F1 Chinese Grand Prix LIVE: Qualifying updates in Shanghai as Max Verstappen claims Red Bull’s 100th pole

Formula 1 updates from the Shanghai International Circuit as China hosts the first sprint weekend of the season

Fernando Alonso insists Mercedes does 'not feel very attractive' for 2025

Lewis Hamilton’s troubled start to the new season took another desperate twist on Saturday after he qualified a lowly 18th for the Chinese Grand Prix.

Hamilton earlier in the day had led the sprint race in Shanghai for eight laps before he had to settle for runner-up after he was overtaken by eventual winner Max Verstappen.

But less than four hours after Hamilton’s drive to second place - a result he described as his “best in a long time” - the 39-year-old was brought crashing back down to earth when he was eliminated in the opening phase of qualifying for Sunday’s main event.

The seven-time world champion locked up at the penultimate corner on his speediest lap, and he finished in the Q1 knockout zone, leaving only RB’s Yuki Tsunoda and Williams’ Logan Sargeant behind him on the grid.

Verstappen beat Hamilton by an impressive 13 seconds in Saturday’s sprint and he raced to a perhaps predictable pole position.

The Dutch driver, who is on course to take his fourth consecutive world championship, saw off team-mate Sergio Perez as Red Bull secured a front-row lockout. It also marked Red Bull’s 100th pole in F1.

Verstappen finished 0.322 seconds clear of Perez, with Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso third. Lando Norris, who dropped from pole to finish sixth in the sprint race, qualified fourth ahead of Oscar Piastri in the other McLaren.

Charles Leclerc and Sainz finished sixth and seventh respectively for Ferrari, while George Russell could manage only eighth on a poor afternoon for the Silver Arrows.

Follow live coverage of the Chinese Grand Prix with The Independent

F1 Sprint Qualifying LIVE

• Qualifying for Sunday’s Chinese Grand Prix takes place this morning with the action getting started at 8am BST
• Formula 1 back in China for first time in five years with Lewis Hamilton victorious in 2019
• Verstappen triumphed in Saturday’s sprint race claiming eight points with Hamilton second and Perez third
• Max Verstappen won in Japan during the last race, can he back that win up here?

[20 April 2024 08:51 · Sonia Twigg]

F1 Qualifying LIVE - Q2

Verstappen has gone top, and 0.6 seconds faster than Norris in second, Russell is in third after his flying lap.

[20 April 2024 08:49 · Sonia Twigg]

F1 Qualifying LIVE - Q2

Lewis Hamilton has been interviewed after finishing 18th: “Struggled, I couldn’t get it going to start with into turn 14. This morning, George and I had very similar cars, but this afternoon I went a long way one way and he went the other way. It didn’t work.

“I’ll give it my best shot, 18th is pretty bad. When I was making the set up changes I thought ‘it can’t get any worse’, but it did”

[20 April 2024 08:48 · Sonia Twigg]

F1 Qualifying LIVE - Q2

Russell was the first one out after that delay, he has yet to post a time so he will want as much time as possible to do so.

[20 April 2024 08:46 · Sonia Twigg]

F1 Qualifying LIVE - Q2 Red flag over

The teams are back out on track for the final 6 minutes and 44 seconds of qualifying after that Carlos Sainz incident.

[20 April 2024 08:45 · Sonia Twigg]

F1 Qualifying LIVE - Q2 Red flag

Mercedes made changes to help improve the car in low and mid-speed corners between sprint and qualifying, did that affect the lock up that caused Hamilton to run wide and finish in 18th place?

[20 April 2024 08:40 · Sonia Twigg]

F1 Qualifying LIVE - Q2 Red flag

Carlos Sainz might have massively got away with one there as it looks like the front wing absorbed most of the impact. He had to make his way back to the pits without one, but it remains to be seen how severe the damage is.

[20 April 2024 08:38 · Sonia Twigg]

F1 Qualifying LIVE - Q2 Red flag

While Sainz crawls his way back to the pits, but it remains to be seen if he will be able to get his car up and running again.

[20 April 2024 08:36 · Sonia Twigg]

F1 Qualifying LIVE - Q2

Sainz was well wide there. There is a red flag with 6 minutes 44 seconds left in Q2. But somehow Sainz has restarted the engine and got his car going again.

There is no front wing however as he makes his way back around the track to the pits

[20 April 2024 08:35 · Sonia Twigg]

F1 Qualifying LIVE - Q2

Carlos Sainz has spun out! He was coming out of the final turn and this has been red-flagged.

Sainz is out of qualifying. He looks good, but just went too wide into the final corner and into the gravel.

[20 April 2024 08:34 · Sonia Twigg]

F1 Qualifying LIVE - Q2

Norris goes top, ahead of his teammate, but Verstappen has just overtaken everyone and is half a second clear of the British driver at the top of the standings.