Formula One returned to China after a five-year hiatus with the Shanghai International Circuit set to host Round 4 of the 2024 F1 season. The opening day noticed Lando Norris safe a shock pole place for the dash race with Lewis Hamilton additionally impressing with a second beginning place.
Knowing the limits of their automobile, McLaren arrived in Shanghai with low expectations. The crew reckoned that the lengthy length corners would expose the weaknesses of their MCL36, however Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri appeared very sturdy once they tried a qualifying simulation run on tender tyres at the finish of the sole follow session.
They managed to carry that kind over into the dash qualifying, and the Briton was so spectacular on the damp floor that he took his first dash pole place with a formidable margin from his rivals. His team-mate Piastri failed to extract the whole lot from his automobile on his ultimate excursions in the rain, and took solely P8.
Lando Norris, 1st, 1:57.940
“I’m extraordinarily completely happy, to begin with, an enormous thanks to the entire crew. It was tough. Going right into a session like this isn’t straightforward, particularly earlier than Sprint Quali when you recognize it’s going to rain. I used to be fairly proud of how we had been in the dry – we’ve had good tempo all weekend up to now, so it was a problem heading into the session with changeable circumstances, the place you’ve obtained to push, construct tyre temperature and get a lap in.
“There continues to be an opportunity of rain tomorrow, so if it’s like this, then I feel our probabilities of an excellent outcome are comparatively respectable, however the race may be very totally different to qualifying and I’m certain everybody goes to catch up a bit tomorrow. I feel we’re in an excellent place and I’m very completely happy. The crew did an excellent job, the automobile’s feeling good and so am I, and it’s paying off.”
Oscar Piastri, eighth, 2:00.990
“A mixed day. Unfortunately, not the end to Sprint Qualifying that we wanted. I had some wheelspin and pulled a gear and found neutral which was frustrating as I think we could have been higher up, but I also just didn’t find enough on the last lap. I’m pleased for Lando and I think overall, we’re more promising here than we were expecting to be, but the pace in general is tough to judge. We’ll have a look overnight and see what we can do ahead of the Sprint and Grand Prix Qualifying tomorrow.”
Mercedes arrived in China following a disappointing weekend in Japan the place they had been unable to sustain with the tempo of Red Bull, Ferrari and McLaren. In the sole follow session, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell solely used the arduous tyres so as to save recent units for the the rest of the weekend.
The qualifying session then noticed Mercedes battle for pure tempo in dry circumstances. Russell was knocked out in SQ2, and can begin the first dash race of the yr in P11. Hamilton by no means appeared to be fast sufficient for high positions, however the seven-time world champion delivered a blistering lap to safe P2 on the grid for the 19-lap dash.
Lewis Hamilton, 2nd, 1:59.201
“It was very tough circumstances on the market. As you possibly can see, there was not lots of grip on the market for anybody. As quickly as I noticed the rain coming although, I used to be getting very excited. Our tempo in the dry didn’t look fairly fast sufficient to problem at the very entrance, so the moist climate gave us extra of a possibility. That’s when all of it got here alive.
“We will have to wait and see what the conditions are tomorrow. We have a lot of fast cars starting behind us, but we will see what we can do to keep them behind us.”
George Russell, eleventh, 1:36.345
“It wasn’t straightforward at all on the market. I obtained one lap in SQ2 earlier than the rain arrived, which was irritating. We tried to get out on observe as quickly as we may, as we knew the rain was coming. We obtained caught behind a number of automobiles in the pitlane and misplaced lots of tyre temperature. We had been nonetheless shut to going by means of; another tenth and we might have made it, so it was a disgrace to be on the backside finish of that.
“Who knows what would have happened if we had got through to SQ3. Nevertheless, we’ve got a chance to recover in the Sprint tomorrow though. After that, we’ve got Qualifying for the Grand Prix in the afternoon and that is what really matters.”
