Lewis Hamilton is hoping for more rain at this weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix after he qualified a surprise second for Saturday’s Sprint.
Hamilton struggled during the early stages of Sprint Qualifying in the dry but excelled in an entirely wet SQ3 and looked to have taken pole until McLaren’s Lando Norris had a lap reinstated that had initially been deleted for a track limits infringement.
Despite missing out on pole, the result was Hamilton’s best in a competitive session this year and sees him complete an all-British front row for the first Sprint of the season – with lights out on Saturday at 4am on Sky Sports F1 and Sky Sports Main Event.
After a frantic start to SQ3 in which Hamilton appeared to lack pace, Mercedes opted to pit the seven-time world champion for a new set of intermediate tyres with different pressure levels to the first set.
This strategy, coupled with Hamilton’s impressive driving in the wet, a trait he has shown throughout his F1 career, gave them second place which had not appeared possible in the dry.
“It was very tricky. Not a lot of grip for everyone, but I’m so happy,” said Hamilton, who has never won a Sprint since the format was introduced in 2021.
“As soon as I saw the rain coming I got excited because in the dry we were not quick enough.
“So when the rain came I thought we would have a better opportunity and that’s when it came alive.”
With just one 60-minute practice session having taken place prior to Sprint Qualifying, the pecking order on long runs remains unclear, but Mercedes and McLaren are expected to be slower than Ferrari and Red Bull.
Behind Hamilton are Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso and reigning world champion Max Verstappen, with Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz splitting the Dutchman and his Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez.
Mercedes’ Toto Wolff, George Russell and Lewis Hamilton reflect on their first day at the Chinese Grand Prix
“It really depends on what the conditions will be. If it’s wet, we will have a chance of being somewhere up there,” added Hamilton on his chances in the Sprint.
“If it’s dry, the Ferraris and Red Bulls will come by, but maybe we can hold off some of the others.”
Mercedes ran the hard tyre during first practice to gather as much data as possible, but the tyre allowance means they may not use the hard compound for Saturday’s 19-lap Sprint and instead opt for mediums.
With there being plenty of overtaking opportunities at the Shanghai International Circuit, Hamilton, along with Norris, will be wary of a challenge from behind.
“We should have the pace in the dry but I don’t think we do against the Red Bulls but we do against McLaren,” Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff told Sky Sports F1.
“Having said that, we don’t know because we have no data from first practice and they could be much quicker too, or the other way around.”
A second grass fire causes delay to the Sprint Qualifying session at the Chinese Grand Prix
George Russell failed to join Hamilton in the chaotic SQ3 after missing out by 0.038s to home hero Zhou Guanyu and will start down in 11th for the Sprint.
The arrival of the rain during SQ2 left the remaining drivers time for just one flying lap, with a scrappy effort from Russell leaving him helpless as the showers intensified.
“It wasn’t easy at all. It was basically one lap in SQ2. We tried going as early as we could but 12 cars were ahead of us in the pit lane, so we lost tyre temperature,” Russell said.
“It was close. One more tenth and you are four or five positions higher, just a shame to be on the bottom end of that.
“Just frustrating after the first lap. Challenging conditions and what could have happened in SQ3? But we have the Sprint to recover some positions.
“The grip is really low here compared to what we were expecting. The lap times are three or four seconds slower than what we anticipated. There is no other junior series here to help rubber the track in, so everyone is slipping and sliding around.”
Saturday April 20
3.30am: Chinese GP Sprint (race starts at 4am)*
7am: Chinese GP Qualifying build-up*
8am: Chinese GP Qualifying*
10am: Ted’s Qualifying Notebook*
A quick look back at some of the biggest moments from the Chinese Grand Prix over the years…
Sunday April 21
7am: Grand Prix Sunday: Chinese GP build-up*
8am: The CHINESE GRAND PRIX*
10am: Chequered Flag: Chinese GP reaction*
11am: Ted’s Notebook*
*also live on Sky Sports Main Event
You can watch every session of the Chinese Grand Prix live on Sky Sports F1 and steam every F1 race and more with a NOW Sports Month Membership – No contract, cancel anytime
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