Daniel Ricciardo (AUS) RB VCARB 01; Sergio Perez (MEX) Red Bull Racing RB20; and Valtteri Bottas (FIN) Sauber C44. Formula
Daniel Ricciardo (AUS) RB VCARB 01; Sergio Perez (MEX) Red Bull Racing…

2024 F1 Chinese Grand Prix - Sprint Qualifying - As it happened

A recap of what happened in sprint qualifying for the Chinese Grand Prix.

08:37
Strong lap from Perez

Perez beats Veratappen by 0.346s to take top spot. Impressive lap from the Mexican. 

08:37
Verstappen gets to work

A 1m36.456s puts Verstappen top now, 0.4s ahead of Alonso.

Leclerc, Norris and Stroll complete the top five.

08:36
Leclerc surges to the top

A 1m36.886s puts Leclerc on top of the pile, less than a tenth ahead of Norris.

08:35
Strong early lap from Bottas

A 1m37.492s, 0.5s ahead of teammate Zhou.

Bottas' time is soon beaten by Hamilton-  by just over 0.2s. 

08:33
Piastri radio

"Some light drops of rain," he reports.

08:30
SQ is underway!

SQ1 kicks off - a 12 minute session with drivers required to run on the mediums only.

08:18
Rain on the way?

FIA note a 60 per cent chance of rain for sprint qualifying. 

08:08
Sprint qualifying format

SQ1: 12 mins in length - new medium tyres only

SQ2: 10 mins in length - new medium tyres only

SQ3: 8 mins in length - soft tyres only 

08:07
Stroll was fastest in FP1
Lance Stroll (CDN) Aston Martin F1 Team AMR24. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 5, Chinese Grand Prix, Shanghai, China,
Lance Stroll (CDN) Aston Martin F1 Team AMR24. Formula 1 World…
08:05
We're building up to qualifying

Next up we have qualifying for the sprint race at 8:30am UK time!

07:11
What happened in FP1?

Read our report here...

Lando Norris (GBR) McLaren MCL38. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 5, Chinese Grand Prix, Shanghai, China, Sprint
Lando Norris (GBR) McLaren MCL38. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 5,…
05:31
Top 10

Stroll, Piastri, Verstappen, Perez, Hulkenberg, Magnussen, Ocon, Albon, Ricciardo and Bottas.

05:31
Chequered flag

Looks like Stroll is going to top the session here in FP1.

05:29
Stroll takes P1

Stroll takes to the top now for Aston Martin, 0.3s ahead of Piastri. 

05:27
Norris

Norris was on course to go 0.4s clear at the top of the timesheets but he returns to the pit lane.

05:26
Piastri goes fastest

Not sure we were expecting that... he sets a 1m36.629s to topple Verstappen.

05:25
Strong lap by Ocon

He goes third-fastest in the upgraded Alpine.

05:24
Five minutes to go

Verstappen, Perez, Albon, Ricciardo, Bottas, Zhou, Tsunoda, Leclerc, Sainz and Sargeant is the top 10 currently.

05:22
Verstappen restores order

It's a 1m36.660s for Verstappen, just under 0.5s clear of Perez. 

05:20
Albon takes to the top now

Albon is the latest driver to make the most of the softs, storming to the top of the order.

05:17
Sargeant goes second

Sargeant slots into second on the softs. As we enter the final 15 minutes, expect plenty of qualifying simulations. 

05:16
Somewhat of an adventure for Alonso

Alonso goes down the escape road on the entry of the pit lane before spinning around to get back going again.

05:09
Into the final 20 minutes of FP1

The current order is: Leclerc, Sainz, Verstappen, Perez, Ocon, Norris, Russell, Hulkenberg, Hamilton and Alonso.

05:05
Leclerc finds more time

He lowers his benchmark to a 1m38.090s, 0.3s ahead of teammate Sainz. Lower down the field, Russell slots into sixth.

05:04
Pit lane shots
Pierre Gasly (FRA) Alpine F1 Team A524 leaves the pits. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 5, Chinese Grand Prix, Shanghai,
Pierre Gasly (FRA) Alpine F1 Team A524 leaves the pits. Formula 1 World…

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