Having clinched a dash victory in dominant style in the morning, Max Verstappen went on to safe pole place for tomorrow’s Chinese Grand Prix, taking Red Bull’s a centesimal pole, at the similar circuit the place they scored their first pole. F1Technical’s senior author Balázs Szabó delivers teams’ response after Day 2 of the Chinese Grand Prix.
Red Bull had a fairly begin to their day with Verstappen and Perez languishing exterior the podium locations in the 19-lap dash race. However, the Dutchman quickyl made inroads, an took a dominant victory in the season’s first 100km sprint whereas his team-mate climbed up to P3.
The qualifying session then noticed the Red Bull duo lock out the entrance row in dominant style with Verstappen taking Red Bull’s a centesimal pole, at the similar circuit the place they scored their first pole.
Max Verstappen – Sprint: 1st, Qualifying: 1st, 1:33.660
“The begin of the Sprint was a bit difficult for me as a result of the different drivers on the grid had new tyres, so for the first lap they had a bit extra grip than I did. My battery was additionally fully empty, so I had to do a number of adjustments on the wheel to try to get it again up, however as soon as that was all sorted out the tempo was good, I used to be in a position to look after my tyres nicely. Ahead of qualifying we modified the fittings on the automobile they usually labored out very well, so I’m more than happy with that.
“It appears to be like promising for the race, we have been sturdy in the Sprint, however after all there’s quite a lot of info that the different teams can analyse now, so I don’t anticipate it to be fully simple. For the race tomorrow I feel that the wind route might have fairly a little bit of affect on the stability of the automobile, but when we do an identical efficiency to immediately then I might be very glad. Overall, it was an excellent Saturday, I couldn’t have actually wished for extra.
“We celebrated the Team’s 100th pole today with Checo at the front of the grid with me in P2. Naturally starting from pole will help and although it isn’t always a guarantee, it does make life a bit easier. The support in Shanghai has been great, there are a lot of fans in the grandstand and it has been a while since we have raced here, so I’m very happy to be back and looking forward to tomorrow.”
Sergio Perez – Sprint: third, Qualifying: 2nd, 1:33.982
“I used to be pleased with the Sprint lead to the finish this morning, sadly it took me quite a lot of laps to get by the Spaniards and as soon as I received by, it was simply too late to get Lewis. Going into qualifying we did quite a lot of arrange adjustments and I couldn’t get learn of the automobile all through. It was fairly a messy qualifying session, we had a foul Q1 with some visitors.
“My first proper run was my second in Q2 and Q3 didn’t feel perfect either, but I think we managed to learn throughout qualifying and get into a better rhythm. In the end, it was a good one for the Team, I am very happy to have locked out the front row on the day we got our 100th pole. We have a lot better understanding of the car at the moment and that is continuing to pay off. Hopefully we can put on a good show for the Chinese fans who haven’t had Formula One here for a lot of years.”
Having spent the opening a part of the dash race in second place, Fernando Alonso slipped down the order as tyre degradation kicked in afterward in the brief race. The Spaniard then collided with Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, and suffered a puncture which pressured him into the pits for a brand new set of tyres.
Qualifying noticed Lance Stroll battle for tempo with the Canadian ending up eleventh on the grid. His team-mate received himself by means of into Q3 the place he delivered a sensational lap to qualify himself P3 on the grid forward of the McLarens and the Ferraris.
Fernando Alonso – Sprint: DNF, Qualifying: third, 1:34.148
“I am happy with third position in Qualifying today. Both Q1 and Q2 went smoothly, and we progressed into Q3. I then nearly aborted my last lap in Q3 because I lost a few tenths in the first sector. I made back some of this lap time during the rest of the lap, so I kept going and I’m glad I did. We are again a few positions higher in Qualifying than our natural position suggests, but we will take this result and it’s always nice to finish in the top three. It will be a real fight to keep our rivals behind us for a full race distance, but let’s see what we can do tomorrow.”
