For the first time ever, Sprint Qualifying took place on a Friday to set the Grid for tomorrow’s Sprint Race!
SQ1
In Sprint Qualifying 1; Pierre Gasly, Esteban Ocon, Alex Albon, Yuki Tsunoda, and Zhou Guanyu were the five slowest drivers. Alpine were once again off the pace, but Pierre Gasly will at least be happy that he was able to outqualify his teammate Esteban Ocon (for the first time all year). Alex Albon could only manage 18th for Williams after a frustrating session whilst Yuki Tsunoda will be very disappointed with P19. Logan Sargeant was the slowest in SQ1 which really isn’t a great look. Red Bull were 1-2 in this session, but it was Sergio Perez who topped Max Verstappen.
SQ2
In Sprint Qualifying 2; George Russell, Kevin Magnussen, Nico Hulkenberg, Daniel Ricciardo, and Lance Stroll all failed to make it into the Top 10 shootout. George Russell just couldn’t find the grip in his Mercedes, and the rain coming down heavier towards the end of the session meant Russell only got one go at it. Haas should be pretty happy with their session as Kevin Magnussen beat Nico Hulkenberg to P12 whilst Daniel Ricciardo will feel okay with P14. Lance Stroll was the slowest man in SQ2, and given what happens later on, this was a massive disappointment for him! Max Verstappen was on top in Q2, this time by just a tenth over the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc.
SQ3
In Sprint Qualifying 3; a 1:57.940 was enough for Lando Norris to take a dramatic Pole Position in crazy circumstances. Not only was the weather completely mad which meant there was basically no grip, but Lando’s lap managed to get both deleted and then reinstated which was a bit silly (if you ask me). Still, Norris did fantastically here to take Pole by nearly 1.3s! Lewis Hamilton will start on the Front Row for Mercedes tomorrow after a really impressive SQ3 performance whilst Fernando Alonso should be really pleased with P3 for Aston Martin. Max Verstappen could only manage P4 for Red Bull after going off multiple times whilst Carlos Sainz will start 5th for Ferrari. Sergio Perez will be disappointed with 6th given his pace earlier on, as will Charles Leclerc who actually found the wall early on in SQ3. Oscar Piastri will be disappointed to be P8, some 3 seconds behind his teammate whilst Kick Sauber had a great afternoon as Valtteri Bottas took 9th, just one spot above hometown hero Zhou Guanyu.
Starting Grid for the 2024 Chinese Grand Prix Sprint and My Sprint Qualifying Grades
Lando Norris: 10
Lewis Hamilton: 10
Fernando Alonso: 9
Max Verstappen: 7
Carlos Sainz: 7
Sergio Perez: 6
Charles Leclerc: 5
Oscar Piastri: 4
Valtteri Bottas: 9
Zhou Guanyu: 8
George Russell: 3
Kevin Magnussen: 7
Nico Hulkenberg: 6
Daniel Ricciardo: 5
Lance Stroll: 2
Pierre Gasly: 3
Esteban Ocon: 2
Alex Albon: 2
Yuki Tsunoda: 1
Logan Sargeant: 1
My Predictions for the 2024 Chinese Sprint
Max Verstappen
Lando Norris
Carlos Sainz
Fernando Alonso
Lewis Hamilton
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