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Verstappen headed Sergio Perez in a Red Bull Racing one-two as the Dutchman continued his unbeaten Saturday form in 2024.
Fernando Alonso was an impressive third after threatening the front row while Ferrari proved disappointing to end the session only sixth and seventh.
Carlos Sainz’s afternoon was compromised by a spin that saw the Spaniard clout the barrier and draw the red flag during Qualifying 2.
Results: Chinese GP, Qualifying Results
A busy start to as the qualifying hour began saw Nico Hulkenberg catch the eye of officials after he jumped the queue heading out of pit lane.
Yuki Tsunoda was one of the first out on track but reported that his DRS was not working; his initial timed lap was 1:38.142s, which left him comfortably slowest.
By contrast, Verstappen’s first lap was 1:35.171s, a time only good enough for second behind Alonso, who was 0.05s faster.
With seven minutes to run in Qualifying 1, Oscar Piastri moved to the top of the timesheets with a 1:35.014s. It stood until Sainz managed a 1:34.970s, 0.044s faster.
RB solved the DRS issue Tsunoda was battling as he improved to a 1:35.979s, which saw him sit 11th with five minutes to run.
His team-mate Daniel Ricciardo was only 16th after reporting smoke from his front brakes, which saw him back in the garage.
Inside the final two minutes, Kevin Magnussen, Lewis Hamilton, Ricciardo, Logan Sargeant, and Zhou Guanyu sat in the elimination zone.
Zhou improved to eighth in the final minute courtesy of a 1:35.505s while a spin from Sargeant at Turn 9 left the Williams driver unable to improve and saw him eliminated as the slowest of the 20 drivers.
As the chequered flag waved, Charles Leclerc was in the elimination zone as others improved, including Ricciardo.
Tsunoda was unable to match his team-mate and was eliminated, along with Hamilton, Magnussen, and Zhou.
Hamilton’s final lap was cruelled by a mistake at the final hairpin. He locked the brakes and ran wide of the apex, losing 0.6s to team-mate George Russell in the final sector.
That left him 0.116s outside of the cut-off point, occupied by Perez, while Ricciardo was 14th. Verstappen topped the segment from Leclerc and Lando Norris, while Piastri was fifth.
Verstappen was the fastest in the early laps in Qualifying 2, banking a 1:34.742s.
He set the time just before the red flag was thrown after Carlos Sainz spun exiting the final corner, the Ferrari driver was the car directly behind Verstappen on track
The Ferrari driver dropped a wheel into the gravel on the outside of Turn 16 which pitched him across the road and into the tyre barrier, pointing the wrong way.
He managed to get the car refired and dragged it back, sans front wing, to the pits. Sainz was one of two drivers without a time to that point, the other being Russell.
The session was not immediately restarted, helping Ferrari get Sainz’s car repaired ahead of the restart.
When running resumed, there was 6:44 left on the clock; Russell headed out immediately as the track went green.
Verstappen was the next car out, half a lap behind the Mercedes driver, the Dutchman on provisional pole with a 1:33.942s.
Rusell recorded a 1:34.609s with his lap to rise to third best, behind Verstappen and Norris’s earlier efforts, before the Red Bull driver lowered the benchmark to 1:34.742s.
Inside the final two minutes of the session, all but Norris were on track, though Russell circled back to the pit lane with just a single timed lap on the board, as did Verstappen.
Sainz was among those still on track, the Spaniard recording a personal best through the first third of the lap. That included some session-best microsectors as he logged a 1:34.368s that left him second fastest and safe to progress to Qualifying 3.
Not progressing were Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon, Esteban Ocon, Ricciardo, and Lance Stroll.
Nine of the remaining 10 drivers headed out as Qualifying 3 began, Valtteri Bottas the odd one out as he remained in the Sauber garage in the initial moments.
Nico Hulkenberg was the first to set a time, banking a 1:35.400s that Verstappen soon toppled on a 1:33.977s.
Perez was next fastest with a 1:34.470s, slower than he’d gone in Qualifying 2 by 0.4s, and was soon demoted by Alonso.
A dropped wheel at the final corner cost Piastri time as he logged a 1:34.591s, a time that proved good enough for fifth behind team-mate Norris in fourth, just 0.08s faster than his Australian team-mate.
The field returned to the track for a second run with four minutes remaining, Bottas in the queue after not setting a lap earlier in Qualifying 3.
Sainz was the first driver to log his final lap, improving to second with a 1:34.289s.
Leclerc went third, 0.01s faster than his team-mate but both bettered by Piastri with a 1:34.273s to sit second. It translated into fifth once Norris, Alonso, and Perez had completed their laps.
Verstappen maintained pole with a 1:33.660s while Perez slotted in second with a 1:33.982s for an all-Red Bull Racing front row.
Alonso was third, 0.2s away from Perez with Norris fourth. Leclerc ended the session sixth from Sainz, then came Russell, Hulkenberg, and Bottas.
The Chinese Grand Prix begins at 17:00 AEST on Sunday.
