Max Verstappen achieved the fifth consecutive Grand Prix pole position in the qualifying session at Shanghai International Circuit during the fifth race weekend of the 2024 season.
As opposed to the Sprint Shootout on Friday, the Saturday Qualifying session for the 2024 Chinese Grand Prix took place in dry conditions.
Consequently, the real performance of and gaps between different teams were visible. While drivers could make a significant difference on Friday (like Lando Norris with his supreme lap, which was 1,3 seconds faster than anyone), it was less so this time around.
Another difference between the Sprint Shootout and the Qualifying is that everyone was allowed to start on the soft compound tires (regardless, Carlos Sainz still tried to start with the medium compound).
Q1 brought a big surprise: Lewis Hamilton, the man who finished second in the sprint race, was knocked out along with Yuki Tsunoda, Kevin Magnussen, Logan Sargeant, and the home hero Zhou Guanyu.
The seven-time World Champion misjudged the breaking point with a wind from behind going into turn 14, which lost him six-tenths of a second. Consequently, he will have to start the Grand Prix race from P18.
Carlos Sainz had a big moment in Q2 when he went wide in the last corner of the Shanghai International Circuit, losing his right rear on the gravel and sliding into the wall.
The Spaniard was able to keep his engine going, and as the session was red-flagged, he had enough time to crawl back to the pits for a front wing change, some inspections, a quick fix, and back onto the track.
Fortunately for the 29-year-old, his SF-24 was seemingly completely fine, and he confirmed it with his following lap, which was faster than that of his teammate Charles Leclerc.
Lance Stroll will not be happy as he missed out on the Q3 by six-hundredths of a second to Valtteri Bottas, who pushed him out of the top ten in the end.
Max Verstappen was unmatched throughout qualifying. He set the fastest time in every single part and ultimately beat everyone by more than three-tenths of a second.
Fernando Alonso's performance is also noteworthy. The Spanish Matador will start the Grand Prix race from the second row on the grid, in P3, right behind the Dutchman.
McLarens seemed to have a better qualifying pace, but it remains to be seen whether they will be able to keep the two Ferraris behind them on Sunday.
2024 Chinese Grand Prix - Qualifying Results:
| Pos | Drivers | Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 |
| 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing | 1:34.742 | 1:33.794 | 1:33.660 |
| 2 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull Racing | 1:35.457 | 1:34.026 | 1:33.982 |
| 3 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | 1:35.116 | 1:34.652 | 1:34.148 |
| 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 1:34.842 | 1:34.460 | 1:34.165 |
| 5 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 1:35.014 | 1:34.659 | 1:34.273 |
| 6 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:34.797 | 1:34.399 | 1:34.289 |
| 7 | Carlos Sainz Jr. | Ferrari | 1:34.970 | 1:34.368 | 1:34.297 |
| 8 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1:35.084 | 1:34.609 | 1:34.433 |
| 9 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas F1 Team | 1:35.068 | 1:34.667 | 1:34.604 |
| 10 | Valtteri Bottas | Sauber | 1:35.169 | 1:34.769 | 1:34.665 |
| 11 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | 1:35.334 | 1:34.838 | |
| 12 | Daniel Ricciardo | RB | 1:35.443 | 1:34.934 | |
| 13 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine | 1:35.356 | 1:35.223 | |
| 14 | Alexander Albon | Williams | 1:35.384 | 1:35.241 | |
| 15 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | 1:35.505 | 1:35.463 | |
| 16 | Guanyu Zhou | Sauber | 1:35.505 | ||
| 17 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas F1 Team | 1:35.516 | ||
| 18 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:35.573 | ||
| 19 | Yuki Tsunoda | RB | 1:35.746 | ||
| 20 | Logan Sargeant | Williams | 1:36.358 |
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