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Lando Norris from McLaren celebrated his pole position in the parc ferme after a rain-affected Sprint Qualifying session at the Chinese Grand Prix on Friday. China is hosting the first Sprint of the Formula 1 season, with a modified schedule for 2024 that replaces the second free practice with the sprint qualifying. The Sprint Race will kick off track activities on Saturday. Wet conditions during SQ2 and SQ3 made it difficult for the drivers to maintain grip on the Shanghai International Circuit. Norris set the fastest time of 1:57.940s, but there was a brief moment of doubt regarding track limits after he went off at turn 16 on his previous lap. However, his time was eventually reinstated, giving him a comfortable 1.3s advantage over Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton, with Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso in third. Current world champion Max Verstappen had a challenging session and finished fourth after his lap times were deleted for exceeding track limits. Carlos Sainz was the highest-ranking Ferrari driver in fifth, while Charles Leclerc recovered from a spin and a slight brush with the barrier to finish seventh. Red Bull’s Sergio Perez led the race in the early stages of SQ3 but ended up in sixth. Oscar Piastri finished eighth, and Sauber made an impressive appearance in the top ten. Valtteri Bottas briefly held second place but dropped to ninth, while local hero Zhou Guanyu completed the top 10. The first two parts of the session were mostly dry, but the rain intensified during SQ2. As a result, Mercedes’ George Russell did not qualify and finished in 11th place, followed by the Haas duo Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg. Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo and Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll were also eliminated in the second segment. Alpine had a disappointing session, with both drivers being knocked out in SQ1. However, Pierre Gasly outperformed his teammate Esteban Ocon, despite Ocon having the advantage of upgraded components. Williams’ Alex Albon finished 18th, while Yuki Tsunoda struggled with grip and finished 19th, ahead of Logan Sargeant. The Sprint Race is scheduled for 11:00 local time on Saturday.