Lance Stroll – Sprint: 14th, Qualifying: eleventh, 1:34.838
“This morning’s Sprint was a difficult race: we struggled for pace and couldn’t make much progress. Despite making some set-up changes ahead of Qualifying, the car still isn’t where I need it to be and it was frustrating not to make it through to Q3 by such small margins. We’ll do our best to fight for points tomorrow.”
Lando Norris – Sprint: sixth, Qualifying: 4th, 1:34.165
“I think it was a good qualifying for us. Maybe P3 was on the cards – but I think we have to be satisfied. Sometimes you win it, sometimes you lose it in these very close sessions. Another good starting position and a good qualifying so I’m happy with today. The real challenge is tomorrow. We need to get our heads down and do our best tonight and prepare the best we can for the main race and get some good points for the team.”
Oscar Piastri – Sprint: seventh, Qualifying: fifth, 1:34.273
“P5, I’m happy with that. I think the last lap in Q3 was pretty solid. A couple of corners were a bit scrappy but that’s just the nature of the beast around here. We’re in a good place to fight for points tomorrow so we’ll see what we can do. We’ll do our best to stay there, which may be tricky as our race pace isn’t quite there as we saw in the Sprint this morning, but we’ll give it our all.”
Ferrari endured a tough dash shootout yesterday which noticed Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz begin from solely P7 and P6 on the grid respectively. In the dash, the Monegasque and the Spaniard might make use of Ferrari’s spectacular tyre administration and improved to P4 and P5 respectively regardless of a late-race intra-team conflict at the hairpin.
The early a part of the qualifying session noticed Ferrari show encouraging tempo, however they have been unable to repeat their spectacular laps from Q2 when it actually mattered and Leclerc and Sainz will line up solely P6 and P7 on the grid.
Charles Leclerc – Sprint: 4th, Qualifying: sixth, 1:34.289
“We compromised our qualifying by prioritising the race tomorrow and struggled slightly more than we expected. Our race pace is strong and it will be a long one, with tyre degradation playing a big role here. Even the smallest change of wind can influence the car balance, so anything can happen. We will push tomorrow and let’s see what is possible.”
Carlos Sainz – Sprint: fifth, Qualifying: seventh, 1:34.297
“This qualifying session did not go in addition to we hoped, however even after the incident in the final nook we managed to preserve it collectively and reacted positively straight away.
“Overall it was a tough session for us, as we struggled a bit too much in sector 1 and our total lap time wasn’t enough to fight for better positions. However I’m confident that in the race, with this set up, we will be faster than some of the rivals starting in front of us. We are up for an interesting race tomorrow where strategy will also play an important role.”
Hamilton delivered an excellent efficiency in the China F1 Sprint in the morning. While he was unable to beat Max Verstappen in the 19-lap race, his second-placed end was nonetheless an encouraging outcome following Mercedes’ dismal begin to the 2024 F1 season. However, Hamilton’s pleasure didn’t final lengthy as he made a mistake on his final lap in Q1 which meant that he was knocked out in the first qualifying section.
His team-mate George Russell managed to attain Q3, however he struggled for tempo and was subsequently unable to problem for prime positions. The one-time race winner will begin his second Chinese Grand Prix from P8.
Lewis Hamilton – Sprint: 2nd, Qualifying: 18th, 1:35.573
“To be sat on the front-row for the Sprint was an awesome feeling. Racing into flip one and taking the lead jogged my memory of what I really like a lot about this sport! It was a difficult race however to get second was nice.
“We knew Qualifying would be much more tough this afternoon though. I made some sizeable set-up changes after the Sprint to try and improve the car in the slow speed turns. It wasn’t too bad in some corners, but I struggled elsewhere. It was challenging to get the rear tyres to stop into turn 14 and that’s where I locked up on my final lap. If I hadn’t had that, I would have made it through to Q2. I’ll be giving it my best shot tomorrow. We can still have some fun even if we are starting from P18.”
George Russell – Sprint: eighth, Qualifying: eighth, 1:34.433
“We didn’t have our greatest day immediately. With the sturdy wind, it was very difficult on the market. The situations had modified from Friday too, so we had to adapt. We took the Soft tyre for the Sprint and it was positively price the gamble. It carried out OK and it gave us some good learnings for tomorrow. Ultimately, we did nicely to rating a degree.
