Max Verstappenkept his perfect qualifying record in 2024 alive by taking pole position for the Chinese Grand Prix ahead of team mate Sergio Perez.
The championship leader secured Red Bull’s 100th pole position for a grand prix by three tenths of a second ahead of his team mate. Fernando Alonso repeated the third place he took on the grid for the earlier sprint race.
Q1
Over four hours after the sprint race was won comfortably by Max Verstappen, the drivers returned to their cars to decide the grid for Sunday’s main event. There was no great rush onto the circuit as qualifying began, with many drivers opting to make their first runs on slightly used soft tyres.Fernando Alonso was fastest after his first run with a 1’35.014, a few hundredths of a second quicker than Verstappen’s first effort. They were both beaten by Oscar Piastri, who went a tenth of a second quicker than Alonso to put his McLaren briefly at the top of the times, before Carlos Sainz Jnr broke into the 1’34s for the first time to take the top spot.
With 20 cars on track, traffic was as much of a problem as ever. Sergio Perez was unimpressed when he arrived into the first corner to find Alexander Albon’s Williams driving slowly around the outside attempting to keep out of the Red Bull’s way, but Perez ran off track, ruining his lap. The stewards noted the incident, but determined no full investigation would be necessary.
In the final minutes, Lewis Hamiltonwas sitting deep in the drop zone down in 19th place, four tenths from safety and almost a full second slower than team mate George Russell. With his final lap, Hamilton looked set to comfortably reach Q2, but he locked up and ran wide at the hairpin, losing a considerable amount of time. He compounded that by running slightly wide at the final corner, and although his lap put him inside the top 15, he was clearly vulnerable.
Sure enough, as the Alpine drivers and Charles Leclerc improved in the final moments, Hamilton sank back out of safety to become the most notable casualty of the first phase of qualifying.
Joining Hamilton out of qualifying were Zhou Guanyu in 16th, Kevin Magnussen in 17th and Yuki Tsunoda in 19th, who was baffled by his inabilty to follow team mate Daniel Ricciardo through into Q2. Logan Sargeant was the slowest driver out in 20th after a spin at turn eight on his final flying lap.
The stewards announced during the session that Nico Hulkenberg will be investigated after qualifying for a pit lane incident when he passed a Sauber out of the fast lane while leaving the pits.
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Q1 result
| P. | # | Driver | Team | Model | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull-Honda RBPT | RB20 | 1’34.742 | |
| 2 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | SF-24 | 1’34.797 | 0.055 |
| 3 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren-Mercedes | MCL38 | 1’34.842 | 0.100 |
| 4 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | Ferrari | SF-24 | 1’34.970 | 0.228 |
| 5 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren-Mercedes | MCL38 | 1’35.014 | 0.272 |
| 6 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas-Ferrari | VF-24 | 1’35.068 | 0.326 |
| 7 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | W15 | 1’35.084 | 0.342 |
| 8 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin-Mercedes | AMR24 | 1’35.116 | 0.374 |
| 9 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Sauber-Ferrari | C44 | 1’35.169 | 0.427 |
| 10 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine-Renault | A524 | 1’35.287 | 0.545 |
| 11 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin-Mercedes | AMR24 | 1’35.334 | 0.592 |
| 12 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine-Renault | A524 | 1’35.356 | 0.614 |
| 13 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams-Mercedes | FW46 | 1’35.384 | 0.642 |
| 14 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | RB-Honda RBPT | 01 | 1’35.443 | 0.701 |
| 15 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull-Honda RBPT | RB20 | 1’35.457 | 0.715 |
| 16 | 24 | Zhou Guanyu | Sauber-Ferrari | C44 | 1’35.505 | 0.763 |
| 17 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas-Ferrari | VF-24 | 1’35.516 | 0.774 |
| 18 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | W15 | 1’35.573 | 0.831 |
| 19 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | RB-Honda RBPT | 01 | 1’35.746 | 1.004 |
| 20 | 2 | Logan Sargeant | Williams-Mercedes | FW46 | 1’36.358 | 1.616 |
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Q2
The track sat silent as the pit exit opened for the second phase of qualifying with none of the 15 remaining drivers seemingly eager to take to the track. Eventually, a queue of cars built up at the end of the pit lane, led by Hulkenberg’s Haas.
