The championship leader rarely looked beaten throughout the session and plowed a lonely furrow in his quest for pole position, especially as no one was able to beat his first effort of 1’33” 977 – not to mention his final pole lap.
This, however, made for an exciting battle to join him in the top spot, and a series of contenders all claimed their place in the top spot. Fernando Alonso finished the first laps with the second fastest time, but the second cycle precipitated further improvements.
Carlos Sainz, who recovered from a crash in Q2, initially appeared on the front row, but was replaced by his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc. Oscar Piastri beat them in turn before Lando Norris relegated his teammate, but Alonso then briefly regained his previous position.
But Perez crossed the 1:33 mark to seal a Red Bull double, sending Alonso back to the second row of the grid – where he starts alongside Norris.
Piastri starts fifth alongside Leclerc, while Sainz joins George Russell on the fourth row, with the Briton the only Mercedes representative in the top half of the field.
Nico Hulkenberg made his debut in Q3 and starts Sunday’s race from ninth place, with Valtteri Bottas completing the top 10.
Carlos Sainz, Ferrari SF-24, spin
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Q2 was interrupted by a red flag when Sainz clipped the gravel with his rear tires exiting the final corner and spun, ending up in the wall at the opposite end of the circuit. It looked like the Spaniard was going to be unable to restart his car, but he pulled his car out of its resting place and brought it back into the pits.
Sainz not only managed to get back on track, but also escaped the Q2 drop zone by a significant margin to book his place in the final stage of qualifying.
Lance Stroll was taken out in the final moments as Bottas shrugged off his place in the drop zone with a time good enough for 10th, while Daniel Ricciardo’s place in the top 10 was brief when Leclerc handed the Australian in the drop zone, where he fell in 12th.
Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly sandwiched Alex Albon, as neither Alpine nor the lone remaining Williams could make it out of Q2.
Lewis Hamilton proved to be the biggest scalp taken in Q1 in a frantic end to the opening stage as the scale of the track development had been considerable, although the seven-time champion was unable to take advantage of it after a blockage at turn 14.
After looking to get out of the drop zone, his final lap left Hamilton shaky at best before a final deluge of runs in 12th, but further improvements forced his subsequent fall.
Sparks fly from behind Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes F1 W15
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Gasly eventually put Hamilton in the final five with his own escape, and both local heroes Zhou Guanyu and Kevin Magnussen also fell into the elimination zone although they briefly found safety in an ever-changing session – Zhou also tearing off the front wheels in Turn 14 on the brakes.
Yuki Tsunoda faced a brief DRS issue and, although this was eventually resolved, the Japanese driver was unable to make it out of Q1 despite feeling like his lap was good. Logan Sargeant suffered a spin while heading to the bottom of the grid on Sunday.
F1 Chinese GP – Qualifying Results
The championship leader rarely looked beaten throughout the session and plowed a lonely furrow in his quest for pole position, especially as no one was able to beat his first effort of 1’33” 977 – not to mention his final pole lap.
This, however, made for an exciting battle to join him in the top spot, and a series of contenders all claimed their place in the top spot. Fernando Alonso finished the first laps with the second fastest time, but the second cycle precipitated further improvements.
Carlos Sainz, who recovered from a crash in Q2, initially appeared on the front row, but was replaced by his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc. Oscar Piastri beat them in turn before Lando Norris relegated his teammate, but Alonso then briefly regained his previous position.
But Perez crossed the 1:33 mark to seal a Red Bull double, sending Alonso back to the second row of the grid – where he starts alongside Norris.
Piastri starts fifth alongside Leclerc, while Sainz joins George Russell on the fourth row, with the Briton the only Mercedes representative in the top half of the field.
Nico Hulkenberg made his debut in Q3 and starts Sunday’s race from ninth place, with Valtteri Bottas completing the top 10.
Carlos Sainz, Ferrari SF-24, spin
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Q2 was interrupted by a red flag when Sainz clipped the gravel with his rear tires exiting the final corner and spun, ending up in the wall at the opposite end of the circuit. It looked like the Spaniard was going to be unable to restart his car, but he pulled his car out of its resting place and brought it back into the pits.
Sainz not only managed to get back on track, but also escaped the Q2 drop zone by a significant margin to book his place in the final stage of qualifying.
Lance Stroll was taken out in the final moments as Bottas shrugged off his place in the drop zone with a time good enough for 10th, while Daniel Ricciardo’s place in the top 10 was brief when Leclerc handed the Australian in the drop zone, where he fell in 12th.
Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly sandwiched Alex Albon, as neither Alpine nor the lone remaining Williams could make it out of Q2.
Lewis Hamilton proved to be the biggest scalp taken in Q1 in a frantic end to the opening stage as the scale of the track development had been considerable, although the seven-time champion was unable to take advantage of it after a blockage at turn 14.
After looking to get out of the drop zone, his final lap left Hamilton shaky at best before a final deluge of runs in 12th, but further improvements forced his subsequent fall.
Sparks fly from behind Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes F1 W15
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Gasly eventually put Hamilton in the final five with his own escape, and both local heroes Zhou Guanyu and Kevin Magnussen also fell into the elimination zone although they briefly found safety in an ever-changing session – Zhou also tearing off the front wheels in Turn 14 on the brakes.
Yuki Tsunoda faced a brief DRS issue and, although this was eventually resolved, the Japanese driver was unable to make it out of Q1 despite feeling like his lap was good. Logan Sargeant suffered a spin while heading to the bottom of the grid on Sunday.