Sebastian Vettel set a new track record of 1:31.095s in Shanghai as he successfully claimed pole position for the 2018 Chinese Grand Prix.
Vettel proved too hot for his team mate Kimi Raikkonen to handle, as the Ferrari pair pulled off their second consecutive front row lock-out of the season.
Despite briefly sparking into life in Q2, Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton looked distinctly second best in qualifying. Red Bull were best of the rest, with Daniel Ricciardo just managing to take part despite needing an engine change over lunch.
Chinese Grand Prix - Qualifying
| Pos | Driver | Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1:32.171s | 1:32.385s | 1:31.095s |
| 2 | Kimi Räikkönen | Ferrari | 1:32.474s | 1:32.286s | 1:31.182s |
| 3 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 1:32.921s | 1:32.063s | 1:31.625s |
| 4 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:33.283s | 1:31.914s | 1:31.675s |
| 5 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1:32.932s | 1:32.809s | 1:31.796s |
| 6 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull | 1:33.877s | 1:32.688s | 1:31.948s |
| 7 | Nico Hülkenberg | Renault | 1:33.545s | 1:32.494s | 1:32.532s |
| 8 | Sergio Pérez | Force India | 1:33.464s | 1:32.931s | 1:32.758s |
| 9 | Carlos Sainz | Renault | 1:33.315s | 1:32.970s | 1:32.819s |
| 10 | Romain Grosjean | Haas | 1:33.238s | 1:32.524s | 1:32.855s |
| 11 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | 1:33.359s | 1:32.986s | |
| 12 | Esteban Ocon | Force India | 1:33.585s | 1:33.057s | |
| 13 | Fernando Alonso | McLaren | 1:33.428s | 1:33.232s | |
| 14 | Stoffel Vandoorne | McLaren | 1:33.824s | 1:33.505s | |
| 15 | Brendon Hartley | Toro Rosso | 1:34.013s | 1:33.795s | |
| 16 | Sergey Sirotkin | Williams | 1:34.062s | ||
| 17 | Pierre Gasly | Toro Rosso | 1:34.101s | ||
| 18 | Lance Stroll | Williams | 1:34.285s | ||
| 19 | Charles Leclerc | Sauber | 1:34.454s | ||
| 20 | Marcus Ericsson | Sauber | 1:34.914s |
Q1: Ricciardo gets out just in time
Williams' Sergey Sirotkin was the first man out on track, where he was greeted by cold, overcast and windy conditions. Crucially the track itself was dry, despite overnight rain which had washed away much of the rubber laid down on Friday.
Kimi Raikkonen was quick to go to the top of the times with a lap of 1:32.474s. That put him almost half a second faster than Valtteri Bottas. Lewis Hamilton was a similar distance back in the second Mercedes with his first run on ultrasofts.
Sebastian Vettel picked up where he'd left on in final practice, and shaved three tenths off his team mate's time to go top on 1:32.171s. Meanwhile Renault emerged as the best of the rest, with Sergio Perez going fourth fastest ahead of Esteban Ocon.
Daniel Ricciardo was still stuck in the garage as the team completed an engine change on his RB14 when Max Verstappen leapt into action. He set the fourth fastest time to make his Q1 bow ahead of Hamilton. Renault's Nico Hulkenberg was also looking fast, and was quick enough to split the Force Indias for seventh place.
Ricciardo finally made it out with three minutes remaining in the session. His do or die single lap was good enough for 13th. Only one of the cars that followed him across the line was able to do better, meaning that the Aussie was through to Q2.
Failing to make the cut were the two Williams of Sirotkin and Lance Stroll, as well as both Saubers. Charles Leclerc finished ahead of his team mate Marcus Ericsson after surviving a scary spin off the final corner midway through the session.
The surprise result of the first round was the elimination of Toro Rosso's Pierre Gasly. The star of last week's race in Bahrain will be lining up in 17th place on the grid tomorrow.
Q2: Mercedes sparks into life to go ahead
With an eye to race strategy, both Ferrari and Mercedes took to the track for the second round of qualifying on the soft tyres. The rest of the field - Red Bull included - took the contrary strategy and set off on ultras. The top ten all start the Grand Prix on the tyres they set their best Q2 time on.
To open proceedings, Raikkonen punched in a beauty of a lap to go top with 1:32.286s. That was a tenth faster than Vettel, and well ahead of both Bottas and Hamilton.
Having got his breath back from the last-gasp run in Q2, Ricciardo was now looking more settled. He and Verstappen moved ahead of the Silver Arrows for third and fourth respectively. A second run saw Bottas recover one place ahead of the Dutchman, but Hamilton remained mired in a lacklustre sixth place.
After a brief lull, the drivers returned for their final runs. Having looked out of sorts all day, Hamilton suddenly sparked into life and went top with a lap of 1"31.914s, with Bottas also improving to go second.
The Ferraris had come out as a precaution on ultras just in case, but saw no need to complete their laps. There were impressive final runs from Hulkenberg and Haas' Romain Grosjean to take fifth and sixth respectively ahead of Ricciardo and Verstappen.
Force India's Sergio Perez and Renault's Carlos Sainz put in last minute laps to round out the top ten. They pushed Magnussen into the elimination zone along with Ocon and the remaining Toro Rosso of Brendon Hartley.
Both Mclarens were also out, despite Stoffel Vandoorne attempting to provide a slipstream boost for team mate Fernando Alonso.
Q3: Track record falls as Vettel pips Raikkonen to pole
Mercedes' sudden surge to the top in Q2 meant that all bets were off when the cars emerged for the top ten pole shootout. Hulkenberg and Grosjean were first out, with only Perez opting to skip the first run.
Raikkonen set the bar high with a scorching first effort of 1:31.200s, the fatest ever lap at Shanghai International Circuit. That was too hot for Vettel who slipped into second, 0.161s behind. Bottas took up third with Hamilton a half a tenth behind.
Red Bull had no answer to the front runners' pace. Verstappen and Ricciardo had to settle for fifth and sixth positions ahead of Hulkenberg, Grosjean and Sainz as cars headed to the pit lane to regroup for their final assault.
As the clock counted down, all ten cars came back out for their final efforts. Bottas was unable to improve his time, and Hamilton aborted his lap after running deep at the hairpin.
However both Ferraris improved their times. Raikkonen shaved a fraction off his first run, but he was then eclipsed by Vettel who stole pole position at the very end by just 0.087s.
Hulkenberg retained seventh behind the Red Bulls. Perez' one and only run was strong enough to propel the Force India to eighth place, putting him ahead of Sainz and Grosjean.
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