Only Leclerc did not take new soft tyres onto his car for his first Q2 run, with Verstappen going quickest of all with his first lap with a 1’33.946. This was half a second faster than the McLarens of Lando Norris and Piastri, who were closest to the world champion in second and third.
Carlos Sainz Jnr and Russell were the final two drivers to complete their first flying laps of the session, but a mistake at the exit of the final corner saw him run slightly onto the gravel trap and spin lightly into the inside barriers breaking his front wing and triggering a red flag. That ruined the Russell behind him, who was mere seconds away from completing his first timed lap.
Sainz managed to recover to the pits for repairs. Eventually after a delay of just over ten minutes, the session resumed. Soon after, Sainz also rejoined the circuit with Ferrari having fixed the damage to his car.
With only enough time for one final run, Leclerc was sitting on the bubble in tenth place, but his improvement at the chequered flag moved him into the top four. Sainz completed a timed lap that was good enough for third, which put him into Q3 but under a potential threat of a clash with the stewards after qualifying.
Valtteri Bottas managed to put himself into Q3 with his final lap, which resulted in Lance Stroll being eliminated in 11th place. Ricciardo was also out in 12th along with the two Alpines of Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly, who were split by Albon’s Williams in 14th.
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Q2 result
| P. | # | Driver | Team | Model | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull-Honda RBPT | RB20 | 1’33.794 | |
| 2 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull-Honda RBPT | RB20 | 1’34.026 | 0.232 |
| 3 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | Ferrari | SF-24 | 1’34.368 | 0.574 |
| 4 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | SF-24 | 1’34.399 | 0.605 |
| 5 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren-Mercedes | MCL38 | 1’34.460 | 0.666 |
| 6 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | W15 | 1’34.609 | 0.815 |
| 7 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin-Mercedes | AMR24 | 1’34.652 | 0.858 |
| 8 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren-Mercedes | MCL38 | 1’34.659 | 0.865 |
| 9 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas-Ferrari | VF-24 | 1’34.667 | 0.873 |
| 10 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Sauber-Ferrari | C44 | 1’34.769 | 0.975 |
| 11 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin-Mercedes | AMR24 | 1’34.838 | 1.044 |
| 12 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | RB-Honda RBPT | 01 | 1’34.934 | 1.140 |
| 13 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine-Renault | A524 | 1’35.223 | 1.429 |
| 14 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams-Mercedes | FW46 | 1’35.241 | 1.447 |
| 15 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine-Renault | A524 | 1’35.463 | 1.669 |
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Q3
Both Red Bull and Ferrari fitted fresh tyres to both of their cars for their first runs in the final shootout for pole position. Verstappen was the first of the quartet to complete his lap, posting a 1’33.977 to set the provisional pole time.Perez could only narrowly managed to get within half a second of his team mate, which opened the door for Alonso to take a provisional front row start, with Norris and Piastri sitting fourth and fifth ahead of the Ferraris of Sainz and Leclerc. The majority of runners were unable to match their best Q2 times on their first Q3 run, despite the benefit of new tyres.
All ten drivers emerged from the pits in the closing minutes of qualifying with brand new softs for their final run, with the Ferraris of Sainz and Leclerc the first of the potential pole contenders the first over the line, followed by the McLarens and the Red Bulls last.
Both Ferraris improved with their final laps, with Leclerc just pipping his team mate. Norris and Piastri both beat the Ferraris, with Norris ahead of Piastri, but neither McLaren nor Ferrari had beat Verstappen’s first effort.
The championship leader improved on his own provisional pole time to seemingly secure the top spot on the grid, with Alonso improving to move ahead of the Ferraris and McLarens into second place. The only driver left who could deny Alonso a front row start was Perez, who did exactly that by sneaking under the 1’34 barrier to take second place, three tenths behind his team mate.