Fernando Alonso discovered himself at the backside finish of the leaderboard in the opening follow, however he bounced again with some eye-catching laps in the dash shootout. The Spaniard appeared sturdy on dry observe as nicely, however he managed to qualify himself larger up on the damp floor than he might need finished in dry circumstances.
Aston Martin’s Canadian driver ended up quickest of all in Free Practice 1, however Stroll didn’t discover the grip in qualifying, and completed down in P15.
Fernando Alonso, third, 1:59.915
“It was quite a stressful Sprint Qualifying. In SQ1 we were looking at the radar and checking if the rain was coming. We progressed and safely made it into SQ3 in eighth position before it rained more heavily. As the conditions changed, we were quite competitive. The tyres seemed to improve with each lap, but the circuit was just getting worse with the rainfall increasing. It was difficult to judge the level of grip and how much risk to take. We have the two races now, so let’s see if we can score some points in the Sprint and qualify well for Sunday.”
Lance Stroll, fifteenth, 1:36.677
“We completed some solid running in FP1 and I found some good speed towards the end of the session on the Soft tyre. However, I just didn’t have the grip I needed in Sprint Qualifying when the track was dry. We then got a bit caught out by the rain, so I didn’t get a second push lap in SQ2. Our options are limited in a short Sprint given we’re starting P15, but we’ll take today’s learnings and see what we can do for the rest of the weekend.”
Max Verstappen, 4th, 2:00.028
“It was incredibly slippery out there and I struggled a lot to get the temperature in the tyres, that’s why it was very difficult to keep the car on track. The car never really switched on for me and it was like driving on ice, which is why I think we deserved where we finished in Sprint Qualifying. It wasn’t really working for me in the wet, even though I think in the dry the car was quite good and I was quite happy with that. It doesn’t always go as planned but it’s not like you have to start on the inside here, there will be low grip for everyone due to the paint on the tarmac here and so we have to try and have the best start possible. I think it is going to be quite a long stint on one set of tyres for the Sprint but I think that that will make it quite interesting.”
Sergio Perez, sixth, 2:00.375
“Things were looking great initially, then with the traffic and the backoff people were doing we were onto a good final lap but unfortunately, I just couldn’t do the final corner, it was so tricky to get through there and that meant I went off. That compromised being on the front row for the Sprint but I think we are in a good place this weekend. I felt confident straight away today and we ae in a good moment with the car, so in any conditions I think we can be competitive for now, which is very promising.”
Watch out for the front-left tyre! 😳
Join Max and GP for a primary @Oracle Virtual Lap again at the #ChineseGP on @EASportsF1 🎮🇨🇳
— Oracle Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) April 18, 2024
Ferrari had been exptected to carry out nicely in China given the traits of the Shanghai International Circuit. The lengthy radius medium-speed corners have favoured the SF24 up to now, and the automobile appears to look after the Pirelli tyres on front-limited tracks fairly nicely. However, the rain meant that Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz had been unable to unlock the efficiency of the automobile in the dying minutes of the final phase of the dash qualifying, and can line up seventh and fifth on the grid.
The Monegasque had the edge over his teammate on the opening day as Sainz struggled with the stability of his automobile. However, the new dash format guidelines imply that driver could make tweaks to their automobiles after the 100km sprint.
Charles Leclerc, seventh, 2:00.566
“I lost it on the out lap in Turn 8 during SQ3, which compromised our session. I don’t think there was much we could have done differently today. We did some good work in terms of tyre preparation in dry conditions, which seems to be paying off. We’ll give it our all in the Sprint Race and then reset for qualifying tomorrow afternoon.”
Carlos Sainz, fifth, 2:00.214
“It was a troublesome blended session. We made it by means of SQ1 and SQ2 with out main points, however then in SQ3, with the rain and the Intermediate tyres, we struggled quite a bit with the rear tyres as we weren’t ready to get them up to the proper temperature.
