The workday is over! Finally, all decisions have been made, and we are closing our live coverage for today. Stay tuned at 00:00 on the Formel1.de YouTube channel for the big video analysis of Saturday. The race starts tomorrow at 3:00 pm, and we will be back with a new live coverage for you. Enjoy our analysis later and see you then!
Tsunoda has to pay a fine for his remarks on the team radio during Q1. He must pay 40,000 euros, with 20,000 euros suspended until the end of the season. Tsunoda apologized for his words and claimed he was not aware of their meaning in English at the time. The Stewards appreciated his honesty but found the words offensive and inappropriate, resulting in a fine.
The protest filed by McLaren was rejected because it did not specify a particular rule violation or indicate who the protest was against. It is also not possible to protest a decision made by the race stewards. The full explanation can be found here.
McLaren’s official press release listed Oscar Piastri in seventh place, suggesting that the protest was likely rejected. The decision from the FIA is still pending.
Pierre Gasly made changes to his car after the morning session but only finished 14th. He mentioned that the modifications did not pay off, and he struggled with the car from the first lap. Meanwhile, his teammate Ocon will start in tenth place and is pleased with the result despite not having fresh tires in Q3.
Alexander Albon improved to 16th place, just missing out on Q2 by 0.080 seconds. He believes he could have made it to Q2 if not for a minor mistake caused by dirty air from Lewis Hamilton. His teammate Sargeant had a frustrating day, finishing 19th due to the changing track conditions.
Albon expressed satisfaction with the car changes made before the sprint race. Sargeant, on the other hand, found it challenging to adapt to the increased track temperature. Although he was happy with his performance, the end result was not what he had hoped for.