Lewis Hamilton takes pole with fastest ever lap at Chinese GP
Lewis Hamilton has taken pole position for the Chinese GP after turning the fastest lap ever around the Shanghai International Circuit.
The Englishman turned a 1:31.678 during Saturday’s final qualifying session in his Mercedes
Sebastian Vettel will line up alongside him in his Ferrari, splitting the two Mercedes teammates with Valtteri Bottas in third. The top four on the grid remains the same as it was in Australia with Kimi Raikkonen lined up in fourth, but this time it's the Red Bull of Daniel Ricciardo who qualified fifth. Felipe Massa, Nico Hulkenberg, Sergio Perez, Daniil Kvyat and Lance Stroll rounded out the top 10. Seven different teams are represented in the top 10.
Carlos Sainz, Kevin Magnussen, Fernando Alonso and Marcus Ericsson will start just outside the top 10 after being eliminated in Q2.
The start of Q2 was delayed following a crash for Sauber’s Antonio Giovinazzi exiting the final turn in the closing moments of Q1. While Giovinazzi was able to make Q2 and is listed as 15th, there is a chance he may drop down the grid due to a penalty if the gearbox needs to be changed.
The incident prevented drivers in Q1 from improving on their times and Stoffel Vandoorne, Max Verstappen, Esteban Ocon, Jolyon Palmer and Romain Grosjean were eliminated.
Verstappen was unable to set a truly competitive time due to an engine-mode issue. Matters weren’t helped when his car was called to the weigh-bridge for a random check during the session. Meanwhile, Grosjean had had a spin similar to Giovinazzi’s earlier on in the session. Grosjean and Palmer qualified 17th and 18th but set their times under double-waved yellows, and were ultimately handed five-place grid penalties.
Unofficial qualifying results:
1. Lewis Hamilton - Mercedes
2. Sebastian Vettel - Ferrari
3. Valtteri Bottas - Mercedes
4. Kimi Raikkonen - Ferrari
5. Daniel Ricciardo - Red Bull
6. Felipe Massa - Williams
7. Nico Hulkenberg - Renault
8. Sergio Perez - Force India
9. Daniil Kvyat - Toro Rosso
10. Lance Stroll - Williams
11. Carlos Sainz - Toro Rosso
12. Kevin Magnussen - Haas
13. Fernando Alonso - McLaren
14. Marcus Ericsson - Sauber
15. Antonio Giovinazzi - Sauber
16. Stoffel Vandoorne - McLaren
17. Max Verstappen - Red Bull
18. Esteban Ocon - Force India
19. Romain Grosjean - Haas
20. Jolyon Palmer - Renault
