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| Lars Baron/Getty Images |
SHANGHAI, China -- Lando Norris will start the first sprint race of the 2024 season from first position after a wet sprint shootout session in China resulted in a mixed grid.
Norris' best time was initially deleted for exceeding track limits at the final corner of his previous lap, briefly moving Lewis Hamilton to first place, but it was reinstated by race control moments later.
Hamilton will start from second place for Mercedes on the jumbled grid ahead of Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso in third.
Championship leader Max Verstappen could only manage the fourth fastest time after two of his three attempts in the wet final session were deleted for track limits infringements.
The 19-lap sprint race will take place on Saturday morning in China ahead of qualifying for the full-length grand prix, and carries points from first place to eighth.
Although of less significance than full grand prix qualifying, the result marks the first time a McLaren has started from the front of an F1 grid this year and the first time since Norris took pole in the sprint shootout in Brazil last year.
"It was [wild]. I am extremely happy, big thanks to the team. It was tricky," Norris said afterwards. "I got a good final lap. I am happy, sad it is not for a proper qualifying, but good enough.
"They were conditions where you've just got to risk a lot, you've just got to push, build tyre temperature and so forth. I was a little bit nervous that I made a few mistakes, started to aquaplane quite a bit, but it's good fun.
"It gets your heart going, and to end up on top is exactly what we wanted. So a nice surprise and a good position for tomorrow," he added.
Lando Norris took pole as his flying lap time was reinstated by the stewards before the end of the session.
Meanwhile Hamilton said: "It was very tricky, tricky conditions, not a lot of grip as you saw for everyone. But yeah, so happy. As soon as I saw the rain coming, I was getting excited.
"Naturally in dry conditions, we're not quick enough, so when the rain came, and I thought I'd have a bit of a better opportunity, and that's kind of when it all came alive."
Rain started to fall at the end of SQ2 and by the start of SQ3 it had forced all drivers to switch from slick tyres to intermediates.
Charles Leclerc, who qualified seventh, went off the track at Turn 3 on the first lap out of the pits, while a number of drivers had lap times deleted due to track limit violations.
Verstappen ran off the road at Turn Six on his first attempt and again at the final corner on his second attempt. He finally completed a single clean lap before the chequered flag, but for the first time this year it was not fast enough to secure the front row of the grid.
"It was incredibly slippery," Verstappen said. "I struggled a lot to get the temperature in the tyres, it was very difficult to keep the car on-track, and it never really switched on for me.
"It was just like driving on ice. That's why I think it was quite deserved where we are in qualifying, because it's not really working for me in the wet, even though I think the dry we look quite good.
"So of course I'm quite happy with that."
Norris ran off the track at the final corner ahead of his fastest lap, which can often be seen as gaining an advantage for the following lap as well, but his best effort was quickly reinstated by the FIA in line with the race director's notes for the weekend.
Carlos Sainz will start fifth on the grid for Ferrari ahead of Sergio Perez for Red Bull, Leclerc's Ferrari in seventh and Norris' McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri in eighth.
Valtteri Bottas secured ninth on the grid for Sauber ahead of Chinese driver Zhou Guanyu, who set the tenth fastest time in front of a jubilant home crowd.
The start of the second part of qualifying was delayed after a grass fire broke out at the side of the track near Turn Five. A similar incident happened during the morning practice session at Turn Seven, with video evidence suggesting the fires were ignited by sparks from the titanium skid plates on the underside of the cars.
The short delay to Q2 coincided with the arrival of light rain, although all drivers were able to complete a flying lap on slick tyres before heavier rain arrived at the end of the session. The downpour at the end of Q2 locked positions in place from the drivers' first attempts, with Zhou beating George Russell to a place in Q3 by 0.038s.
Haas drivers Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg will line up 12th and 13th ahead of Daniel Ricciardo's RB in 14th and the Aston Martin of Lance Stroll in 15th.
Pierre Gasly missed the cut for Q2 by less than a tenth of a second but qualified 0.088s faster than Alpine teammate Esteban Ocon, whose car was fitted with the team's latest updates. The new parts and lighter chassis on Ocon's car are expected to bring a step in performance for the struggling French team, but could not be manufactured in time to be fitted to both cars this weekend.
Alex Albon was 18th fastest for Williams ahead of RB's Yuki Tsunoda in 19th and the second Williams driver, Logan Sargeant, in last.
- Laurence Edmondson
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