“If the Sprint Race tomorrow is also wet it won’t be an easy session for us, but as of now it looks like there is a higher chance of dry conditions. In any case, we will try to recover some positions and face qualifying in the afternoon with good momentum.”
An excellent day for the Kick Sauber crew! Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu managed to get themselves by means of into the ultimate phase of the dash shootout. Although they had been unable to profit from the blended circumstances in SQ3 and ended up ninth and tenth respectively, it waas nonetheless a really sturdy outcome from the Swiss crew. Home hero Zhou sounded optmistic after the session, stating that his automobile had a lot potential to unlock this weekend.
Valtteri Bottas, ninth, 2:01.537
“Today has been a terrific day for the crew: each automobiles in the high ten is how we would like to begin a race weekend. We skilled blended circumstances – one thing that’s by no means straightforward, but it surely’s reassuring to know that we might have been up there no matter the climate. I’m really completely happy for Zhou and the Chinese followers – entering into SQ3 at your property race is particular.
“While it’s still quite challenging to assess everyone’s race pace after FP1, especially with evolving track conditions, we’ll give it our all tomorrow. The team has done a great job and with the extra support from the Chinese fans, we aim to be fighting for points in the sprint and deliver a qualifying performance to this level tomorrow.”
Zhou Guanyu, tenth, 2:03.537
“It feels nice to be in SQ3. The laps stored coming collectively, in SQ1 by means of SQ2: there was lots of potential in the automobile however in the finish, in the rain in SQ3, we solely had one lap to get the absolute best end result. I used to be simply attempting to get a lap onboard, regardless that everybody was struggling a lot with the grip. I’m proud of the day, with two automobiles in SQ3, and the followers have been sensational: I can’t watch for the remainder of the weekend.
“Points tomorrow will solely be for the high eight, however we’re taking this step-by-step: we put two automobiles in the high ten at this time, and we’ll give the whole lot tomorrow. Everything can nonetheless occur; it’ll be a dash from the lights to the end. The guys we’re combating for the factors will likely be sturdy, however we stand with an opportunity and we’re prepared to go for it.”
Haas continued to show their positive kind in Shanghai following their sturdy begin to the season. Although Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen didn’t handle to qualify inside the high ten for tomorrow’s dash, their lap occasions had been massively encouraging, they usually could be in the combine for factors this weekend given the improved tyre administration of their automobiles.
Nico Hulkenberg, thirteenth, 1:36.478
“A little bit disappointed not to have made it into SQ3 today – fine margins. SQ1, it was ok, there was some light drizzle about, but it was dry. SQ2, things got a little more interesting with the later rain. It was just a case of small margins. With a little more preparation time, might have been different. It’s not the easiest of days with the one practice session, but it’s the same for everyone, so that’s where we are today. Practice across the board maybe wasn’t the real deal, or the real picture, with everyone doing different things. But still, I feel good in the car and it feels encouraging for the weekend.”
Kevin Magnussen, twelfth, 1:36.473
“I’m not disappointed but we knew after practice that the likes of Ferrari, Mercedes and I think one of the Aston Martin’s didn’t really set lap times in that session. We didn’t take the right choice in terms of strategy in SQ2, doing two runs, basically stopping in between – and for the second lap it started raining. We took a bit of a gamble there. It could have paid off, but overall, P12 – it’s not too bad.”
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— MoneyGram Haas F1 Team (@HaasF1Team) April 19, 2024
Daniel Ricciardo appeared to have the edge over his team-mate Yuki Tsunoda all day lengthy. The Australian obtained a brand new chassis for the Chinese Grand Prix to get rid of any doubts a few potential technical challenge together with his automobile. Ricciardo managed to get himself by means of into SQ2, however failed to qualify larger up than P14 whereas his team-mate Yuki Tsunoda struggled for grip and completed down in P19.
