Norris Secures Pole Position Amid Controversy in Rain-Soaked Chinese GP Sprint Qualifying

Lando Norris achieved pole position for the Sprint race of the Chinese Formula 1 Grand Prix on Friday. The dedicated qualifying session was tumultuous and not without controversy, as it was partially contested in the rain.

Qualifying Sprint Summary
In Q1, the 20 drivers took to the track, vying for one of the 15 spots in the intermediate phase. Sergio Pérez (Red Bull) was the fastest, edging out Norris (McLaren/Mercedes) by 0.274s, while Max Verstappen (Red Bull) was third, 0.346s behind.

In the battle to avoid elimination, the last driver to secure a spot in the top 15 was Guanyu Zhou (Kick Sauber/Ferrari). Competing at home, the Chinese driver was 88 thousandths ahead of 16th-placed Pierre Gasly (Alpine).

The Frenchman was eliminated, as was his teammate Esteban Ocon. The big surprise was Yuki Tsunoda’s 19th place (Visa Cash App RB), sandwiched between the Williams of Alexander Albon and Logan Sargeant. George Russell (Mercedes) narrowly avoided elimination with his final lap.

SQ1 CLASSIFICATION

Zhou squeezes through to SQ2 👍#F1Sprint #ChineseGP pic.twitter.com/EaunzSy1vA
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 19, 2024

Caricature scenes delaying the start of SQ2, when the grass bordering the track had an apparent spontaneous combustion as had happened in free practice.

In SQ2, some light rain was already evident, but lap times still improved. Verstappen was the fastest this time, beating Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) by 0.105s, while Pérez was third by 0.175s.

Zhou secured a spot in the decisive phase of the session by a very narrow margin with the tenth fastest time, beating Russell by 38 milliseconds. Kevin Magnussen, Nico Hülkenberg (Haas/Ferrari), Daniel Ricciardo (Visa Cash App RB), and Lance Stroll (Aston Martin/Mercedes) also failed to make it to SQ3.

SQ2 CLASSIFICATION

Verstappen and Leclerc vying for top spot, Zhou finishes P10 👏#F1Sprint #ChineseGP pic.twitter.com/DnwizXYPYt
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 19, 2024

The intensification of rain forced the drivers to switch to intermediate tires in SQ3. And the session was chaotic, on a very slippery track that caused problems with track limits for several drivers.

Oscar Piastri (McLaren/Mercedes) was the leader at the beginning, running above two minutes, but was soon overtaken by Pérez. In turn, the Mexican lost the position to Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin/Mercedes).

Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) was the first to run in 1m59s, before Norris made an impressive lap in 1m57.940s. However, this lap was eliminated without explanation and Hamilton improved, reinforcing his lead.

But there was still time left until the end of the qualifying session and there was a new twist off the track. Norris’ time was returned to the driver, who was able to celebrate the pole position by beating Hamilton by a clear 1.261s.

Alonso was third at 1.975s, while Verstappen had some problems with track limits and could only manage fourth, more than two seconds off the pace. Carlos Sainz took the best Ferrari to fifth, ahead of Pérez and Leclerc – who had a small incident at turn 8.

The top ten also included Piastri in eighth and the Kick Sauber of Valtteri Bottas in ninth and Zhou in tenth in his first time competing in Shanghai in F1.

Results: