Max Verstappen, from Red Bull Racing, secured another pole position and will start at the front of the grid for the Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix. Verstappen had a successful day in Shanghai, leading all qualifying sessions (Q1, Q2, and Q3) after winning the morning Sprint race. This marks his fifth consecutive pole position in 2024, a feat not achieved since Mika Hakkinen in 1999. Verstappen clocked a lap time of 1:33.660s to secure his position at the front.
Sergio Perez, Verstappen’s teammate, narrowly avoided elimination in Q1 but managed to secure the second position, ensuring a Red Bull front row lockout. The qualifying session took place under cloudy skies after the Sprint race was affected by rain earlier in the day.
Carlos Sainz, from Ferrari, initially set the pace in Q1, while Lando Norris, Lewis Hamilton, and Perez had to improve their lap times to avoid elimination. Norris briefly led Q1, aiming to bounce back from the disappointment of the Sprint race. Perez also managed to advance to the next session by a narrow margin. However, Hamilton, who finished second in the Sprint race, made a mistake and locked up in a corner, resulting in an early exit from qualifying.
Verstappen led the session, with Zhou Guanyu, Kevin Magnussen, Yuki Tsunoda, and Logan Sargeant joining Hamilton as the drivers eliminated in Q1. Meanwhile, Sainz lost control of his car in the final corner of Q2, causing a collision with the barrier and triggering a red flag. Despite this setback, Sainz was able to return to the session and eventually secured the third-best time, behind Verstappen and Perez.
In Q3, Verstappen initially secured provisional pole with a time of 1:33.977. Fernando Alonso briefly took second position, splitting the two Red Bull cars. However, in the final laps, Verstappen improved his time to 1:33.660s, securing pole position. Perez finished 0.322s behind Verstappen, narrowly beating Alonso to take second place. Norris and Oscar Piastri will start on the second row, followed by Charles Leclerc, Sainz, George Russell, Nico Hulkenberg, and Valtteri Bottas in the top ten of the grid for Sunday’s race.
