F1 Chinese Grand Prix LIVE: Qualifying updates in Shanghai as Max Verstappen claims Red Bull’s 100th pole
Formula 1 updates from the Shanghai International Circuit as China hosts the first sprint weekend of the season
Lewis Hamilton’s troubled start to the new season took another desperate twist on Saturday after he qualified a lowly 18th for the Chinese Grand Prix.
Hamilton earlier in the day had led the sprint race in Shanghai for eight laps before he had to settle for runner-up after he was overtaken by eventual winner Max Verstappen.
But less than four hours after Hamilton’s drive to second place - a result he described as his “best in a long time” - the 39-year-old was brought crashing back down to earth when he was eliminated in the opening phase of qualifying for Sunday’s main event.
The seven-time world champion locked up at the penultimate corner on his speediest lap, and he finished in the Q1 knockout zone, leaving only RB’s Yuki Tsunoda and Williams’ Logan Sargeant behind him on the grid.
Verstappen beat Hamilton by an impressive 13 seconds in Saturday’s sprint and he raced to a perhaps predictable pole position.
The Dutch driver, who is on course to take his fourth consecutive world championship, saw off team-mate Sergio Perez as Red Bull secured a front-row lockout. It also marked Red Bull’s 100th pole in F1.
Verstappen finished 0.322 seconds clear of Perez, with Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso third. Lando Norris, who dropped from pole to finish sixth in the sprint race, qualified fourth ahead of Oscar Piastri in the other McLaren.
Charles Leclerc and Sainz finished sixth and seventh respectively for Ferrari, while George Russell could manage only eighth on a poor afternoon for the Silver Arrows.
Follow live coverage of the Chinese Grand Prix with The Independent
F1 Qualifying: Verstappen claims pole position
Verstappen said after finishing on pole: “I think after the sprint race it gave us a few more ideas for the car. Definitely very happy with how all of qualifying went, the car was very nice to drive, very happy to drive here in the dry, conditions were good so it was a lot of fun,”
F1 qualifying final standings
4) Norris
5) Piastri
6) Leclerc
7) Sainz
8) Russell
9) Hulkenberg
10) Bottas
F1 Qualifying LIVE - Q3 FINAL
1) Verstappen
2) Perez
3) Alonso
That will be the front three.
F1 Qualifying LIVE - Q3
Verstappen takes Red Bull’s 100th pole in F1, and his sixth in succession, and for the first time since 1999 all five pole positions in the first five races have gone to the same person.
Perez finishes in second after a lot of changes!
F1 Qualifying LIVE - Q3
Leclerc moves into 2nd and Sainz in 3rd after their final flying laps, but Norris goes second!
F1 Qualifying LIVE - Q3
The Ferrari’s will want something good here, they currently occupy 8th and 9th place. Russell goes into third after a good lap.
F1 Qualifying LIVE - Q3
There are less than two minutes to go in qualifying for the Chinese Grand Prix.
F1 Qualifying LIVE - Q3
The drivers have made their changes, refuelled and they are back on track aside from Sergio Perez.
F1 Qualifying LIVE - Q3
There is a brief pause while all the cars are in the pits, and there are just four minutes remaining of qualifying.
F1 Qualifying LIVE - Q3
Perez has just gone back to pits briefly, and Bottas is the only driver not to have posted a time so far in Q3.
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