Max Verstappen was comfortable to lead a Red Bull 1-2 in F1 Chinese GP pole from Sergio Perez, with Fernando Alonso in third.
Q1:
The first part of F1 Chinese GP qualifying saw Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz use an used medium tyres for his first run. There was a potential impeding of Red Bull’s Sergio Perez from Williams’ Alexander Albon, but it was cleared by the stewards.
Visa Cash App RB’s Yuki Tsunoda had a DRS issue in his first run, but it was sorted for his second run which didn’t yield better result for him. There was an investigation for Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg for a pitlane infringement where he overtook a car.
At the front, meanwhile, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen led the way with a 1m34.742s lap ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc who made a late improvement to drop McLaren’s Lando Norris to third as the dropzone saw a big drop of Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton.
He made a mistake in his final attempt which meant he only improved to 12th. With others improving, he was only 18th with a best time of 1m35.573s behind Stake F1 Team’s Zhou Guanyu (1m35.505s), who missed out a Q2 finish by just 0.048s margin.
Haas’ Kevin Magnussen (1m35.516s) was 17th from Hamilton, as Tsunoda (1m35.746s) and Williams’ Logan Sargeant (1m36.358s) were 19th and 20th. There was a spin for the American causing a brief yellow flag.
Q2:
The second part in F1 Chinese GP qualifying saw an early red flag after a crash for Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz in the final corner when he ran on the gravel. He lost the front wing but managed to get himself back in the pits to let his mechanics check.
The red flag allowed them to get the car ready. The re-start saw him back on track and end up third behind the Red Bull pair of Verstappen (1m33.784s) and Sergio Perez. It was a late push from both the Mexican and the Spaniard to drop Leclerc in third.
Even Stake F1 Team’s Valtteri Bottas made it in where Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll (1m34.838s) missed out in 11th by 0.069s margin. Visa Cash App RB’s Daniel Ricciardo (1m34.934s) was 12th from Alpine’s Esteban Ocon (1m35.223s).
Williams’ Alexander Albon (1m35.241s) was 14th after his struggles, as the other Alpine of Pierre Gasly (1m35.463s) was 15th.
Q3:
The final part in F1 Chinese GP qualifying saw Verstappen lead the way on his first run with a 1m33.977s lap as Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso split him from Red Bull’s Sergio Perez in the Top 3, ahead of the two McLaren drivers led by Lando Norris.
The Ferrari pair were behind them in sixth and seventh as Bottas chose to do just the one run in his first Q3 appearance of F1 2024. The final run saw further improvement for Verstappen who set a 1m33.660s lap to take Chinese GP pole – Red Bull’s 100th.
It ended up being a Red Bull 1-2 after Perez ended up second with a 1m33.982s lap. He was the sixth driver to be second as the order continued to shuffle. He dropped Alonso (1m34.148s) to third with the McLaren and Ferrari pair following.
Norris (1m34.165s) was fourth from Piastri (1m34.273s), with Leclerc (1m34.289s) managing to get ahead of his teammate Sainz (1m34.297s) to be sixth and seventh, as Mercedes’ George Russell (1m34.433s) was eighth, Hulkenberg (1m34.604s) ninth and Bottas (1m34.665s) in 10th.
UPDATE: Hulkenberg was handed a reprimand for the pitlane infringement. Here: https://www.fia.com/sites/default/files/decision-document/2024%20Chinese%20Grand%20Prix%20-%20Infringement%20-%20Car%2027%20-%20Pit%20Lane%20Infringement.pdf
Also, Ferrari has been summoned by the stewards after protest of the F1 qualifying results by Aston Martin under Article 39.6 of Sporting Regulations, which relates to car stopping on track being not allowed to take part in the session. In this case, it is for Sainz. Here: https://www.fia.com/sites/default/files/decision-document/2024%20Chinese%20Grand%20Prix%20-%20Summons%20-%20Ferrari%20-%20Protest%20of%20Results.pdf
Here’s how F1 Chinese GP sprint panned out
Here’s special Chinese GP trophy
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