That secured Red Bull’s 100th pole position at the same venue they scored their first 15 years earlier. It also cemented a second consecutive front row lockout for the two RB20s.
Alonso will start third on the grid as he did for the sprint race, ahead of the McLarens of Norris and Piastri with the Ferraris of Leclerc and Sainz behind them.
Russell took eighth for Mercedes, with Hulkenberg ninth but under threat of a penalty for his Q1 pit lane incident. Bottas will start no less than tenth for tomorrow’s Chinese Grand Prix.
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Q3 result
| P. | # | Driver | Team | Model | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull-Honda RBPT | RB20 | 1’33.660 | |
| 2 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull-Honda RBPT | RB20 | 1’33.982 | 0.322 |
| 3 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin-Mercedes | AMR24 | 1’34.148 | 0.488 |
| 4 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren-Mercedes | MCL38 | 1’34.165 | 0.505 |
| 5 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren-Mercedes | MCL38 | 1’34.273 | 0.613 |
| 6 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | SF-24 | 1’34.289 | 0.629 |
| 7 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | Ferrari | SF-24 | 1’34.297 | 0.637 |
| 8 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | W15 | 1’34.433 | 0.773 |
| 9 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas-Ferrari | VF-24 | 1’34.604 | 0.944 |
| 10 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Sauber-Ferrari | C44 | 1’34.665 | 1.005 |
2024 Chinese Grand Prix
- Mercedes cleared over Hamilton pit stop infraction as ‘nearly all teams in breach’
- Aston Martin petitions FIA to review Alonso’s penalty for Sainz collision
- “You need to be more on it”: 12 unheard radio exchanges from the Chinese GP
- Ricciardo needs to show “head-turning form” for 2025 chance – Horner
- With fourth format change in as many years, F1 relegated sprint races to a sideshow
Armchair Expert (@armchairexpert)
20th April 2024, 9:44
Ferrari had a chance to hire a driver who delivers the maximum 99% of the time (and that includes practice sessions) and who won 9 races in a car, which was 1s/lap slower than Mercedes/Ferrari rocketships between 2017 and 2020. Instead they went for somebody who can’t even get past Q1 in a car which is only 0.8s off the fastest, who can’t deliver in a machine designed for all his preferences and wishes in 2024 and who even blames it on the set-up when he outbrakes himself by good 10 metres into the hairpin and loses 4 tenths. Tell me Formula 1 is not business and entertainment, but a sport first and foremost, huh? Wha a joke.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
20th April 2024, 22:51
There’s no doubt verstappen was performing better than hamilton the last few years, probably even since 2020 considering what he was doing in that red bull, but I’m not sure the option to hire verstappen was there: hamilton was disappointed by merc, why would verstappen be disappointed by red bull?
Nick T.
21st April 2024, 8:35
I thought you were talking about Alonso at first since why would Max ever go to Ferrari?
Jere (@jerejj)
20th April 2024, 10:10
Unsurprisingly, another Red Bull front-row lockout, & Tsunoda’s surprising, weekend-specific or not, slowness continued.
The biggest disappointment in qualifying, while Alpine was a positive surprise.
What an error by Sargeant, though.
Sometimes, red-flagging has happened unnecessarily hastily in practice & qualifying sessions but wholly justified this time, as Sainz took forever to get going, & ironically, his off (alongside Gio’s 2017 ones & Albon’s in 2019) only further proves that Albert Park’s T6 isn’t the problem for the incidents involving bouncing back on track or stopping on track, as effectively the same has been the case more than once also with Shanghai’s last corner.
HUHHII (@huhhii)
20th April 2024, 11:26
Nah they are whole different things. The part of track where Russell’s and Albon’s cars bounced to the track in Australia is a sort of a blind spot whereas in China it’s all straight with perfect visibility. And the wall is on the inside and not on the outside as in Albert Park so comparing these is utterly meaningless as tracks and situations are so different.
RH
20th April 2024, 10:35
Perez is showing he can drive a RB car well in skill based tracks. RB should give him one more year if he keeps up similar performance till end of the European leg.
Nick T.