Daniel Ricciardo, 14th, 1:36.553
“It’s a type of days the place P14 is just not an apparent outcome to get enthusiastic about, however personally, I feel it was a significantly better day as a result of we hit the floor working this morning and had been in the high 10. At the similar time, I knew that some automobiles used just one set of tyres. We knew entering into Q3 would have been robust, however the feeling on observe was positively a bit higher, so some encouragement by that.
It’s shut, not someplace the place we’re going to be notably over the moon, however on our private little path that we’re on, it was a constructive day. Looking at tomorrow, the Sprint is actually one other likelihood to come by means of the subject and have a bit little bit of a battle. It’s a circuit the place you may overtake as a result of there are some good alternatives. So sure, two probabilities for racing this weekend and I’m actually trying ahead to that.”
Yuki Tsunoda, nineteenth, 1:37.892
“I struggled with the balance and grip in general from FP1. Even for Sprint Qualifying, we tried different things, but I couldn’t put it all together. Not sure what’s happening there but it definitely was not easy today. It’s not because of the weather and the general track conditions, I just could not achieve more. I haven’t struggled this much so far. It’s strange, but there are still sessions to go, so we’ll continue collecting the data. Qualifying tomorrow is very important so hopefully, we can find something until then, so let’s see how it goes.”
Alpine introduced a bunch of upgrades to Shanghai, however solely Esteban Ocon obtained the new components with Pierre Gasly anticipated to get the new bundle in Miami in two weeks’ time. The former Hungarian Grand Prix race winner appeared in fine condition in follow, however was unable to convert that velocity into an excellent qualifying place for the dash race.
In the finish, each drivers had been eradicated at the finish of the dash shootout, however they hope that the modifications they’re planning to make after the 100km dash will enhance their probabilities for qualifying and the race.
Esteban Ocon, seventeenth, 1:37.720
“We did not maximise the potential of the car today. I think we can extract more performance from the car and, unfortunately with only one practice session, we did not put everything together in time for Sprint Qualifying. We will try our best to make progress in the Sprint Race tomorrow morning and make changes to the car when Parc Fermé opens ahead of Qualifying for the Grand Prix. We will do some analysis overnight and evaluate what set-up changes we can make between sessions to improve tomorrow.”
Pierre Gasly, sixteenth, 1:37.632
“A difficult Friday morning session for us, due to a excessive voltage drawback however the crew labored arduous and managed to swap the Power Unit and the battery earlier than Sprint Qualifying as a precautionary measure. The session turned out barely higher than anticipated, though, we’re removed from the place we would like to be presently.
From what we have now seen up to now, the upgrades to Esteban’s automobile look to be a step in the proper route, so I’m trying ahead to Miami the place we each will likely be ready to run the up to date automobile. In the meantime, we’ll proceed working arduous to get the most out of the automobile in the Sprint Race and Qualifying tomorrow.”
Alexander Albon appeared sturdy in follow, however he failed to ship the tempo he anticipated to have following his spectacular run in FP1. In the finish, the Thai driver took 18th whereas his team-mate Logan Sargeant ended up twentieth, having complained about the grip stage on the Shanghai International Circuit.
Alex Albon, 18th, 1:37.812
“Tough session today. We were the first cars out, so the track was still very green, which damaged the tyres. We tried to go for a second lap at the end of SQ1 but the tyres were gone and we didn’t have the grip. I don’t know if SQ2 was a possibility today, but I think there was potential to be in a better position than we are. We’ll treat the Sprint race as a session to learn more about the car ahead of Qualifying.”
Logan Sargeant, twentieth, 1:37.923
“Mixed feelings today, as like Japan, I feel like I did a decent job but unfortunately that’s placed me at the back of the grid. I felt like there’s a little bit more in the car but I’m sure everyone else can say the same. The track was extremely slippery today with low grip which made it difficult. We have our homework to do overnight. The good thing is Parc Fermé opens again after the Sprint race to allow us to change some things. We’ll use the Sprint to pick up the learnings for the race on Sunday and, of course, figure out what we can do better in Qualifying tomorrow.”
