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Welcome to Prime Tire, where we wonder if Daniel Ricciardo should take up basketball if this whole auto racing thing doesn’t work out.
We also wonder what the Shanghai International Circuit has in store for us this weekend after an interesting Friday of sessions. My name is Patrick and Luke Smith will be here shortly. Let’s go.
I see fire…
We’re coming to you later than we hoped today because we watched the sprint race qualifying from China at 4:30 a.m. ET and it all looks like a weird dream where grass caught fire and the The top three qualifiers for the sprint are not called Max Verstappen.
Wait, wasn’t that a dream?
As we will note later, the first test in Shanghai was quite significant given that the F1 had not raced here for five years and had undergone some refurbishment work. So it was no surprise that the single FP1 hour featured end-to-end lap recording on all three composed by all 20 drivers.
This is where we separate the review of practices into Things that matter for the race And Things that caught fire.
Things that matter for the race:
A ho-hum session, albeit busy, which didn’t teach us much about Sunday’s grand prix. At the end, Lance Stroll finishes at the top of the standings with a lap in 1:36.302s. This heralded a confusing order from the start during sprint qualifying. And Oscar Piastri’s P2 timing could be an early indicator that McLaren could be a surprise podium contender This weekend.
Things that caught fire:
The trackside grass at Turn 7 caught fire and brought out the red flag, and another small fire broke out at the end of the first sprint qualifying session. The FIA said the likely culprit was “sparks from the cars which ignited the fire in the grass flow area”.
and I see rain
We had a feeling the rain would affect the weekend in Shanghai, but not so much as to create the best qualifying session for a sprint race in recent memory. By the time the third and final qualifying session began, the track was incredibly slippery and visibility was plummeting. Drivers finished their push laps riding into the wind, struggling to get their tires warm, and continued to slide off the track.
“It was incredibly slippery… it was like driving on ice” said Verstappen – he qualified fourth. Yes, even the reigning world champion, famous for his ability to drive in the rain, was not safe on Friday in Shanghai. His final lap was was canceled when it went off the track, creating a crazy final minute where the sprint pole changed hands four times: Fernando Alonso took it, then Lewis Hamilton took it, then Lando Norris took it – then Norris’ lap was deleted for exceeding track limits. But he still finished on pole. What? Let’s leave it for Luke in the paddock to explain.
In the paddock with Luke Smith: why Norris got his knees back
The chaotic end to sprint qualifying in China left us guessing who would be on pole all the way to the checkered flag – and, as it turns out, a little longer.
Norris initially jumped into P1 with his final lap SQ3, moving away from Hamilton, only to have his time deleted for exceeding track limits. This meant that pole for Saturday’s sprint race belonged, at least momentarily, to Hamilton.
But race control then restored Norris’ time to 1:57.940s, giving him P1 again. It is rare to see an hour deleted and then put back. So why was Norris allowed to keep the pole?
Norris put all four wheels outside the white line in the last corner of the lap preceding his pole lap when he set a time of 2m00.863s. On some circuits this would also result in the lap being deleted after exceeding track limits. This is always specified in the track limits section of the event notes issued by race director, Niels Wittich, before the start of each race weekend.
Such a rule was in effect in Bahrain this year, as well as in Abu Dhabi, Austin, Las Vegas, Qatar and Austria. Each time, the event notes stated that such an infraction would “result in a lap time and the time for the immediately following lap be invalidated by the commissioners. (Emphasis mine for emphasis!)
In Chinese race notes this clause does not exist. It simply says that “any time a driver fails to respect track limits, this will result in that lap time being invalidated by the stewards.” Nothing on the next round. This might have something to do with the newly added gravel trap at the exit of the final corner in Shanghai.which serves as a natural deterrent.
So when race control realized they had accidentally deleted Norris’ lap, they reinstated the time, bringing him back to pole position. There has been no call from McLaren to make the changeaccording to Andrea Stella, who estimated that Norris would have lost around three tenths of a second on the next lap by going so far.
Mercedes has no frustration or hard feelings about the decision. Hamilton looked the most optimistic all year after sprint qualifying. Meanwhile, Toto Wolff told Sky Sports that Norris’s move “was even slower, so he probably could have gone faster.” So I agree with that.
Looking forward
Thanks, Luke. So where does this leave us for the rest of the weekend?
The strange Friday sessions leave us a little in the dark. Too much new and unusual stuff, with a fresh track and sessions plagued by inexplicable bushfires and pouring rain. The data is confusing. But while it’s safe to assume the Red Bulls will run away in races, the strong runs of Mercedes, Aston Martin and McLaren let’s have our ears pricked up.
It’s already a special weekend for Zhou Guanyuwho became the first Chinese F1 driver to complete a home session and qualified 10th to thunderous cheers during sprint qualifying.
The weather should make for a fun sprint. Eighty percent chance of rain on Saturday in Shanghai, with wind gusts up to 45 km/h (27 mph).
Get to know the Shanghai International Circuit
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and strict lockdown rules in China, the last Chinese Grand Prix took place in 2019. It seems recent, but yes, it was five years and an entire global pandemic ago. So there’s a good chance that many new F1 fans have never attended a race at the Shanghai International Circuit.
Fortunately, Athleticismby Madeline Coleman did you cover our latest F1 track breakdown. Read on to find out why drivers love this circuit with its unique first turns. “It’s a great track to ride with the speed of the corners and the flow of the track,” Stroll said.
Outside of points
Madeline also has a terrible breakdown how sprint races will work in 2024including the schedule change that moves the sprint qualifying and grand prix qualifying a bit.
The fact that the first sprint race of the season took place this weekend, track unfamiliar to so many pilots, the pilots were already wary. And that was before the trackside grass caught fire and rain disrupted sprint qualifying.
And finally, Luke spoke to Williams team principal James Vowles. His team had a rough start to the season, but Vowles knew it was possible after all the necessary changes he made at Williams this offseason.
(Lead photo by Lando Norris: Lars Baron/Getty Images)