SHANGHAI
\nA fearless \u201call or nothing\u201d lap from McLaren\u2019s Lando Norris in wet and wild conditions denied Lewis Hamilton pole position on Friday for the sprint race in Shanghai.
\nHamilton thought he had claimed pole in his Mercedes when Norris\u2019s lap of 1min 57.940sec on intermediate wet tyres was deleted for exceeding track limits, only to be dramatically reinstated a minute later.
\nFernando Alonso in an Aston Martin showed his experience and guile to come third in the treacherous conditions with championship leader Max Verstappen fourth after he too had a time deleted for running too wide.
\nIt was a second career sprint pole for Norris.
\n\u201cIt was tricky, you are always nervous going into a session like this,\u201d said the Englishman.
\n\u201cYou just have to risk a lot, push and build tyre temperature and what not.\u201d
\n\u201cI\u2019m happy \u2014 sad it\u2019s not for a proper qualifying \u2014 but good enough,\u201d added Norris.
\n\u201cYou only get three laps. The first two I aborted on both, so it was all or nothing, a good position for tomorrow.\u201d
\nVerstappen\u2019s Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez was sixth, splitting the Ferraris of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc, who survived a big spin on the wet track unscathed despite touching the barrier.
\n\u201cI lost it out of turn eight,\u201d admitted Leclerc. \u201cThat compromised our quali but there wasn\u2019t much more we could have done.\u201d
\nFifth-placed Sainz said the rain and cool conditions made it very difficult to get his intermediate tyres warmed up.
\n\u201cWe didn\u2019t manage to switch on the tyres so we couldn\u2019t push,\u201d said the Spaniard, the only driver to win a race this season apart from Verstappen.
\nFormula One is back in China for the first time since 2019, when Hamilton won.
\nA big crowd at the Shanghai International Circuit let out a huge roar when their hometown hero Zhou Guanyu made it into the third qualifying session. He will start Saturday\u2019s sprint from 10th for Sauber.
\nThe 24-year-old Zhou was elevated to F1 in 2022, but has had to wait till his third season to make his home debut because of the pandemic.
\nZhou is yet to score a 2024 championship point but has given himself a great chance with a near-flawless qualifying show.
\nEvery lap in his bright green Sauber was greeted by massive cheers from the grandstand opposite the pit lane as his times appeared on the scoreboard.
\nVerstappen, who has won three out of four grands prix this season, again looked quickest until the rain came near the end of SQ2.
\nIt sets up an intriguing 19-lap sprint battle Saturday morning as the three-time world champion attempts to find his way past Alonso, Hamilton and Norris.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
SHANGHAI A fearless \u201call or nothing\u201d lap from McLaren\u2019s Lando Norris in wet and wild conditions denied Lewis Hamilton pole position on Friday for the sprint race in Shanghai. Hamilton thought he had claimed pole in his Mercedes when Norris\u2019s lap of 1min 57.940sec on intermediate wet tyres was deleted for exceeding track limits, only […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-401374","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n