz. The two Mercedes adrift in sixth and seventh.
10:19 Sergio Perez recovering from 11th into the top eight. Lance Stroll taking his first point since
10:24 Australia, finishing ninth. And Yuki Tsunoda holding on for a point in RB's home race,
10:29 rounding out the top ten. Nico Hülkenberg just missing out on 11th. Kevin Magnussen with a good
10:36 recovery from the back of the grid, too, just behind in 12th. RB's Daniel Ricciardo falling
10:41 down to 13th. Ocon and Joe rounding out the top 15. Gasly, Sgt. Bottas, 18th. Fernando Alonso
10:47 started from the pit lane and couldn't really find his place in this race. Alex Albon retiring
10:53 in the Williams.

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