LEWIS HAMILTON FOLLOWS UP FIRST FERRARI PODIUM WITH OSCARS WIN

The F1 Movie, nominated for four Academy Awards, won an Oscar on Sunday night.

Hamilton scored his first Grand Prix podium with Ferrari in China

Lewis Hamilton is now an Oscar-winning film producer after the Formula 1 movie picked up the gong for Best Sound.

F1, which Hamilton co-produced and had a cameo in alongside Brad Pitt, secured the Oscar for Best Sound at Sunday night’s prestigious awards ceremony in Los Angeles.

Seven-time world champion Hamilton worked closely on the blockbuster alongside director Joseph Kosinski and lead producer Jerry Bruckheimer.

As well as giving advice on the script and his insight into the world of F1, Hamilton also took part in a driving day with Pitt.

Hamilton was unable to attend the Oscars because of his clashing commitments at the Chinese Grand Prix.

The 41-year-old Briton celebrated his first grand prix podium with Ferrari by beating team-mate Charles Leclerc to third place following a thrilling battle.

Hamilton finished behind the dominant Mercedes duo of Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who claimed his first F1 victory, and former Silver Arrows team-mate George Russell.

Speaking ahead of the weekend, Hamilton confirmed he would not be able to make the Academy Awards on time.

"I think it's impossible," Hamilton said. "I've looked at every way to get there in time, but unfortunately I can't get there.

"But I'll FaceTime with Joe and Jerry when they're there, which will be cool.

"I'm incredibly proud, and I never ever thought in a million years that that would be the outcome of the work that we're doing over the past years.

"It's amazing to see. I don't know if it's the sport, but to see how much promotion there is around the world, to see the buzz, to see new people getting excited for the sport, in the way that so many of us were growing up.

"It's really great to see that that is expanding. And on top of that, I'm still here, still to be a part of it and witness it.”

The F1 movie also won a BAFTA for Best Sound in London last month.

It was nominated for four Oscars in total, including Best Picture and Visual Effects.

It became the highest-grossing original film of 2025, making over $600m globally.

It was also Pitt’s most successful project, beating World War Z in 2013.

Bruckheimer has confirmed that a sequel to the F1 blockbuster is officially in the works, with Hamilton already working on the first script.

- Lewis Larkam

QUALIFYING GAPS | CHINESE GRAND PRIX 2026

 

FAN'S LASH OUT AT CHARLES LECLERC FOR HIS RADIO COMMENTS ON TEAMMATE LEWIS HAMILTON

 

LEWIS HAMILTON ON MERCEDES' POWER ADVANTAGE

 

GEORGE RUSSELL TAKES PROVISIONAL CHINESE GRAND PRIX SPRINT POLE

 

CHINESE GRAND PRIX 2026 | PRACTICE 1 CLASSIFICATION

 

LEWIS HAMILTON CONFIRMS MAJORMAJOR CHANGE ON FERRARI F1 CAR FOR CHINESE GP

Lewis Hamilton has confirmed a major change to the Ferrari SF-26 will be implemented at this weekend’s Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix.

The Scuderia arrives in Shanghai off the back of a positive opening round in Australia, in which teammate Charles Leclerc came home in third, with Hamilton just behind in fourth.

A lax pit stop strategy during an early Virtual Safety Car was the Maranello-based squad’s undoing, contributing to its challenge to eventual winners Mercedes falling off.

One element to the SF-26 that did not arrive in Melbourne was its ‘flip’ rear wing, which was briefly trialled at the second week of pre-season testing in Bahrain.

Hamilton completed five laps on the second day with the wing, which rotated 180 degrees when opened in ‘active aero’ mode.

And speaking to media including Motorsport Week at the Shanghai International Circuit, Hamilton confirmed the wing will make its full race debut this weekend, explaining the wing currently has only colloquial terms for its identity.

“I don’t think there’s any [official name for the rotating rear wing],” he said.

“We did a full day or so with the wing [in testing] and we got all the running needed with it.

“I’m so grateful for the team to work because it was actually supposed to be later down the line and they work really hard to develop it and get it brought here

“So that, for me, it’s just great to see that the team are fighting, the team are pushing and chasing and really working overtime back at the factory to be able to bring upgrades, because that’s the name of the game.”

Hamilton continued: “I think last year I didn’t get to see the team’s full potential in that mode because we were focused on this year’s car.

“I don’t know if it has an official name. Someone said ‘macarena’, I have no idea why!”

With a kilometre-long back straight and other fast areas to see the wing flex its metaphorical muscle, it will be intriguing to see whether it can propel Hamilton and Leclerc to another challenge for race victory.

- Jack Oliver Smith

FORMULA 1 SPRINT RACES | 2026

 

FORMULA 1 WEEKEND ATTENDANCES

 

The Australian Grand Prix currently leads the way for the best-attended race weekend in 2025, having attracted over 465,000 attendees over the four days - a new record for the Melbourne race. 

The British Grand Prix in July is likely to be the only race which can challenge Albert Park for the top spot come the end of the season. Attendance at Silverstone has been 480,000 in the last two years. Last week, race organisers announced just 1,000 grandstand seats remain available for the race. 

Aside from the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, which is yet to announce a figure, every race so far has posted an attendance figure that is higher than - or in the case of Miami, equal to - last season. Total attendance reached 6.5 million last year and could well exceed that record figure in 2025. 

