Max Verstappen signed a 5/5 by setting the best time in the qualifying session for the fifth consecutive Grand Prix since the start of the 2024 season.
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Max Verstappen is not yet Emperor of China, but he has put all the chances on his side to become one. The Red Bull driver set the best qualifying time on the Shanghai circuit on Saturday April 20, on one of the rare tracks on which he has never won in his career. The Dutchman will start in front of his teammate Sergio Pérez, and Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin).
The McLarens will start fourth and fifth, ahead of the two disappointing Ferraris. Verstappen signs his fifth pole position this season in five races.
It was a good day to shine for Max Verstappen and Red Bull. The team has joined the exclusive club of teams with 100 pole positions in their history. And this has not suffered from any dispute. Verstappen pushed the competition very far. His neighbor Pérez is three tenths behind, Alonso almost half a second behind. To find a little suspense, you have to look in the rearview mirrors. If Pérez ensured a 100% Red Bull front row, he had to hold off against veteran Alonso, “best of the rest” with flying colors.
Red Bull confirms, competition is crumbling
The 40-year-old Spaniard took third place from Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, both McLarens in better form than they hoped for in China. A time hoped for as a real rival of Red Bull after Carlos Sainz’s victory in Australia, Ferrari is marking time. Charles Leclerc beat his teammate, but finished more than six tenths of a second behind the untouchable Verstappen. Sainz also caused a red flag in the second part of the qualifying session following a minor accident in the last corner.
Mercedes fared no better with George Russell best placed in eighth. Lewis Hamilton, second in the first sprint race of the season earlier in the night in France, missed his last flying lap and will only start in 18th position. The Alpines confirmed their slow but progressive improvements, with the two cars in the second part of the session. Esteban Ocon, qualified 13th, signed his best qualification of the season, and Pierre Gasly (who has not yet benefited from his teammate’s improvements) finished 15th.
Pole after the sprint for Max Verstappen
Max Verstappen had already flown through the sprint, despite starting “only” from fourth row. The three-time reigning world champion had been patient enough to dismiss Hamilton mid-race, before taking off, while pole-sitter Lando Norris had missed the start. Verstappen was ahead of Hamilton and Sergio Pérez.