McLaren’s Lando Norris came through the mayhem to take pole position for the Chinese Grand Prix sprint race. His initial time was deleted but got reinstated to beat Lewis Hamilton.
Rain emerged at the end of the SQ2 segment and continued meaning the use of intermediate tyres for the final stage of qualifying to decide pole.
Track conditions were evidently very slippery, as a number of drivers over-extended beyond the circuit’s limits and had to recover from the run-off. Charles Leclerc hit the wall after spinning on the exit of Turn 8, but was able to continue in his Ferrari and stopped for a new front wing and warmer, fresher intermediates.
Oscar Piastri got the session off with a lap above the two-minute mark, which was beaten by Sergio Perez, as the Red Bull driver led the line to begin with.
Fernando Alonso then beat the Red Bull driver, to ensure he could factor in the fight for pole, but this was subsequently beaten by the first sub-120 second lap from Lewis Hamilton, who claimed a one minute, 59.321 seconds.
Norris had gone off on the lap prior to a mighty one minute, 57.940 seconds, which had put the McLaren driver into provisional pole, but this was then subject to an unexplained deletion.
Hamilton thus looked in line for pole with a time of one minute, 59.201 seconds follow-up appeared to confirm that, but Lando’s time was reinstated and ensured an all-British front row for Saturday’s sprint race.
Alonso was third quickest over Max Verstappen, who suffered a number of moments before finally stitching a clean lap together with his final effort of the session.
Carlos Sainz and Perez locked out the third row ahead of Leclerc, who recovered enough to set a time, while Piastri could only manage eighth. The Saubers of Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu completed the top ten.
The start of SQ2 faced a minor delay as, like FP1, the grass lining the circuit bust into flames and needed to be extinguished. With rain due, the drivers all rushed to the pit exit and fighting for track position, although neither Red Bull fancied joining in.
George Russell dropped to P11 when the times had shaken out and, despite opting to go for another lap, the rain finally emerged and affected his time in the opening sector.
He was six tenths adrift of Zhou’s cut-off benchmark and had to abandon his effort as the Chinese driver make it through – sending the home crowd into fever.
Kevin Magnussen outqualified teammate Nico Hulkenberg as the Haas drivers took P12 and P13 on the sprint race grid, as Daniel Ricciardo and free practice leader Lance Stroll also fell short on their single flying laps.
Russell staged a late escape from the elimination zone in SQ1 having dropped to the bottom of the order, finding three tenths in the final sector over the cut-off time from Pierre Gasly to make it through into the next round.
This pushed Gasly into the bottom five, ensuring that he joined Alpine teammate Esteban Ocon in being eliminated in the opening stage of the session.
Alex Albon dropped out in P18, as the two Williams drivers split by Yuki Tsunoda as Logan Sargeant was last at the chequered flag.
Tsunoda had not been able to set a somewhat representative time until his final run, but could not find enough to join RB teammate Ricciardo into SQ2 as he struggled with a lap of grip.
So a crazy end to sprint qualifying with the wet conditions and yet Lando Norris came through to take pole position for McLaren. With Lewis Hamilton on the front row with Fernando Alonso and Max Verstappen next up, the sprint race is going to be exciting.
Chinese Grand Prix, sprint qualifying:
1 Lando Norris McLaren 1:57.940
2 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:59.201
3 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin 1:59.915
4 Max Verstappen Red Bull 2:00.028
5 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 2:00.214
6 Sergio Perez Red Bull 2:00.375
7 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 2:00.566
8 Oscar Piastri McLaren 2:00.990
9 Valtteri Bottas Sauber 2:01.044
10 Zhou Guanyu Sauber 2:03.537
11 George Russell Mercedes 1:36.345
12 Kevin Magnussen Haas 1:36.473
13 Nico Hulkenberg Haas 1:36.478
14 Daniel Ricciardo RB 1:36.553
15 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 1:36.677
16 Pierre Gasly Alpine 1:37.632
17 Esteban Ocon Alpine 1:37.720
18 Alexander Albon Williams 1:37.812
19 Yuki Tsunoda RB 1:37.892
20 Logan Sargeant Williams 1:37.923
Lando Norris claimed pole during Sprint Qualifying at the Chinese Grand Prix in what proved to be a dramatic rain-affected session, with the Briton initially seeing his time deleted before it was reinstated.
It was a frenetic SQ3 segment as the top 10 batted with slippery conditions, resulting in the likes of Max Verstappen having some off-track moments. While Lewis Hamilton looked to have claimed pole position by the end of the eight-minute session, after Norris lost his time, the McLaren driver’s lap of 1m 57.940s was given back, putting him in P1.
Hamilton held onto P2, ahead of an impressive Fernando Alonso in third, while Verstappen ultimately took fourth. Carlos Sainz was the lead Ferrari in fifth, while Sergio Perez joins him on the third row in sixth.
Charles Leclerc took P7, having gone off track earlier in SQ3, with Oscar Piastri following in P8. The Kick Sauber duo of Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu enjoyed a good day to round out the top 10, marking a solid outing for Zhou in front of his home fans.
