Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing secured another pole position and will start at the front of the grid for the Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix. Verstappen had a successful day in Shanghai, topping all qualifying sessions (Q1, Q2, and Q3) after winning the morning Sprint race. This marks his fifth consecutive pole position in 2024, a feat not achieved since Mika Hakkinen in 1999. Verstappen clocked a laptime of 1:33.660s to secure his position at the front.
Sergio Perez, Verstappen’s teammate, narrowly avoided elimination in Q1 but managed to secure second place, ensuring a Red Bull one-two on the grid. The qualifying session took place under overcast skies after the rain-affected Sprint race earlier in the day.
Carlos Sainz of Ferrari initially set the pace in Q1, while Lando Norris, Lewis Hamilton, and Perez had to improve their lap times to avoid elimination. Norris temporarily topped Q1, aiming to recover from his disappointment in the Sprint race. Perez also managed to progress to the next session by a narrow margin. However, Hamilton, who finished second in the Sprint race, made a mistake and locked up into a corner, resulting in an early exit from qualifying.
Verstappen led the session, with Zhou Guanyu, Kevin Magnussen, Yuki Tsunoda, and Logan Sargeant joining Hamilton as the drivers eliminated in Q1. Meanwhile, Sainz lost control of his car in the final turn of Q2, causing a collision with the barrier and bringing out the Red Flag. Despite this setback, Sainz was able to rejoin the session and eventually secured the third-fastest time, behind Verstappen and Perez.
In Q3, Verstappen initially claimed provisional pole with a time of 1:33.977. Fernando Alonso briefly took second place, splitting the two Red Bulls. However, in the final runs, Verstappen improved his time to 1:33.660s, securing pole position. Perez finished 0.322s behind Verstappen, narrowly beating Alonso for second place. Norris and Oscar Piastri will start on the second row, followed by Charles Leclerc, Sainz, George Russell, Nico Hulkenberg, and Valtteri Bottas in the top-10 of the grid for Sunday’s race.