F1 Chinese GP Live Commentary and Updates – FP1 & Sprint Qualifying
Friday's action from the fifth round of the 2024 Formula 1 season.
After five years away, F1 returns to Shanghai and with it the first sprint race format of the 2024 season.
Teams and drivers will have just one 60-minute practice session to get up to speed before the revised sprint race schedule for this year kicks in – starting with sprint race qualifying on Friday afternoon.
Practice starts at 4:30am BST (11:30am local time) followed by sprint race qualifying at 8:30am BST (3:30pm local time).
Live Standings
presented by
Stopped
Summary
Summary:
Norris grabs sprint qualifying pole in a session hit by rain and marked by deleted lap times
Norris initially has pole lap time deleted for track limits but it is reinstated having gone off on the previous lap
Hamilton takes second ahead of Alonso and Verstappen
Knocked out in SQ2: Russell, Magnussen, Hulkenberg, Ricciardo and Stroll
Eliminated in SQ1: Gasly, Ocon, Albon, Tsunoda and Sargeant
With that, we'll finish up this coverage of the chaotic sprint race qualifying. Who knows what tomorrow will bring, but a front two rows of Norris, Hamilton, Alonso and Verstappen is exciting enough. Until then, have a lovely Friday and go well!
So, who wasn't planning to get up to watch the Chinese GP sprint race tomorrow morning, but now will do? We'll see you tomorrow bright and early - the sprint race starts at 4am BST.
"We think because it [Norris' lap time deleted] was for the lap before [his pole lap time] where he went off at the last corner. They thought it would have implications for the pole lap," McLaren team principal Andrea Stella tells Sky Sports F1. He also confirmed the FIA stewards made the decision to reinstate Norris' pole lap time independently.
In all of that, Alonso was investigated and cleared for a pitlane infringement. It appeared to be down to the pushing and shoving at pitlane exit but all's fair it seems.
Well, that was a bit mental. Norris had pole, then lost it, then got it back again. The driver who got the final sprint race pole of 2023 also gets the first sprint race pole of 2024, but nobody could've predicted how that one unfolded.
"It was tricky! You are always nervous going into a session like this and even before qualifying when you know it is going to rain," Norris said. "The last lap was all or nothing."
It appears Norris lost his lap originally because he went off at the final corner and that usually means you lose your current and next lap time in qualifying. But his pole-winning time was reinstated given he didn't go off in the lap and didn't gain an advantage at the final corner in wet conditions.
Norris, who had his 1m57.940s deleted for track limits earlier, gets it back and that gives him pole. Hamilton will join him on the front row ahead of Alonso and Verstappen. Blimey!
Piastri leads out the pack but this time everyone comes out pretty sharpish due to the conditions and this session only lasting eight minutes in total. No time to hang about now.
As the track has been declared wet, all drivers are able to use the intermediate or wet tyres. Most of those already at pit exit are on the green-walled inter tyres.
So, Q3 is coming up. It'll be the first time the drivers have been on the track in the wet today, having not been on this track at all for five years before this morning. This is a real test.
The crowd erupts at seeing Zhou make Q3 alongside team-mate Bottas. That's the first time either Sauber has made it into the top 10 of qualifying for over a year.
The track has been declared wet and Russell's first sector time is six-tenths of a second slower than what he needs to push Zhou out of 10th. So that's it for Q2 as the rain closes in.
But there is Verstappen, who goes one-tenth faster than Leclerc to go top, as Perez slots into third. Everyone has posted a lap time now so the bottom five are Russell, Magnussen, Hulkenberg, Ricciardo and Stroll.