“Qualifying was additionally difficult. My first lap in Q2 was wanting very sturdy however the pink flag pressured us to abort. We had to use one other set of recent tyres to progress to Q3. Without that, we’d have had two new units for the remaining a part of Qualifying and it might have been a special end result however who is aware of. We are in that struggle between P3 and P8 and, sadly, we’ve discovered ourselves at the again finish of that battle in the previous few races in Qualifying. Small variations can have a serious impression.
“It is hard to predict what will happen tomorrow. It’s all to play for with those cars around us so hopefully we have the pace to move forward.”
Nico Hulkenberg – Sprint: nineteenth, Qualifying: ninth, 1:34.604
“We dropped down the area fairly dramatically in the Sprint – there was nothing apparent, no injury on the automobile. In the pack, proper after the begin, I feel we ruined our tyres over the first few laps. We have been simply driving in the soiled air of many automobiles – so we paid a giant value for that. After that I hit degradation and simply went backwards. Maybe we did a unsuitable activate the set-up after yesterday going from FP1 into Sprint quali.
“We meant to make the automobile higher, however it reacted in a wierd and totally different manner to what we anticipated in the Sprint. Then I used to be very pleased with quali, it was very clear, undecided I might have requested for extra when it comes to execution and my laps. We remedied issues from the Sprint, issues have been extra in-line with what we anticipated – so I’m glad. I anticipate a tricky race tomorrow, I feel it will likely be a stretch for us, however I look ahead to it.”
Kevin Magnussen – Sprint: tenth, Qualifying: seventeenth, 1:35.516
“To keep P10 in the Sprint was a pretty tough task – it seemed like the RB and the Sauber were a little bit faster than us. So, hopefully we can work on that for tomorrow’s race, we’d like to be able to keep the tyres alive a little bit longer. In quali, I only got one lap on the first run as I was called onto the weigh-bridge, we didn’t have time to go out again on that first set of tyres. I only had one lap on my second set, and Sargeant went off at Turn 8 in front of me, I lost a little bit of time there, and then at Turn 14 Tsunoda got in the way. These days it’s just so tight and here we find ourselves out in Q1. I feel like I was a little bit unlucky.”
A superb day for the Kick Sauber F1 group! Zhou Guanyu completed P9 in the dash race whereas his team-mate Valtteri Bottas secured P12. With solely the quickest eight drivers incomes factors in dash races, house hero didn’t add any championship models to his tally, however it was nonetheless a powerful exhibiting.
Zhou didn’t handle to excel in qualifying, and can solely line up sixteenth in tomorrow’s race. By distinction, his team-mate managed to get inside the prime ten with a lap time that was solely a few tenths shy of what Mercedes driver George Russell managed in Q3.
Valtteri Bottas – Sprint: twelfth, Qualifying: tenth, 1:34.665
“It’s been day, total, and we are able to look ahead to tomorrow to hopefully end our weekend on this stage. In the Sprint, earlier immediately, I had begin however then received a bit unfortunate once I received sandwiched in flip six on the opening lap, inflicting injury to the entrance wing endplate – which sadly made the remainder of the race difficult to handle.
“Apart from that, we loved good tempo, as we might see with Zhou, who made it into the prime ten – which is promising for the fundamental race tomorrow. Qualifying was a special enterprise; it was an easy job from our aspect, and every little thing went easily, permitting us to make it previous the Q3 threshold for the first time this season.
“Overall, it’s been good to see our progress on observe this weekend to date; we received fairly shut to Nico [Hulkenberg] in Q3, so we ought to be in for some enjoyable tomorrow, and hopefully some motion. I feel we now have a practical probability to rating factors, so we’ll want to execute every little thing to perfection. As a plus, we’re getting plenty of help from the grandstands, which is unquestionably an awesome increase do to nicely. Everyone is actually motivated forward of the race, and we’re actually raring to go.”