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/norris-claims-p1-ahead-of-hamilton-during-frenetic-wet-sprint-qualifying-in.6MaQEQnrVeqxZVf7PzASsQ
Lando Norris took an “all-or-nothing” approach to his Chinese Grand Prix sprint pole lap, as the McLaren Formula 1 driver had to abort his previous two laps.
Norris had his penultimate timed lap deleted for track limits at Turn 16, but his 1m57.940s follow-up ultimately proved unbeatable during a wet and slippery final part of sprint qualifying – which yielded multiple mistakes across the field.
This lap was initially chalked off for track limits as well, suspected to be a result of Norris going off at the final corner of the previous lap, but it was successfully demonstrated that he lost time at the start of that lap and he had it reinstated.
“It was tricky,” Norris reflected after the session. “You’re always nervous going into a session like this, especially for quali when you know it’s going to rain. I know I was quite happy with how it was in the dry; I think we have had good pace all weekend so far.
“So I got a bit nervous but the conditions were you have just got to risk a lot, you have got to push, build tyre temperature and so forth.
“But I was quick, I just kept catching the Ferrari, so I had to keep backing off. I didn’t do the first few two laps like well at all and I got a good final one: a good enough one for pole. So I’m happy. Sad it is not for proper qualifying, but good enough.
“The first two I aborted on both, so I was like: the last lap was all or nothing. But it’s getting wetter and wetter. So actually the conditions for the final two laps were a lot worse than the second lap at least.
“I was a little bit nervous that I made a few mistakes, started to aquaplane quite a bit. But it’s good fun. It gets your heart going. To end up on top is exactly what we wanted.”
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/norris-china-f1-sprint-pole-lap-down-to-all-or-nothing-approach/10600484/
McLaren’s Lando Norris pole lap for Formula 1’s sprint at the Chinese Grand Prix was deleted and then reinstated, as race control manually overruled its scoring system.
Rain made the already slippery Shanghai surface even more treacherous and Friday afternoon’s final segment of sprint qualifying was peppered with incidents, with world champion Max Verstappen going off twice and Charles Leclerc tapping the wall with his front wing.
McLaren driver Norris bagged sprint pole, but not before his lap was briefly deleted. Right before embarking on the lap that would yield pole, Norris went off at Shanghai’s tricky final left-hander, crossing the white line with all four tyres and dumping his right-hand tyres into the gravel.
As per usual, the FIA deleted the lap he went off on, and the system also deleted the following lap to prevent drivers from gaining an advantage by not respecting the last turn to increase exit speed.
While this is standard practice at many circuits, race control soon realised Norris had not gained any advantage in this case. McLaren team boss Andrea Stella estimated Norris had lost at least three tenths by going off, compromising his acceleration to start his eventual pole lap.
Race control therefore manually reinstated the lap and restored the Briton’s pole position. Had he gained an advantage going off, or had the event notes explicitly stated the lap time would be deleted, however, then it would have been scrubbed.
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/why-norris-china-f1-sprint-pole-lap-was-deleted-and-reinstated/10600510/
Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton says he expects to slip down the order if Saturday’s Formula 1 sprint race in China is dry, after qualifying second in the rain.
Hamilton was one of the standout performers of a wet final qualifying segment on Friday afternoon, taking second behind McLaren’s Lando Norris.
The seven-time world champion said his car “came alive” in the wet, but he’s realistic about its potential if Saturday morning’s sprint is held in dry conditions.
“It was pretty tricky conditions. Not a lot of grip for everyone, but so happy,” he told F1 TV.
“As soon as I saw the rain coming, I was so happy because in the dry conditions, we are not quick enough. So, when the rain came I thought I would have a bit of a better opportunity and that’s when it all came alive.”
“If it is like that [in the sprint race], then we have a chance of being somewhere up there. If it’s dry then naturally, the Ferraris and Red Bulls will come by. Maybe we can hold off some of the others.”
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/hamilton-expects-to-lose-positions-if-f1-china-sprint-is-dry/10600534/
Max Verstappen felt Red Bull “deserve to be where we are” having struggled to get the tyres in the right window in the wet Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix sprint qualifying.
Having claimed every pole position so far in the 2024 F1 season, Verstappen looked strong favourite again after topping Q2 of sprint qualifying in the dry.
But as rain fell at the Shanghai International Circuit it produced a major unknown given no driver had any wet running at a track F1 had not visited for five years.
The reigning F1 world champion’s best clean lap placed him fourth on the grid for the Chinese GP sprint race, but he was over two seconds slower than polesitter Lando Norris for McLaren.
“It was incredibly slippery, I struggled a lot to get the temperature into the tyres so that is why it is very difficult to keep the car on track,” Verstappen said.
“It never really switched on for me so it was like driving on ice. That is why I think we deserve to be where we are after qualifying.
“Because it was not really working for me in the wet, even though in the dry I think we look quite good. So, of course, I am quite happy with that.”
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/verstappen-deserves-fourth-in-china-f1-sprint-qualifying-with-wet-struggles/10600519/