It’s an all Red Bull lockout for Sunday’s Chinese Grand Prix as Max Verstappen will lead teammate Sergio Perez to the grid in his 6th consecutive pole position, as Red Bull checked the box for their 100th pole in Formula 1 history. Rounding out the podium, in contrast to a dismal result in the Sprint race, was Fernando Alonso, nearly a half second back from Verstappen in his Aston Martin. The McLaren duo of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri would round out the top 5.
WATCH: Ride onboard with Verstappen as he flies to pole position during Chinese GP qualifying
Q1 Results:
The shock story of Q1 came as the Sprint Races 2nd place finisher, Lewis Hamilton, found himself with an early exit, being knocked out in 18th position as teams found pace in the evolving conditions in Shanghai. Yuki Tsunoda found himself on the short end of the grid after a blistering start to 2024, making his was into Q3 for the last 3 years, as he found himself mired in 19th for the start of Sunday’s race.
Drivers out in Q1:
- 16th: Zhou Guanyu (Kick Sauber)
- 17th: Kevin Magnussen (Haas)
- 18th: Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
- 19th: Yuki Tsunoda (RB)
- 20th: Logan Sargeant (Williams)
Q2 Results:
Verstappen set the pace once again in Q2 with a lap that saw the Red Bull nearly a half second ahead of Lando Norris. Then, soon after, Carlos Sainz spun his SF-24 into the barriers at the final corner, prompting a red flag period as Sainz was able to move his battered Ferrari to the garage for his team to assess the damage. With Q2 resumed with 6 minutes remaining, all drivers rushed to gap themselves as they queued in pit lane to avoid a compromised lap. Sainz, with a repaired front wing, rejoined in the final minutes to secure P3 in Q2, pushing himself back out of the danger zone.
Drivers out in Q2:
- 11th: Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
- 12th: Daniel Ricciardo (RB)
- 13th: Esteban Ocon (Alpine)
- 14th: Alex Albon (Williams)
- 15th: Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
Q3 Results:
With much of the remaining drivers on fresh rubber it was Verstappen once again who shot to provisional pole – three tenths over Alonso and an additional tenth over teammate Perez. As the clock wound down, Verstappen on his final run went quicker still as Alonso and Perez battled for second on the grid with Perez ultimately winning out. Further down the field, the Ferrari duo of LeClerc and Sainz could only manage sixth and seventh ahead of George Russell. Nico Hulkenberg and Valtteri Bottas would go on to round out the final spots.
With the grid set, the first Chinese Grand Prix since 2029 is set to fire off at 15:00 local time. Tune it to your local services for all the action and check back here for our post race report.
FP1 Report – CLICK HERE
Sprint Qualifying Report – CLICK HERE
Sprint Report – CLICK HERE
FORMULA 1 LENOVO CHINESE GRAND PRIX 2024 Schedule
| Date | Session | Time (Local Circuit) |
| Apr. 19th | Practice 1 | 11:30 – 12:30 |
| Sprint Qualifying | 15:30 – 16:14 | |
| Apr. 20th | Sprint | 11:00 – 12:00 |
| Qualifying | 15:00 – 16:00 | |
| Apr. 21st | Race | 15:00 |
Qualifying Results:
| POS | NO | DRIVER | CAR | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | LAPS |
| 1 | 1 | Max Verstappen | RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT | 1:34.742 | 1:33.794 | 1:33.660 | 18 |
| 2 | 11 | Sergio Perez | RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT | 1:35.457 | 1:34.026 | 1:33.982 | 19 |
| 3 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES | 1:35.116 | 1:34.652 | 1:34.148 | 15 |
| 4 | 4 | Lando Norris | MCLAREN MERCEDES | 1:34.842 | 1:34.460 | 1:34.165 | 15 |
| 5 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | MCLAREN MERCEDES | 1:35.014 | 1:34.659 | 1:34.273 | 16 |
| 6 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | FERRARI | 1:34.797 | 1:34.399 | 1:34.289 | 20 |
| 7 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | FERRARI | 1:34.970 | 1:34.368 | 1:34.297 | 17 |
| 8 | 63 | George Russell | MERCEDES | 1:35.084 | 1:34.609 | 1:34.433 | 20 |
| 9 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | HAAS FERRARI | 1:35.068 | 1:34.667 | 1:34.604 | 21 |
| 10 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | KICK SAUBER FERRARI | 1:35.169 | 1:34.769 | 1:34.665 | 15 |
| 11 | 18 | Lance Stroll | ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES | 1:35.334 | 1:34.838 | 12 | |
| 12 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | RB HONDA RBPT | 1:35.443 | 1:34.934 | 12 | |
| 13 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | ALPINE RENAULT | 1:35.356 | 1:35.223 | 15 | |
| 14 | 23 | Alexander Albon | WILLIAMS MERCEDES | 1:35.384 | 1:35.241 | 14 | |
| 15 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | ALPINE RENAULT | 1:35.287 | 1:35.463 | 15 | |
| 16 | 24 | Zhou Guanyu | KICK SAUBER FERRARI | 1:35.505 | 8 | ||
| 17 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | HAAS FERRARI | 1:35.516 | 6 | ||
| 18 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | MERCEDES | 1:35.573 | 6 | ||
| 19 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | RB HONDA RBPT | 1:35.746 | 9 | ||
| 20 | 2 | Logan Sargeant | WILLIAMS MERCEDES | 1:36.358 | 7 |
