20 April 2024 , 08:14
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Max Verstappen took a predictable pole for the Chinese Grand Prix as Lewis Hamilton suffered a "seriously painful" Q1 exit.
That was the description from his former team-mate Nico Rosberg, commentating for Sky Sports as the Mercedes driver made a mistake on his final flying lap of the first part of the session. It was costly enough to ensure Hamilton will line up 18th on the grid for the Shanghai race.
Even if he had been present in Q3, nothing would have stopped Verstappen from securing Red Bull's 100th F1 pole position. He was much faster than everyone else in that part of the session - even team-mate Sergio Perez who rued a front wing set-up change that he said cost him time.
The Mexican had to settle for second place after knocking Fernando Alonso down to third. Lando Norris shares the second row with the Spaniard while both Ferraris were behind the two McLaren cars.
Hamilton's mistake and subsequent exit was the main story from Q1. Home hero Zhou Guanyu also made an error which meant he could settle for only 16th, much to the disappointment of the passionate Shanghai fans.
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Those mistakes gave a reprieve to Perez, who also struggled and was only 15th fastest in that first part of qualifying. He survived, but Zhou, Hamilton, Kevin Magnussen, Yuki Tsunoda and Logan Sargeant were not so lucky.
The drama continued into Q2 as Carlos Sainz span and made contact with the barriers. His front wing was ripped off but otherwise no damage appeared to have been done and, as the session was red flagged so the tyre wall could be repaired, he was able to go back to the Ferrari garage for a once-over and head back out on track when qualifying resumed.
And it was evident that the car was fine as he went faster than team-mate Charles Leclerc, as both Ferraris booked their places in Q3. They were joined by a couple of surprise faces in Nico Hulkenberg and Valtteri Bottas who took advantage of the spaces left.
Both Alpine cars didn't make it, while Alex Albon and Daniel Ricciardo also had to settle for Q2 exits. Lance Stroll was 11th and less than seven-hundredths of a second behind Bottas who helped Sauber make up for Zhou's disappointment.
Verstappen never looked threatened and secured pole with ease in the end. Norris thought he had secured second alongside him before he was leapfrogged by Alonso - and both were knocked down by Perez as Red Bull achieved another front-row lockout.