The Chinese Grand Prix has returned to Formula One in a rather bizarre fashion, with an unfamiliar candidate Lance Stroll topping the time sheet on Friday morning. Truth be told, neither of the Aston Martin drivers was initially contending for the top spot; Stroll’s long run pace granted him a reasonable P11 while his teammate, Fernando Alonso, clocked in a lap time that was good enough for P10. But, then arrived the blinding lap from Stroll that almost effortlessly crushed Max Verstappen’s [potentially quali sim] lap time in the dying minutes of FP1.
Interestingly though, Stroll wasn’t the only big surprise of the practice session. Against the odds, Oscar Piastri secured a commendable P2 for McLaren; many predicted an underwhelming weekend for the Papaya outfit but looks like it won’t be a disappointing outing after all. Verstappen did not look as comfortable in his Red Bull and ultimately settled for a decent P3. Meanwhile, Haas is looking stronger than ever. Too many interesting factors to look at! Here’s our prediction for the upcoming sprint qualifying session in Shanghai.
Can Lance Stroll spring a surprise pole in sprint qualifying?
Aston Martin brought an interesting upgrade package to Japan a couple of weeks ago which helped Alonso battle in the mid-field and secure an incredible P6. And what’s impressive is the AMR24 is looking a lot stronger this weekend in China, hinting at positive response from the latest upgrades. But, will that be good enough to challenge the likes of Ferrari and Red Bull? We don’t think so!
Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll went fastest in #ChineseGP practice, but it was a session that offered few clues to the weekend ahead.#BBCF1 pic.twitter.com/lraFceOmCX
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) April 19, 2024
It was clear that both Red Bull and Ferrari were quite pacy in the long runs, and chose the conservative option in the quali simulation run. Hence, if everything goes in Aston Martin’s favor, Stroll has a fair shot at securing a place in the top five for tomorrow’s sprint race. Not to forget, Alonso played an interesting game by opting against a qualifying run. Hence, the Spaniard now has an extra set of soft tires, which might come in handy during the sprint qualifying or even the main qualifying session on Saturday.
Max Verstappen’s mysterious pace deficit to Ferrari
The Dutchman, who secured a commendable win in Japan, did not look as comfortable in his Red Bull during the first practice session in China. Not only did he lose to Stroll and Piastri in his quali simulation run, but he also succumbed to Ferrari’s pace in the long run (Hard tires). Sainz was initially the quickest of all followed by his teammate, Charles Leclerc. And only behind the Spanish-Monegasque pair came the likes of Verstappen and Perez.
Red Bull doing some early race runs with Max Verstappen comfortably ahead of Sergio Perez.
Max:
42.280
42.038
42.277
42.697
42.128
42.308
42.961
42.549
AVG: 42.405Checo:
42.882
42.660
42.903
42.743
42.697
43.328
43.145
AVG: 42.908— Daniel Valente 🏎️ (@F1GuyDan) April 19, 2024
Therefore, does Ferrari finally have the pace to defeat the undefeatable Red Bull Racing?
Haas hints at its best finish of the season
The American outfit was doomed to fail ahead of the season, with Guenther Steiner being shown the door. However, Ayao Komatsu has managed to fortify Haas in a short span of time, and within a handful of races, Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen are sniffing a top-five finish this weekend at the Chinese Grand Prix.
We end FP1 in P5 & P6 🏁 #HaasF1 #ChineseGP pic.twitter.com/mrU3YO9HYq
— MoneyGram Haas F1 Team (@HaasF1Team) April 19, 2024
Hulkenberg looked in fine touch on medium tires (race simulation), finding himself in the midst of Ferrari, McLaren, and Aston Martin. Furthermore, the German driver looked even stronger on soft tires and secured a solid P5 behind the two Red Bull drivers. Magnussen, too, wasn’t too far off, in P6, only 0.017s slower than his teammate.
Daniel Ricciardo seeks revival with latest VCARB upgrades
Daniel Ricciardo has had a tough start to this season, with a persistent lack of understanding between himself and his car. Therefore, the Australian has more often than not been outpaced by his own teammate despite the massive advantage in racing experience. However, the Chinese Grand Prix weekend could finally revive Ricciardo’s old form, thanks to VCARB’s interesting new upgrade package.
That’s a wrap for practice. Bring on Sprint Quali 🤝 pic.twitter.com/XVtTEkJXPn
— Visa Cash App RB F1 Team (@visacashapprb) April 19, 2024
During the FP1, Ricciardo looked fairly comfortable in his car and was a lot quicker than his teammate, eventually securing P9. Furthermore, the VACRB driver has already raced in Shanghai, offering him the much-needed experience boost over the 23-year-old Japanese driver, who will be driving a Formula 1 car in China for the first time.
Sara Chavan