After a strange FP1, the Chinese Grand Prix started with an even stranger sprint time trial. The former was surprisingly won by Lance Stroll, and the latter, also surprisingly, by Lando Norris.
Those who didn't want to interrupt their night for FP1 didn't lose much, as in an interesting but not too eventful practice session interrupted by a red flag, Lance Stroll finished in the lead ahead of Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen. Let's just say the red flag is worth a mass: the grass next to the track caught fire...
The sprint qualifying has changed this year, as only medium-compound Pirellis can be used in the first two phases of the dry qualifying, and only soft-compound Pirellis in the last. The sprint has also appeared in the name, as the stages are referred to as SQ. SQ1 started with a few drops of rain and Max Verstappen leading, but Sergio Perez also started strongly, as Fernando Alonso was also moving well with the Aston Martin. We were somewhat surprised by the small rain, as in addition to the two Alpines, both Williams were eliminated, and the previously excellent Yuki Tsunoda was also forced to say goodbye.
During SQ2, everything remained the same at the top, the Red Bull cars dominated this stage as well, with Charles Leclerc wedged in between them. The two Haas, Lance Stroll, George Russell and Daniel Ricciardo were the names of those who could no longer continue…
The track conditions were now clear for SQ3, and the final phase of the sprint qualifying continued on completely wet asphalt. The drivers were struggling, which was also evident from the fact that Charles Leclerc almost ended up in the wall, and Max Verstappen also came back from a rollover. We saw a real casino, from which almost anyone could have emerged as the winner… At first it looked like Fernando Alonso would be the finisher, then Lewis Hamilton ran a reference lap, then Lando Norris came, who ran the pole time. This was first taken away, then after a while they still left it in place… Crazy, in tomorrow's sprint race Norris can start from the front, ahead of Hamilton and Alonso - Verstappen is only fourth!
