Chaos, track limits on the scene again. Norris conquered print qualifying in the wet, Verstappen only fourth

Formula 1 is making a big comeback to an old friend this weekend when it arrives back at the Shanghai circuit in China after a five-year break. Although this is not its true debut on the calendar, the track is almost a leap into the unknown for drivers and teams with regards to new cars and tyres. F1 itself has also contributed to the recipe for chaos by scheduling only one free practice session for the drivers before moving on to the first sprint programme of the season. The opening sprint qualifying session was hijacked in dramatic moments by Lando Norris and McLaren.

The drivers were not happy, but the spectators were rubbing their hands. F1’s opening sprint programme of the season assigned a grand prix that had not appeared on the motorsport queen’s calendar for five years.

On top of that, it rained before the weekend began, affecting the only free practice sessions, which were dominated by Lance Stroll in the Aston Martin. Fans of the sport had to wait until sprint qualifying at the earliest to get a realistic view of the starting field.

SQ1: Still dry

Before the start of the first fast runs, the wind was blowing hard and an ominous cloud was hovering over the circuit. Although Oscar Piastri and George Russell reported drops of rain to their teams as they exited the pits, SQ1 was completely dry.

With five minutes to go, Sergio Pérez led, followed by teammate Max Verstappen, perhaps surprisingly by more than three tenths. Later, the mclaren of Lando Norris wedged between the red bulls, with Russell battling in the final seconds to advance to SQ2.

He managed to do so, leaving Pierre Gasly, Esteban Ocon, Alex Albon, Yuki Cunoda and Logan Sargeant at the mercy of the elimination pincers. With the chequered flag mysteriously returned, he made his way back to the blazing turf in the same spot as during practice.

SQ2: Rain is reported

While SQ1 went off without a shower, a large rain cloud was quickly making its way towards the Shanghai circuit. Even the official F1 graphics warned of this threat, promising the arrival of rain within minutes.

It was no wonder then, as even before the green light, almost everyone was eager to claim the best possible track position against the others. Norris’s chief mechanic even warned him over the radio that his first fast lap could well have been his last while the track was still dry.

Red Bull, meanwhile, let the others run amok and was the very last to take to the track. Verstappen and Pérez made their timed attempts in a leisurely fashion and took the lead with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc between them.

The rain finally hit with a few minutes left in SQ2, locking the five non-advancers in a shock early finish, including Russell. Teammate Hamilton advanced anyway, while Kevin Magnussen, Nico Hülkenberg, Daniel Ricciardo and Lance Stroll failed to progress.

Sauber fared nicely, with both Valtteri Bottas and home hero Kuan-yu Zhou making their way into the final battle for a small pole position.

SQ3: Utter chaos, Norris takes pole!

Logically, with raindrops falling, the drivers put on intermediate tyres before heading into the final eight minutes. Unlike SQ2, where it was all about capturing the fastest attempt as soon as possible, the strategy for success in SQ3 was acclimatising to the slippery track and waiting for the ideal moment to attack for the best time.

With the varied tarmac, uneven grip was expected, especially in the wet. However, Norris found out just how slippery the track really was as soon as he exited the pits. His mclaren came off the track at turn six and seconds later the Brit had to tame it ferociously. Leclerc was one step further back and got the clock running down, his front wing brushing the barrier on the exit of turn eight.

It was sliding madly, yet the first legitimate attempts were scored by Piastri and Pérez, but under a total time of two minutes. Bottas moved up to second place moments later. Verstappen, meanwhile, threw his first lap away with an off-track trip in the same spot as Norris had earlier. But the three-time world champion’s second attempt was also unsuccessful as he left the track significantly, this time at the final corner.

Veterans of the sport Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton then took turns at the top spot. The seven-time champion broke the two-minute mark for the first time, but by a huge margin Norris shot into the lead with a time of 1:57.940.

However, this time was withdrawn by the commissaires for breaking track limits on the run-in to his fastest attempt. However, they reinstated him back to the top of the table a few moments later, giving Norris his first sprint qualifying success. Hamliton and Alonso rounded out the top three, with Verstappen starting the sprint from fourth position.

You can see the overall results in the attached post below.

Sources: F1, X