Qualifying Highlights | 2024 Chinese Grand Prix

Hülkenberg has gone up to 4th, and that will worry so many. Lock-up for Hamilton. Who could be in trouble here with that lock-up. Needed a clean final sector. Willer lost a little bit of time there. Everyone around him improving apart from Sargent. Oh, right up to the gravel. Trying to wring the neck of the Mercedes. He'll improve to 12th position. So Hamilton is going to be looking over his shoulder. Here we go. Ricciardo up to 9th. That's a big improvement for a driver who needs it. He's in big trouble, Hamilton. Stroll is flying on this lap as well. The fastest first sector of anyone. Then you've got Russell and Leclerc both improving as well. Stroll jumps up the order to 8th. One Mercedes is at risk. Stroll is in 8th. Russell is on the brink, but Hamilton is done. Russell is currently trying to improve. Russell does improve. Up to 5th position he goes. Charles Leclerc is in the drop zone as well. What a turn-up this is! Verstappen goes fastest to book his place through into Q1. That was never in doubt. Now Gasly hasn't escaped this part of qualifying all year as well. Logan Sargent is out. Hamilton is now at risk. Gasly trying to fight his way to Q2. Can he get there? He can! And he knocks out Lewis Hamilton! The seven-time world champion, second earlier on, will go out in the first part of qualifying. And Ocon finds a way by as well. Magnussen to the drop zone along with Hamilton. Charles Leclerc is improving. And Charles Leclerc knocks out Joe Guanyeu, who misses out by four hundredths of a second. Now the last driver to try and book his place into Q2 is Yuki Tsunoda. And once again, Tsunoda finds himself 19th in the order for the first time this year. Daniel Ricciardo will be the lead V-Carb on the grid. Hamilton out is the shock. That is the spin for Logan Sargent, so that brought out the yellow flag. Joe at his home race, Magnussen, Hamilton the big shock, Tsunoda 19th, and Sargent with the spin out in the first part of qualifying. Bottas is ahead of Stroll, then Ricciardo. That's in the battle to make the final top ten shootout. Guess who's top by half a second? It's Max Verstappen, who has never won around this track. He's won in the sprint race earlier on today, but he's never won a Grand Prix around here. Charles Leclerc was directly behind Max Verstappen in setting that lap time, only eighth. A used tyre for Leclerc. He is the only person that's gone out on a used tyre, so he's... Oh, Carlos Sainz puts two wheels in the gravel, spins round and hits the barrier. A big moment, and he leant on the kerb, ran out of it, was put into the gravel. That wasn't there the last time we raced. It would have been tarmac before, but Sainz hits the barrier. That's his team principal, Fred Vasseur, who can't believe that Sainz, one of the four men of the season, has dropped it at the final corner to exit qualifying and bring out the red flag. Yeah, I saw it, guys. So he's found drive in no front wing, and with the clock paused, suddenly Sainz heading back to the pits. Ocon gets close, but not close enough. He's out in the second part of qualifying. Only 11th. Sainz trying to force his way by. Daniel Ricciardo is up to ninth place. Where does Sainz go? Across the line, past the corner where he dropped it into the wall. Second fastest. What a comeback, what a turnaround for Carlos Sainz. Alex Albon is out in the second part of qualifying as well. Charles Leclerc needs a lap. Charles Leclerc's going to get a lap, and it's good enough to go into third place and take his place in Q3. Daniel Ricciardo finds himself out at the moment. The driver at risk is Perez. Not anymore. He finds himself in second place. And now Valtteri Bottas trying to find a lap. Oh, he gets it! Valtteri Bottas at the end. Knocks out Lance Stroll and puts his Sauber in the top ten. Shall we come to a more locating with the car? Yeah, it must be. Stroll misses out. By six hundredths of a second, he goes out along with Ricciardo, Ocon, Albon and Gasly. Russell is behind Hülkenberg on that first effort. Still only one tenth between Verstappen and Alonso through two sectors as well. It's going to be tight, this one. Okay, round the final corner of the racetrack. Max Verstappen, not his most dialled-in lap. It's good enough to take pole position, provisional pole position at the moment. A 1.33.977. First up, Sergio Perez. Got close last time. It's not as close this time. Alonso, can he split the red balls? He can! Excellent effort for Fernando Alonso, provisionally on the front row. And that was very close to a Carlos Sainz accident for Oscar Piastri, who scraped the gravel on his way to fourth. His teammates going quickly as well. Sainz right up to the gravel. Behind that is Lando Norris, who was quicker than Verstappen in the first sector. What can Lando Norris do? Down the hill he goes. Norris ahead of his teammates and into fourth position. Wow, great effort. No time yet for Charles Leclerc. He's the last one to cut the beam. He's behind his teammate on run number one. Alonso has not had his personal best through the first sector. We're focusing on the other Spaniard though. Carlos Sainz comes over the line. Carlos Sainz to the front row! He finds an improvement in that final sector. What about Charles Leclerc? What can he do? Oh, he's pulled it out of the bag when it matters! To beat his teammate, to claim his place on the front row. What about Oscar Piastri now? Oh, Piastri cleanly through. Turn 16 and he takes his place on the front row. Bottas stays in 10th position. Norris has got a chance to respond. Verstappen going even quicker. Norris across the line. And he beats his teammate. Incredible stuff. Watch out for Alonso though. Alonso's going quickly. Verstappen is knocking this one out of the park. My word, that was rapid stuff around the final corner. Time improved by three tenths of a second. But who will join Max Verstappen on the front row? That looks deep for Alonso into the hairpin. And Perez is rapid as well just behind this man. Alonso, one corner to go. This is going to be nip and tuck. Super commitment through the final corner. The 42-year-old, can he get back to the front row? He can! Super lap when it mattered for the Aston Martin. But will Perez take it away? He will! My word, how many drivers did we have on the front row provisionally? Because in the end, it's ended up as a Red Bull 1-2. Perez delivers when it matters. And it's five pole positions in a row to start the season for Max Verstappen. The first time that has happened since 1999. No one has an answer to this man's pace in Formula 1. Once again, career pole position. 37 for Max Verstappen.