20th April 2024, 14:16
He’s a regular Barichello! It’ll be so exciting to have him for another season going 0-24 against Max. Can’t wait!
RH
20th April 2024, 14:23
He is there to be a Rubens for Max. Red Bull are clear how they want to run the team, so I don’t see why excitement is of any of their concern.
Excitement is dead anyway these regulations. I wanted Fred at Red Bull but he chose to stay instead. Leclerc similarly at Ferrari and Norris at McLaren. Realistically only Carlos is a potential upgrade that could go to Red Bull but he was beat by a teenager version of this same guy with no experience driving cars. So wouldn’t be a sizeable upgrade.
You have 7 time champions not making it to Q2. The sport is truly finished with respect to competitiveness.
Nick T.
20th April 2024, 14:50
I understand their rationale. I don’t understand the rationale of fans like you who are routing for Checo staying and maintains that yawn inducing status quo…
RH
20th April 2024, 15:41
As far I am concerned the viable options are Carlos and Sergio and as I explained above neither are going to be a threat.
So I don’t see why I would want to actively root for Perez’ sacking when he’s actually doing his job?
I did root for Alonso to Red Bull but everyone seems happy where they are.
Maybe I am rooting for status quo because realistically the yawn is all we are going to have at least till the next regulations and any change is still going to be a yawn.
Nick T.
20th April 2024, 22:10
I think Sainz could be a legit challenger. I doubt he’d beat Max, but he’d at least take 6-8 wins minimum in a season of 24 races. And he’s finish second time everyone Max finished first. Meaning Meaning at minimum Max would stay under pressure.
Lol, I reported my own reply above accidentally.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
20th April 2024, 22:55
Ahah, reporting your own comment really shows there needs to be a confirmation button, doubt people would report themselves if there were one!
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
20th April 2024, 22:58
Yes, I wouldn’t mind sainz in red bull, nor alonso, but he already gave up on that seat, he could indeed win some more races than perez will, but for red bull it makes little sense to replace a barrichello-like driver, it would’ve made sense to replace him last year (he was albon\gasly like in their red bull seasons), but unless he goes back to that form he’s safe, I think.
MichaelN
20th April 2024, 11:37
What are the other teams spending that collective 1 billion dollars on?
David BR (@david-br)
20th April 2024, 13:05
Catering presumably. Red Bull learned their lesson :)
Nick T.
20th April 2024, 14:00
Just as Kelly Johnson was doing stuff most other aerospace engineers could barely understand for 40+ years, was at the head of most of the military’s most extreme aircraft, Newey continues to show what a man among boys he is.
Nick T.
20th April 2024, 14:29
We’ll see McLaren and Aston struggle during the race due to high rear degradation on their cars. Max will disappear, but if Sainz and Leclerc can quickly move up to third and fourth, he may face a challenge for second. So, expect Russell, OP and LN to be trying to be fighting Alonso for a 5th / best of the non-RBR/Ferrari crowd.
GmP (@gmp)
20th April 2024, 17:01
Interesting to see how close everyone was. In Q1 all except Logan within one second. Then in Q2 the same: if you take Max out ahead, from #2 to #14 also just one second. And Q3 again, now including Max all within one second. The field is very close, and except Max at the top and Logan at the bottom, in between there surprises possible all over the field. Little mishap drops Lewis out in 18th, a good run for Bottas got him in 10th. Could bode well for the race itself, battles all through the field. Good that there is DRS, otherwise cars so close in speed would never be able to pass.
PacificPR (@streydt)
20th April 2024, 17:17
Let’s get ready for another DRS train snooze fest!!
GmP (@gmp)
20th April 2024, 17:22
I am. Bit late here, midnight in California, but looking forward to it. I assume you will read the outcome and then tell us that you were right, bad race?
PacificPR (@streydt)
20th April 2024, 19:01
Oh no. I will definitely be watching. However with very low expectations. But let’s be honest even if the Red Bulls manage to tangle (or tango) with each other in the first corner – the rest will just be stuck behind who ever is first in line.
Nick T.
20th April 2024, 22:11
I am also in California. For me, these start times are perfect.