Key events
It feels like it’ll be another McLaren-dominated race in Shanghai tomorrow. That’s unless the big names like Verstappen and Hamilton can conjures up some magic, or indeed if George Russell can produce the kind of pace we just saw from him in the final lap of Q3.
We’ll get the full report from Giles Richards at qualifying shortly and that’ll drop below. For now, that’s all from us, thanks for joining this live blog – we’ll be back to cover the race tomorrow morning at a similar time. Bye!
Piastri celebrates first ever F1 pole
Oscar Piastri also believes his car “came alive” during Q3 and admits he’s “feeling pumped” after that.
“It’s the best feeling in the world,” he says on the kind of speed his McLaren is clocking at the moment. “I’ll take the fastest lap of Shanghai.”
“It feels incredible to be honest,” says a delighted Russell. “It all came alive on that last lap and just so happy to be P2. I knew it was a good lap but I was so surprised when I crossed the line to be between the two McLarens.”
He says that nobody knows whether it will be a one-stop or a two-stop race tomorrow.
Lando Norris isn’t too gutted with P3:
“Always disappointed if I’m not on pole but Oscar deserves it today. A couple of mistakes again, but I felt a lot more comfortable with the car, so a step in the right direction.”
Oscar Piastri celebrates pole position with his team. He was consistently fast throughout qualifying and has secured that position ahead of his McLaren teammate Lando Norris. Credit also must go to George Russell who found some serious pace on his final lap to break up the McLaren dominance and find a spot on the front row.
We’ll get some reaction from the drivers soon.
Full qualifying standings
1. Piastri
2. Russell
3. Norris
4. Verstappen
5. Hamilton
6. Leclerc
7. Hadjar
8. Antonelli
9. Tsunoda
10. Albon
So we’re into the final lap of this final stage of qualifying. Who fancies pole? Piastri or Norris? We’re about to find out.
We’ll run through the full standings shortly …
Hadjar and Tsunoda were on used soft tyres for that first run in Q3 and they sit down in seventh and eighth – but expect them to be quicker when the drivers go again.
There’s a bit of traffic in the pit lane, Verstappen and Hadjar got in each others’ way there.
The two Racing Bulls are looking really, really good this weekend and could feasibly feature on the second row of the grid.
After the first laps of Q3, Piastri leads Norris by a hair’s breadth. It’s neck and neck between the two McLarens.
“This is where we get the least fuel, most power, greatest attack,” says Sky Sports’ Martin Brundle of this Q3 session to come. He’s not wrong. It’s all about pure pace now. Can anyone topple Norris? The drivers are coming back out onto the track.
Q2 is done.
Again Norris in the McLaren is the fastest in a time of 1 min 30.787, with Verstappen P2 and Piastri P3. Hamilton is down in eighth.
The five drivers we’ve lost, placed 11-15th in qualifying, are Esteban Ocon (P11), Nico Hulkenberg (P12) Fernando Alonso (P13), Lance Stroll (P14) and Carlos Sainz (P15).
Norris and Piastri lead Q2 from Verstappen in third and Russell in fourth but there’s still time for a quick tyre change and another lap before this session comes to a close. Sainz, Alonso, Hadjar, Ocon and Stroll are the bottom five and currently in danger of dropping out as it stands.
Hadjar was really quick in Q1 but has struggled in comparison in this latest session.
Those times are edging down towards 1 min 31 secs and could even dip a tick below that mark.
Liam Lawson chats to Sky Sports about his struggles, after being knocked out in Q1, in P20. “It’s really tough. The window is really small but honestly that’s not an excuse. I’ve got to get a handle on it. It was a messy session but it wasn’t good enough. We should be fast enough. I need to get on top of it. To drive a Formula 1 car takes 100 percent confidence in what you’re doing. It’s just not good enough.”
There are lots of tributes for Eddie Jordan pouring in this weekend. F1 has lost one of its most iconic and beloved figures.
Top five in Q1:
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Lando Norris
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Isack Hadjar
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Yuki Tsunoda
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George Russell
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Max Verstappen
We’re about to get the green light for Q2 to begin.
We’ve lost Liam Lawson, Gabriel Bortoleto, Jack Doohan, Ollie Bearman and Pierre Gasly.
Lawson is dead last in qualifying … what a struggle it’s been early in his Red Bull career for the New Zealander.
The drivers are taking chequered flags as this Q1 period comes to a close. We’ll bring you the qualifying standings when they’re all in.
Hamilton has looked rapid all weekend, but made a slight mistake on a corner just now, which lost him some speed. There’s been no messing from his great rival Verstappen so far. He’s clocked the quickest time in Q1 and has headed back for the garage. It feels like this order could change a fair bit though.
Max Verstappen has dipped under Piastri’s qualifying time with Isack Hadjar and Yuki Tsunoda in the Racing Bulls both looking fairly quick. Liam Lawson in the other Red Bull is struggling a little at the moment.
Norris still hasn’t clocked a time … it’ll be fascinating to see if he can challenge the top of that leaderboard.
The first qualifying lap times are coming in. Oscar Piastri has clocked a time of just under 1 min 32 secs, which is ever-so slightly ahead of Hamilton. The rest are over that 1 min 32 secs mark, Russell and Kimi Antonelli are third and fourth respectively as it stands. Norris’ lap hasn’t counted as he must have crossed the white lines; Verstappen is finally out there.
Carlos Sainz, now with Williams of course, will be one of the first to clock a qualifying time. George Russell and Max Verstappen aren’t out on the track just yet. Jack Doohan has a problem early doors, by the looks of it.
We are under way. It’s very, very hot in Shanghai but it’s still soft tyres for almost all the drivers in this first qualifying session.
In the constructors’ standings McLaren (35) lead Mercedes (34) by a single point, with Red Bull (24) and Ferrari (17) a little further back. Can any of the other constructors send a message in qualifying? Alpine and Haas are still without a point.
Driver standings after Hamilton wins sprint race
Incredibly, that was Ferrari’s first ever win in a sprint race. Who else but Lewis Hamilton to secure it? Here are the updated driver standings:
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Norris – 26
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Verstappen – 24
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Russell – 20
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Antonelli – 14
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Albon – 10
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Piastri – 9
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Hamilton – 9
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Stroll – 8
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Leclerc – 8
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Hulkenberg – 6
Preamble
Morning all and welcome to our coverage of the Chinese Grand Prix. It’s qualifying first up in Shanghai today. But the news we can bring you already is that Lewis Hamilton has his first win in Ferrari red – he led from the front to claim victory in the sprint race, with Oscar Piastri second and Max Verstappen third.
“It is the sprint race not the main one but it is a good stepping stone,” said a beaming Hamilton, who revealed his team had made some changes to their car this weekend. He may be 40 but he’s still making waves in this sport, now in that iconic Italian car.
It will be fascinating to see whether Hamilton can keep that kind of pace up when qualifying begins later this morning. Lando Norris will have hopes of building on his win in last week’s Australian GP curtain-raiser with the signs also good for fellow McLaren driver Piastri. It’s been a stuttering start to the season for Verstappen and Red Bull, so they’ll be keen to lay down some kind of marker.
Let’s do this. Qualifying begins shortly.
