Max Verstappen had a hard time in the soaking wet qualifying.© Photo AFP
From our reporter
Yesterday at 8:47 PM
Shanghai
Max Verstappen did not look back with great pleasure on qualifying for Saturday’s sprint race at the Chinese Grand Prix. He did not get further than the fourth fastest time in his Red Bull in the wet third qualifying session, in which it felt like ‘driving on ice’ to him.
The three-time and reigning world champion is only human, as it turned out on Friday in China. “It was extremely slippery and I had a lot of trouble getting the temperature into the tires. That’s why it was difficult to keep the car on the track,” said Max Verstappen. “The car never really made the transition to wet conditions and it felt like driving on ice. That’s why we deserve where we are in qualifying, I think.”
Max Verstappen.© Photo EPA
Although the Red Bull did not do what he wanted on the wet track, Verstappen noted that the car was good on the dry. “It doesn’t always go as you plan, but it is not the case that you necessarily have to start on the inside. There will be little grip for everyone because of the paint on the track, so we have to make the best of it at the start.”
Invalid twice
Verstappen had difficulty keeping the Red Bull under control on the wet and slippery track in Shanghai. He missed a corner on his first fast lap in the third qualifying session and lost his time by overshooting the track. Also in the second lap, the Red Bull driver shot off the track in one of the last corners, making his time invalid again. With the third attempt he still achieved the fourth fastest time, more than two seconds behind the British Lando Norris.
“It was difficult, you are always a bit nervous going into a session like that,” said Norris. “You have to take a lot of risks. I’m happy, it’s a shame it’s not for the real qualifying.”
Lando Norris.© Photo EPA
Norris took pole position in his McLaren. He was faster than Lewis Hamilton, who set the second fastest time in his Mercedes. Fernando Alonso was good for the third fastest time in the Aston Martin and will be in the starting line-up next to Verstappen on Saturday.
Time back
Norris was by far the fastest of the session with 1.57.940. The Brit initially also seemed to lose his best lap after exceeding the track limits in the last corner of the previous lap, but the race management still gave him the time back. As a result, Hamilton dropped back to second place. Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Pérez set the sixth fastest time. Sauber driver Zhou Guanyu from China made the Chinese crowd cheer with a tenth place in qualifying.
The sprint race is Saturday morning at 5:00 am Dutch time. This will be followed by qualifying for the Grand Prix of China on Sunday. The premier class of motorsport is back on the Shanghai circuit for the first time since 2019. The corona pandemic and the strict requirements of the Chinese government prevented the starts from 2020 to 2023.