Zhou Guanyu – Sprint: ninth, Qualifying: sixteenth, 1:35.505
“Racing on a brand new observe for me, the first time in entrance of a house crowd, with a brand new weekend format – we knew this weekend had the potential to be difficult, however we now have loads of positives to look again to immediately, even when qualifying might have been higher. I really feel we maximised all we might get out of the Sprint: P9 was not sufficient for a degree, however we are able to really feel actually assured about the tempo we displayed in these 19 laps, as we knew we would have liked some distinctive circumstances to come away with a spot in the prime eight.
“Missing out on Q2 in qualifying was disappointing, however it was not a simple session: I first received blocked in flip one on my first correct run, earlier than a lock-up in flip 14 broken my remaining try. I misplaced two and a half tenths there, and in the finish, we have been out by six hundredths. We had the potential to go all the manner to Q3, however in such a good area you want to have the excellent lap and immediately we have been just a bit bit brief.
“Still, we noticed we have been fairly aggressive, particularly on the medium tyre, which is an efficient indication for the race. We know we are able to push to the restrict and make progress tomorrow: a lot can occur right here and I’m wanting ahead to the race, when the situations will doubtless be related to what we had this morning. The help of the crowd has been unimaginable, one thing I by no means felt in my life: all of us need to go on the market in the race and provides them one thing to smile about.”
A really busy Saturday in Shanghai 🇨🇳@ValtteriBottas shares his ideas going into the race tomorrow 💪#ChineseGP pic.twitter.com/fabVd48RIM
— Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber (@stakef1team_ks) April 20, 2024
Daniel Ricciardo has appeared to have the edge over his team-mate Yuki Tsunoda all by means of the weekend to date. The Australian, who obtained a brand new chassis in Shanghai, completed eleventh in the dash race and secured P12 for the grand prix. By distinction, Tsunoda failed to impress following his sturdy run in latest races, and completed down in P16 in the 100km sprint, and can solely line up nineteenth on the grid tomorrow.
Daniel Ricciardo – Sprint: eleventh, Qualifying: twelfth, 1:34.934
“So far, it’s been a extra optimistic weekend for us and my finest one in all the yr. We modified the chassis this weekend and I really feel the automobile higher and have extra confidence in it, in order that’s encouraging, however it’s only one observe. I’ve all the time loved Shanghai and I even have a reasonably good previous right here, so I feel we want to proceed proving our efficiency in the course of the subsequent few races. We had enjoyable this morning, some positives to take, and a few studying for tomorrow’s race.
“Mid-race in the DRS practice was a bit difficult, however then as soon as I cleared Valtteri (Bottas), I used to be in a position to catch Kevin (Magnussen) fairly shortly. We had battle in the previous few laps, sadly, not for factors however we knew it could have been arduous to get factors in the dash. Personally, I had a greater feeling immediately, and the dash was positively a extra attacking race in contrast to the earlier ones.
“Given observe situations modified quite a bit from yesterday, there have been totally different circumstances; the rain made the observe extra slippery and the wind modified quite a bit, therefore there have been fairly a number of challenges earlier than quali. I used to be pleased with my lap in quali and really feel there wasn’t rather more in it. There have been a few our direct rivals in Q3 they usually discovered a bit extra tempo, however I do really feel we now have a bit extra tempo than some automobiles round us.
“Even if at the similar time, I feel some others are difficult us from behind. I’m excited to go racing once more tomorrow; the dash this morning has been encouraging, so I hope we are able to present a bit extra in the future. It’s most likely a one-stop race, however it’s fairly a singular front-limited circuit, so doubtlessly even two. I feel P12 is an honest place to begin and presents the alternative to strive catching the ones in entrance and get some factors.”
Yuki Tsunoda – Sprint: sixteenth, Qualifying: nineteenth, 1:35.746
“It’s been robust. This morning throughout the dash, I attempted to discover my manner, work the automobile, and study a bit extra, however I used to be nonetheless struggling. We appeared into the knowledge and felt like we made a step ahead for qualifying. It’s combined emotions. In dash qualifying, I felt I wasn’t in a position to put it collectively from my aspect, however in immediately’s qualifying, I used to be fairly pleased with my lap.
