2020 Tuscan Grand Prix: Qualifying Highlights

From Boucherneu, it's Boots down flat to the floor. Russell goes 12th in that Williams. Is that going to be enough for Q2? Magnussen improves only to 16th. He misses out once again on Q2. Across the line next will be Esteban Ocon into the top six for the French driver at Renault. Kimi Räikkönen goes ninth fastest, pushes Sebastian Vettel into the bottom five. Latifi's down there as well. Antonio Giovinazzi goes 13th. Grosjean goes into the top ten now. George Russell's very much at risk. Nicolas Latifi will be coming to the line soon. We're on board with Pierre Gasly. And Gasly only 13th. Now, further back at the start of that straight. Here comes Nicolas Latifi. He has been outqualified by George Russell. Only 17th fastest. Ricciardo goes 7th fastest, gets himself out of danger. We're looking at Sebastian Vettel still out on the track as Sainz goes 8th fastest. And next across the line will be Alex Albon. And Albon into the top four. Next on the train of cars. Here in qualifying, Lando Norris, who was 20th, because others had improved their time, 8th fastest for him. And now Sebastian Vettel. He does get out of Q1, or certainly out of the danger zones. His teammate Charles Leclerc is 6th fastest. Sebastian Vettel right on the fringes, down in 15th. But it should be good enough for Sebastian Vettel to get through into Q2 by the skin of his teeth. What can Sebastian Vettel do? We're right on board with him now. He's failed to reach Q3 at the last four races. First time that's happened to him since his old Toro Rosso days in early 2008. He was out in Q1 on pure pace last week. He's made it through by five one hundredths of a second this week. He was 13th in Q2. He crosses the line and stays in 13th place. Unlucky for some, certainly unlucky for Seb. It's been where his teammates started at the last two races, or was finished in Q2 at the last two races. Ferrari with the monopoly on 13th place. Well, they had until Kimi Raikkonen. His old teammate went ahead of him by about four thousandths of a second. And Lando Norris still at risk as well. People are improving, but not by a huge amount. Track temperature 44 degrees with the sun baking down here. And there's a yellow flag in Sector 9 as someone has a little bit of an off. Sector 9 is the first of the Arrobiatas as Carlos Sainz goes ahead of his teammate Lando Norris and pushes Lando Norris out of the top ten. Esteban Ocon improves to seventh. And it's Dani Kvyat who needs to improve on his time, who had that off. And you could see the dust in the background as we watched from the main straight. Grosjean stays 15th and slowest. And Lando Norris has missed out on Q3. And for the first time this season won't go into the top ten shootout. That cost Dani Kvyat any chance of making it through to Q3. His team principal, Franz Tost, was saying the drivers just can't afford to make mistakes out there. Lewis Hamilton has just put in a 26.8 for the first sector and his teammate, Valtteri Bottas, not only matched it, but probably just gone a few one hundredths of a second quicker. The battle is back on again between the two Mercedes drivers. As Carlos Sainz makes his way towards the line and behind him, the timing screens are lighting up purple once again for Lewis Hamilton with a 20.6. And Sainz crosses the line with a 1.17.8. That's their target time. Valtteri Bottas, tenth down, and his teammate through the middle sector. He is, yeah, he's lost a little bit as Valtteri Bottas. So it's all about the final sector. It looks like Hamilton's got the upper hand. Hamilton then to the line as Lance Stroll goes into the low 1.16s with his latest lap. It's a 1.15.1 for Lewis Hamilton, puts him on provisional pole. Valtteri Bottas, can he get close? Can he get ahead? Crosses the line. And it is second for Valtteri Bottas with a 1.15.2. It is close between the two Mercedes. Six one hundredths of a second. But it's Hamilton on provisional pole. Max Verstappen, four tenths down in the Red Bull in third and on the second row. Next up comes Charles Leclerc back in Q3 for the first time since Spain goes fifth fastest ahead of Sainz, who had that opening lap. Alex Albon on the second row alongside his teammate Max Verstappen. That is very nice for Red Bull indeed, as Daniel Ricciardo crosses the line to go sixth fastest in the Renault. And towards the end of the first sector, we come then with Lewis Hamilton, Verstappen immediately behind him on the road. And Leclerc and Valtteri Bottas yet to start his final flying lap. And Hamilton hasn't improved through the first sector. In fact, he's a tenth out of that, outside of that best sector time. He just didn't have the rear grip that he had in the first run. So will he get some dividends from that later on? Will it pay him back? Somebody's gone off. And I wonder if that is Charles Leclerc in the Ferrari that has gone off through Casanova and then Cervelli. Lewis Hamilton ahead of him has gone purple for the middle sector. Much better run through T12 this time. Nobody in the way through the chicane. This yellow flag might still hamper Valtteri Bottas, to be honest. We're still seeing yellow flags. And Bottas is driving through that first timing sector at the moment. And he's going to have to lift if there's a problem out on the track. Over the line then for Hamilton. So Hamilton doesn't improve on his time. But I think Esteban Ocon has stopped on the track. And that might just hamper everyone else behind. Charles Leclerc crosses the line and actually goes fifth. So I think he was ahead of any trouble. But it was roundabout where Leclerc was on the track. Valtteri Bottas, his first sector, was so slow because he was behind Esteban Ocon. Lewis Hamilton is going to get pole position here, despite not improving on his first time. This was Ocon. Oh, and that's why he stopped on the track. Yeah. Ambition well ahead of adhesion. And his engine and gearbox overtook him. That was the end, not only of Esteban Ocon's qualifying, but as you'll see now, Valtteri Bottas as well. It is for Lewis Hamilton, the front row in the last eight races as well. It is for Max Verstappen, second row, alongside his teammate Alex Albon for Ferrari. Fifth on the grid in their 1,000th race. That's probably better than they could have imagined coming here to Mugello. And they will be very thankful for that, I'm sure.