SQ1 Report:
Q1 for the Sprint in China has been fairly calm. All 20 cars set out with medium tires and McLaren were looking to be once again the favorites of the weekend, with Piastri the first in the 1:31s, however Norris ran slightly wide while on a flying lap. The Brit made up for at the end of the session, when he went to the top of the timesheets, only to be bumped by Lewis Hamilton in the Ferrari. On the other end of the grid, Liam Lawson was not having a great time in the Red Bull, and will start 20th on the grid. The other drivers to be eliminated in SQ1 are Jack Doohan, Pierre Gasly, Esteban Ocon, and Nico Hulkenberg.
SQ2 Report:
Q2 brought some more excitement, with an incredible lap from Alex Albon at very end of the session to get him out of the bottom five and into 7th. Norris had set a very fast time early in the session, and from there he could certainly relax, because no one was able to beat it! Piastri was close in second before George Russell wiggled his way between the two McLarens to escape elimination. The ones who couldn’t find the pace and won’t be continuing the SQ3 are, in this order, Fernando Alonso, Ollie Bearman, Carlos Sainz, who couldn’t get as much out of the car as Albon did, Gabriel Bortoleto, and Isack Hadjar.
SQ3 Report:
The softs are on and SQ3 is under way! Oscar Piastri set an early benchmark in the 1:30s, yet that was not enough for pole, or even the first row, with Max Verstappen crossing the line to go second fastest, and Lewis Hamilton in his Ferrari setting the quickest time overall to become the pole-sitter for the Chinese Sprint. Lando Norris only ended up in 6th in a disappointing SQ3, and he’ll be looking to make up as many places as possible during the Sprint race.