“I’ve been scuffling with rear grip all weekend and the steering hint in contrast to different automobiles, I’m preventing my automobile quite a bit however I’ve been working arduous along with the engineers to enhance it and discover a resolution, they usually helped me quite a bit. Coming into qualifying, we felt good and assured we discovered a solution for our package deal. The lap itself I’m pretty pleased with however the time doesn’t mirror the feeling, so it appears like we’re simply caught. Ending up P19 once more is irritating and a disgrace, however we’ll analyse, strive to perceive, and discover the resolution. Looking forward to tomorrow, we now have to change one thing to discover extra tempo and hopefully, we may be shut to the factors.”
Alpine introduced a brand new ground to Shanghai, however solely Esteban Ocon might take pleasure in its profit whereas his team-mate Pierre Gasly will obtain the tweaked half in Miami. The two French drivers have been clearly extra comfy of their automobiles than in earlier races, and have been in a position to battle towards the likes of the RB, Haas and Williams drivers. Interestingly, they secured the exact same beginning place for tomorrow’s grand prix as the completed the dash race.
Esteban Ocon – Sprint: thirteenth, Qualifying: thirteenth, 1:35.223
“Overall, it was day in contrast to the place we have been yesterday and in earlier races. We had a strong race and gained 4 positions in the Sprint. It is our greatest beginning place of the yr and each automobiles into Q2, so it’s a satisfying session from that perspective. It is a small step in efficiency however not a negligible one.
“Looking at the instances, there’s nonetheless a giant hole to make up to these forward. Seeing how the tyres behaved in the Sprint, the degradation was fairly excessive however manageable, so hopefully it provides us an opportunity to struggle all through the race and at the finish of stints. We will assessment what technique choices we now have accessible to us and look to make progress in the Grand Prix tomorrow.”
Pierre Gasly – Sprint: fifteenth, Qualifying: fifteenth, 1:35.463
“I am happy to be back in China after such a long time, it is a very unique track and great to see all the fans in the grandstand. The Sprint race was quite eventful but a solid result for us. We have made quite some aggressive set-up changes ahead of Qualifying and we knew it was going to be a difficult session, as it has been tricky to get into Q2 for us this season so far. So, I am pleased we have managed to put a clean weekend together up to this point, getting on top of the tyres between each session. The race tomorrow will be very interesting, especially in terms of tyre degradation. We will continue to push hard and get as much out of the car as possible tomorrow.”
Despite introducing an up to date halo fairing for the Shanghai F1 race, Williams have endured a really tough weekend to date. Albon conceded that the nature of the Shanghai International observe with its lengthy corners highlights the weaknesses of the group’s FW46.
The Thai driver completed P17 in the dash race, solely a spot forward of his team-mate Logan Sargeant. The American completed then final in qualifying, whereas the former Red Bull driver achieved a slight enchancment in contrast to the dash shootout with a P14.
Alex Albon – Sprint: seventeenth, Qualifying: 14th, 1:35.241
“It’s been a tough weekend to date, so 14th was most likely the finest we might do immediately. Our automobile struggles with the lengthy corners at this observe, and the mixture of excessive and low pace corners makes set-up tough. We had to prioritise low pace corners, compromising stability in excessive speeds. The wind additionally affected the stability and made the automobile really feel fairly disconnected.
“Today has clarified what we need to work on going forward, and the team can be proud of changes we’ve made ahead of the session. I’m optimistic as we’ve got a good tyre allocation for the race, and winds should be lower. We can definitely fight from here tomorrow.”
Logan Sargeant – Sprint: 18th, Qualifying: twentieth, 1:36.358
“Qualifying was frustrating as it was a good lap until the spin. The car was on edge in the high speed this afternoon especially over the bumps and changes in tarmac. Nonetheless, it could’ve been a much better session. We used the Sprint as a chance to get a good long run under our belts and from that made some minor changes ahead of Qualifying based on what we felt and what we want for tomorrow. So, we need to see how that plays out in the race. Realistically it’s not going to be easy, but we’ll give it our best go and see where that leaves us.”
