Max Verstappen: “The last lap of Q3 felt good” / Formula 1

In qualifying for the Chinese GP, Max Verstappen was the measure of everything. The Red Bull Racing star finished more than thirteenth ahead of teammate Sergio Pérez, who finished second. After following the times, the pole setter said: “After the sprint we had a few thoughts about the car, which worked better thanks to those adjustments. The last lap of Q3 felt good and I’m happy that I was able to accelerate here in the dry.” The Dutchman said he needed a lap to prepare for qualifying after the race.

Pérez, for his part, explained: “It was very intense, I was almost thrown out in Q1 because Williams was in my way. But I was able to finish and things went better in Q2. We were able to improve, but unfortunately it was not enough to catch Max. Everything is clear in the race, of course we can get a strong rhythm and I’m looking forward to the GP.”

And Alonso, who managed the third fastest lap of Q3, summed it up: “I had a shock in the first two corners and I lost two tenths there. But I didn’t give up the lap, but I continued to drive and manage a good lap time. We have been able to improve the car since morning, so let’s see if we can use that to get points.”

This is how the Chinese medicine qualification went:

Even before the start of the Chinese GP qualifying, the GP stars gathered at the end of the pit lane to make a good lap from the start. Nico Hülkenberg went inside, which was not noticed by the controllers. They announced the investigation after the session.

After all drivers except Sergio Pérez finished at least one lap, Carlos Sainz was happy about the fastest time in Q1. The Spaniard completed the 5.451 kilometer circuit in 1:34.970 minutes. He was followed by Oscar Piastri, Fernando Alonso, Max Verstappen, Valtteri Bottas, Alex Albon, George Russell, Charles Leclerc, Lance Stroll and Esteban Ocon in the other top 10 positions.

Behind them were Yuki Tsunoda, Pierre Gasly, Nico Hülkenberg, Guanyu Zhou, Logan Sargeant Daniel Ricciardo, Lando Norris, Lewis Hamilton and Kevin Magnussen in front of Pérez, who was denied his first time because he went out at the first corner. . The Mexican had an altercation with Albon that caught the attention of the management but ultimately came to nothing.

The drivers still had enough time for another test and Norris used this to take the lead with a time of 1:34.842. Pérez stayed on track in the second attempt and finished in 6th place. Shortly before the end of Q1, yellow flags were briefly displayed because Sargeant spun in turn nine. The American was recognized by the administrators because he exceeded the maximum time limit. They announced the investigation after the session.

This did not affect the competitors’ attempts to improve, several drivers were able to improve and in the end Verstappen was the fastest with 1:34.742 minutes. Leclerc, Norris, Sainz, Piastri, Hülkenberg, Russell, Alonso, Bottas, Gasly, Stroll, Ocon, Albon, Ricciardo and Pérez took the other top 15 positions and thus reached Q2.

A bitter pill for Hamilton, Sainz is unlucky

A notable member of the first group of eliminations was Hamilton, who finished 18th behind Zhou and Magnussen. Brake failure at corner 15 led to an early exit. “Sorry, guys,” the seven-time world champion announced. Former team-mate Nico Rosberg said: “He had a good lap until this corner and didn’t have to push himself too hard. For the seven-time champion, this is probably an avoidable mistake.” Tsunoda in 19th and Sargeant, who remained at the bottom, were also absent in Q2.

In Q2 the session was interrupted after eight minutes. Because Carlos Sainz lost control of his Ferrari on the final corner and went straight into the opening lap. The order at this point was: Verstappen ahead by 1:33.946 minutes Norris, Piastri, Alonso, Pérez, Hülkenberg, Bottas, Stroll, Leclerc, Ricciardo, Albon, Ocon, Gasly, Sainz and Russell, with the last two not yet caught. the time cycle is over.

Sainz returned to the pits under his own power, but without the front wing, which had broken on impact. The racing driver from Madrid was lucky and was able to take part in qualifying again after a short stop for repairs. After 12 minutes the session continued and Sainz was able to leave the pits again.

Sainz was the last man to record a Q2 lap time. The Spaniard finished second behind Verstappen, who remained fastest with a time of 1:33.794. Pérez managed to demote the Spaniard to third place. Behind them, Leclerc, Norris, Russell, Alonso, Piastri, Hülkenberg and Bottas were also happy to move to Q3. Stroll, Ricciardo, Ocon, Albon and Gasly in positions 11 to 15 had to park their cars. Stroll missed the Q3 entry by 69 thousand.

In Q3, Verstappen, Pérez, Sainz, Leclerc, Norris, Russell, Alonso, Piastri and Hülkenberg quickly left and the German was the first to make the scheduled lap. The German was soon passed and found himself in eighth ahead of Russell and Bottas, with the Finn yet to complete a timed Q3 lap.

Verstappen set a pole time of 1:33.977 minutes, Alonso, Pérez, Norris, Piastri, Sainz and Leclerc lined up behind the Dutchman and in front of Hülkenberg, Russell and Bottas. But the last word had not yet been said. Verstappen set a new benchmark with 1:33.660 minutes, which gave him his sixth GP pole in a row. Pérez was 0.322 seconds slower, making him second fastest. Alonso, Norris, Piastri, Leclerc, Sainz, Russell, Hülkenberg and Bottas took the other top 10 positions.

Qualifying, China

01. Max Verstappen (NL), Red Bull Racing, 1:33,660 minutes
02. Sergio Pérez (MEX), Red Bull Racing, 1:33.982
03. Fernando Alonso (E), Aston Martin, 1:34.148
04. Lando Norris (GB), McLaren, 1:34.165
05. Oscar Piastri (AUS), McLaren, 1:34.273
06. Charles Leclerc (MC), Ferrari, 1:34,289
*07. Carlos Sainz (E), Ferrari, 1:34.297
08. George Russell (GB), Mercedes, 1:34,433
09. Nico Hülkenberg (D), Haas, 1:34.604
10. Valtteri Bottas (FIN), Sauber, 1:34.665
11. Lance Stroll (CDN), Aston Martin, 1:34,838
12. Daniel Ricciardo (AUS), Racing Bull, 1:34.934
13. Esteban Ocon (F), Alpine, 1:35,223
14. Alex Albon (T), Williams, 1:35,241
15. Pierre Gasly (F), Alpine, 1:35,463
16. Guanyu Zhou (RCH), Sauber, 1:35,505
17. Kevin Magnussen (DK), Haas, 1:35.516
18. Lewis Hamilton (GB), Mercedes, 1:35,573
19. Yuki Tsunoda (J), Racing Bulls, 1:35,746
20. Logan Sargeant (USA), Williams, 1:36,358