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Norris set the fastest time late in the final segment of Sprint Qualifying, only for his lap to be deleted for track limits.That promoted Lewis Hamilton onto provisional pole before race control to reinstated Norris’ lap and hand top spot back to the McLaren driver.
Hamilton ended the session second as a result ahead of Fernando Alonso and Max Verstappen.
Oscar Piastri was eighth fastest while Daniel Ricciardo was eliminated in Sprint Qualifying 2 and will start 14th.
Results: Chinese GP Sprint Qualifying
The final segment of Sprint Qualifying took place in difficult wet conditions with almost every driver skating off the road at some point as a result.
Three teams sent their drivers out as Sprint Qualifying 1 began, with the two Saubers followed by the Mercedes and then the two Williams.
All were on a set of the medium tyres, as mandated under the regulations which state drivers must use a new set of the yellow-walled rubber in Qualifying 1 and Qualifying 2.
With a 60 percent chance of rain heading into the session, there were early reports from Oscar Piastri of light drops before he’d even starting a flying lap in the McLaren.
The Australian wasn’t alone, with a chorus of radio messages reporting spots of rain.
The order after the initial runs saw Sergio Perez fastest from Verstappen, Alonso, Charles Leclerc, Norris, Nico Hulkenberg, Lance Stroll, Piastri, Hamilton, and Ricciardo.
At the other end of the timesheets, the drivers at risk were Alex Albon, George Russell, Esteban Ocon, Logan Sargeant, and Yuki Tsunoda, the Japanese driver well off the pace on a 1:42.000s.
The 12-minute segment allowed enough time for a second run, the weather threatening but holding off.
Sainz improved with a second lap to rise to fifth, 0.6s away from Perez’s best of 1:36.110s, while Norris also climbed up the order despite a scrappy lap to leave him 0.2s off provisional pole.
As the segment ended, Sargent, Tsunoda, Albon, Ocon, and Gasly were trapped in the drop zone.
Russell had been at risk but climbed out as the chequered flag waved, but only to 12th best – dropping to 13th as others improved.
Piastri was fifth best, while Ricciardo made the grade in 14th.
Between the segments, a grass fire took hold at Turn 5, as has happened during opening practice at Turn 7, likely caused by a spark from one of the cars as it bottomed out.
That delayed the start of Sprint Qualifying 2 as officials addressed the fire, which prompted a traffic jam at the pit exit before the segment began.
The closing weather saw teams keen to get on track before the rain arrived, with some expecting it soon after the segment began while others weren’t predicting anything serious until the end Sprint Qualifying 3.
Norris was the first man on track, followed by team-mate Oscar Piastri. Behind them, cars were trying to force their way into the queue to get on track – Ricciardo and Zhou went wheel to wheel at walking speed, the Chinese driver winning out in the battle.
The two Red Bull Racing drivers were not partaking in those shenanigans and remained in the garage. They only headed out once the lane was clean – with warmer tyres.
Perez joined the track as Norris began his flying lap, with Verstappen not much further up the road – effectively close to two minutes behind the McLaren driver.
A 1:36.047s opened proceedings from Norris but a wobble at Turn 12 cost him time, allowing Piastri to go 0.2s faster when he flashed across the line seconds later.
Verstappen topped the timesheets when he completed his lap, with Leclerc second and Perez third.
Then came Piastri, Norris, Sainz, Valtteri Bottas, Alonso, Hamilton, and Zhou Guanyu to complete the top 10.
Ricciardo was only 14th fastest, 0.246s away from progressing through to Sprint Qualifying 3 but trapped as rain arrived.
Despite the weather, Russell started a second lap as he looked to bump Zhou from 10th place. It was in vain, as he lost more than half a second in the opening sector alone.
The Mercedes driver was, therefore, eliminated alongside the Haas duo of Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg, then Ricciardo and Stroll.
Intermediate tyres were the order of the day for the eight-minute Qualifying 3 segment.
Conditions were difficult, Norris leaving the track on his lap out of the pits while Leclerc also had a moment.
The Ferrari driver skated off the road and found the wall at Turn 9, getting the tyre barrier with his front wing and the rear of the car also contacted the barrier.
It was incredibly slippery, Verstappen went off the road at Turn 6 despite braking well over 100 metres out of the corner. Zhou also had a moment at the same corner as everyone struggled to find any purchase on the track.
Perez was the initial pace setter with a 2:00.455s, a second clear of Bottas who was second best after his initial lap.
Another effort from Verstappen saw the Dutchman almost a second up on anyone else before he fired it off the road at the final corner.
He had time for only one more attempt, with little more than 90 seconds remaining as he crossed the line.
Inside the final minute, Alonso shot to provisional pole only to be beaten by Hamilton who set a 1:59.321s.
However, Norris was even faster with a stunning 1:57.940s but his lap was deleted for track limits at Turn 16 to drop him off provisional pole.
Confusion then reigned when Norris’ lap was reinstated, stealing pole back from Hamilton as the Englishman was about to celebrate.
The Mercedes driver remained second with Alonso third and Verstappen fourth. Fifth was Sainz then Perez, Leclerc, Piastri, Bottas, and Zhou.
