F1 Chinese Grand Prix LIVE: Qualifying updates in Shanghai as Max Verstappen claims Red Bull’s 100th pole
Formula 1 updates from the Shanghai International Circuit as China hosts the first sprint weekend of the season
Lewis Hamilton’s troubled start to the new season took another desperate twist on Saturday after he qualified a lowly 18th for the Chinese Grand Prix.
Hamilton earlier in the day had led the sprint race in Shanghai for eight laps before he had to settle for runner-up after he was overtaken by eventual winner Max Verstappen.
But less than four hours after Hamilton’s drive to second place - a result he described as his “best in a long time” - the 39-year-old was brought crashing back down to earth when he was eliminated in the opening phase of qualifying for Sunday’s main event.
The seven-time world champion locked up at the penultimate corner on his speediest lap, and he finished in the Q1 knockout zone, leaving only RB’s Yuki Tsunoda and Williams’ Logan Sargeant behind him on the grid.
Verstappen beat Hamilton by an impressive 13 seconds in Saturday’s sprint and he raced to a perhaps predictable pole position.
The Dutch driver, who is on course to take his fourth consecutive world championship, saw off team-mate Sergio Perez as Red Bull secured a front-row lockout. It also marked Red Bull’s 100th pole in F1.
Verstappen finished 0.322 seconds clear of Perez, with Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso third. Lando Norris, who dropped from pole to finish sixth in the sprint race, qualified fourth ahead of Oscar Piastri in the other McLaren.
Charles Leclerc and Sainz finished sixth and seventh respectively for Ferrari, while George Russell could manage only eighth on a poor afternoon for the Silver Arrows.
Follow live coverage of the Chinese Grand Prix with The Independent
F1 Sprint incident recap
Alonso and Sainz even banged wheels through the seventh corner with Perez able to sneak ahead of the duelling duo. Charles Leclerc followed through, too, as Alonso lost three places in one lap before diving into the pits with a front-right puncture. He later retired the car.
Sainz then appeared to force team-mate Leclerc off the road as they battled for fourth position in the closing stages.
“What the f***,” yelled Leclerc who managed to pass his team-mate a few corners later to finished fourth. Sainz crossed the line in fifth with Norris sixth.
F1 Qualifying
Speaking after the sprint race, Hamilton said he was pleased with the result.
“This is the best result I have had in a long time so I am super happy,” he said.
“This is a huge step and a huge improvement. The rain helped yesterday. The race was tough and if I started further back I would have struggled to make progress.”
F1 Qualifying
After the sprint race, Verstappen moves 15 points clear at the top of the driver standings, with Sergio Perez second and Charles Leclerc leading his Ferrari teammate in third.
F1 Qualifying
Nico Rosberg believes at the moment that Carlos Sainz is the most likely to become George Russell’s teammate from 2025, but admits that the Spanish driver would want a multi-year contract.
F1 Qualifying
Qualifying will get underway at 8am BST, in just under 40 minutes.
F1 Qualifying
Fernando Alonso had a puncture, and Ted Kravtiz and Nico Rosberg reveal the damage has been fixed to the Aston Martin Car.
F1 Qualifying
The small coming together between Sainz and Alonso that resulted in a puncture for the Aston Martin is still being investigated by stewards.
F1 live streams: Free link to watch Chinese Grand Prix qualifying and sprint race online
Formula 1 returns to China after a five-year absence as the Shanghai International Circuit hosts the fifth race of the 2024 season - and the first of six sprint weekends.
Max Verstappen returned to winning ways last time out in Japan, cruising to another victory and leading home a third Red Bull one-two finish of the season, with team-mate Sergio Perez again second-best.
Carlos Sainz backed up his win in Australia with a third podium of the season, while it was another weekend to forget for Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes. Since then, Fernando Alonso has signed a new contract at Aston Martin, ending speculation he could replace Hamilton at the Silver Arrows next season.
F1 live stream: How to watch Chinese Grand Prix qualifying
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