The rain spiced up the qualifying session for the sprint race in Shanghai, appearing at the end of SQ2 and especially falling very hard in SQ3. The final sprint therefore took place on intermediate tires for the ten participants, including the two Saubers of Valtteri Bottas and Guanyu Zhou.
We witnessed a festival of slides on a wet and recently resurfaced tarmac, which accentuated the lack of grip of the single-seaters. Charles Leclerc was the first to go off the track, fortunately without serious damage to his Ferrari. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) also had a few scares, and he saw his first two times erased for going out of track limits.
In turn, Sergio Perez (Red Bull), Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) and Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) occupied the highest step of the podium. The seven-time world champion looked well on his way to taking pole, but officials had a little last-minute surprise, reinstating a time Lando Norris had canceled moments earlier after he crashed just short of the start-finish line. . (the marshals first canceled the lap in question then the next, considering that he had gained a time advantage with his exit from the track). It is therefore the McLaren driver who will occupy the sprint pole on Saturday morning (start at 5:00 a.m. French time).
The Briton will be ahead of his compatriot Hamilton, Alonso and Verstappen, who ultimately comes out with the fourth time. Followed by Carlos Sainz (Ferrari), Perez, Leclerc, Oscar Piastri (McLaren), Bottas and Zhou.
The Alpine eliminated in the first session
Unfortunately for the French team, the two Alpine drivers were eliminated in the first session of this qualifying session. Esteban Ocon (17th), despite the new flat bottom he benefits from on the Chinese circuit, was even beaten by Pierre Gasly, who set the 16th time in SQ1. The first named had nevertheless finished 7th in free practice, which augured a more pleasant weekend. The two finished more than a second and a half behind Sergio Perez, best time in this first session, contested under the sun.
