Max Verstappen signed 5/5 to set the fastest qualifying time for a fifth consecutive Grand Prix since the start of the 2024 season.
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Max Verstappen is not yet the emperor of China, but he has put all the odds on his side to become one. The Red Bull driver set the fastest qualifying time at the Shanghai circuit on Saturday 20 April, one of the few tracks where he has never won in his career. The Dutchman will start ahead of teammate Sergio Pérez and Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin). The McLarens will start fourth and fifth, ahead of two disappointing Ferraris. Verstappen signs his fifth pole position this season in five races.
It was a good day for Max Verstappen and Red Bull to shine. The team joined the exclusive club of teams with 100 pole positions in their history. And that did not suffer any dispute. Verstappen pushed the competition very far. His neighbor Pérez is three tenths behind, Alonso almost half a second. To find some suspense, you have to look in the rear-view mirrors. If Pérez secured 100% Red Bull’s front row, he had to hold back against the veteran Alonso, “the best of the rest” with the best colors.
Red Bull confirms, the competition is falling apart
The 40-year-old Spaniard took over third place from Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, both McLarens in better form than they had hoped in China. The time hoped for as a real rival to Red Bull after Carlos Sainz’s victory in Australia, Ferrari is recording 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 qualifying after a minor accident in the last corner.
Mercedes didn’t fare any better with George Russell in eighth place. Lewis Hamilton, second in the first sprint race of the season earlier in the night in France, missed his final flying lap and will start only in 18th position. Alpine confirmed their slow but progressive improvements with two cars in the second part of the session. Esteban Ocon, qualified 13th, logged his best qualifying of the season and Pierre Gasly (who had yet to benefit from his team-mate’s improvement) finished 15th.
Pole after the sprint for Max Verstappen
Max Verstappen has already gone through the sprint, despite starting from “only” the fourth row. The three-time reigning world champion was patient enough to drop Hamilton mid-race, before taking off, while pole-holder Lando Norris missed the start. Verstappen was ahead of Hamilton and Sergio Pérez.