We recently published a new page, detailing annual attendance figures and individual race attendance figures dating back to 2015. Check it out via the link in the comments!

#Formula1 #F1 #Silverstone #AusGP #BritishGP

- F1Destinations

"IT'S A DISGRACE": THE REAL REASON HAMILTON, LECLERC AND GASLY WERE EXCLUDED (AND IT'S SHOCKING)

I must admit, I never imagined seeing three renowned drivers disqualified simultaneously in Formula 1. Yet, at the 2025 Chinese Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc, and Pierre Gasly all lost their positions following a post-race technical inspection. So, why exactly were these drivers penalized? Hold onto your seatbelts—these reasons might surprise you.

Hamilton Penalized: A Worn Skid Block Costs Dearly

Let’s begin with Lewis Hamilton, a six-time world champion who crossed the finish line in sixth place in Shanghai. During the post-race checks, officials discovered excessive wear on the skid block beneath his Ferrari. According to Article 3.5.9 of the FIA regulations, the skid block’s minimum thickness (9 mm) must be strictly respected. Unfortunately, Hamilton’s car exceeded the allowable wear limit, resulting in immediate disqualification. Ferrari acknowledged the technical oversight, explaining, “We underestimated the wear during the race.”

Leclerc and Gasly: 1 kg Too Light, Instant Disqualification!

For Charles Leclerc and Pierre Gasly, the issue was equally embarrassing. Leclerc finished fifth, while Gasly crossed the line in eleventh position. But to everyone’s astonishment, their cars weighed exactly 799 kg during inspection, falling 1 kg short of the FIA’s minimum required weight of 800 kg (Article 4.1). Ferrari explained their single-stop strategy had excessively worn the tires, resulting in this critical drop in weight. Alpine also recognized their error, stating, “This is a mistake we must take responsibility for,” according to the French team’s management.

A Completely Shaken-Up Classification

The consequences were severe for these drivers, but other competitors gladly benefited from this unexpected shake-up. Esteban Ocon climbed from seventh to fifth position. Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Alexander Albon inherited sixth and seventh places respectively. Oliver Bearman, Lance Stroll, and Carlos Sainz also climbed the standings, earning valuable championship points.

Mixed Reactions from Ferrari and Alpine

As expected, disappointment prevailed among the penalized teams. Ferrari pledged to learn from these incidents to avoid future technical setbacks. Alpine echoed similar sentiments, promising to tighten their pre-race inspection protocols. I fully understand their embarrassment regarding such mistakes at this elite level of competition.

Was it Negligence or Just an Honest Mistake?

Ultimately, these multiple disqualifications open up an interesting debate. At this pinnacle of technical excellence, how can we explain such oversights? Are the teams overly confident, or are these risks simply inherent to motorsport competition?

And what about you—do you think these disqualifications are acceptable technical errors in Formula 1, or do they indicate unforgivable negligence by the teams involved?

-  James-Fiorucci

F1 BROADCAST OF HAMILTON -LECLERC SWAP

Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur took aim at Formula One’s “joke” broadcast of the Chinese Grand Prix as he accused the sport of deliberately creating a show when Lewis Hamilton offered to move aside for Charles Leclerc.

Hamilton volunteered to allow team-mate Leclerc through for fifth as he struggled for speed. However, Hamilton’s radio message was not shown on the international feed.

Instead the broadcast picked up on Hamilton’s race engineer Riccardo Adami telling the seven-time world champion that “we are swapping cars at Turn 14”.

Hamilton told Adami he was closing up on George Russell ahead of him and would allow Leclerc through when “he was closer”.

Hamilton was then instructed to “swap this lap”. The 40-year-old hit back by replying: “I’ll tell you when we can swap.” Hamilton moved over for Leclerc moments later.

The exchanges between Hamilton and Adami arrived a week after the British driver told his new race engineer to “leave him to it” at the opening round in Australia.

And, speaking after the race in Shanghai, team principal Vasseur said: “This is a joke from FOM (Formula One Management), because the first call came from Lewis to swap. Lewis suggested it.

Fred Vasseur was unhappy with the coverage (David Davies/PA)

“But to make the show, to create the mess around the situation, they did not broadcast the first part of the exchange. So I will discuss it with them.

“We have to work for the team and consider the best thing for Ferrari. The collaboration between the two guys (Hamilton and Leclerc) is mega and I cannot complain about it.”

Vasseur was speaking before both Hamilton and Leclerc were disqualified from fifth and sixth places for illegalities on their cars. Hamilton’s floor ran too close to the ground, while Leclerc’s machine was underweight.

Addressing the swap with Leclerc, Hamilton said: “We didn’t really have a battle. He just had more pace than me. I was struggling with the car so I told the team to let him by. It was my idea.”

- Philip Duncan 

LEWIS HAMILTON, CHARLES LECLERC DISQUALIFIED FROM CHINESE GP IN YET ANOTHER FERRARI DISASTER

Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton had finished fifth and sixth respectively in the 2025 Chinese Grand Prix.

AFP

Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc were both disqualified from the Chinese Grand Prix on Sunday for technical infringements, along with Alpine's Pierre Gasly. Leclerc and Gasly were found by FIA stewards to have cars that weighed less than the 800 kilogram minimum requirement while Hamilton was deemed to have excessive plank wear underneath his car. Leclerc had finished fifth and Hamilton sixth. Their points will be expunged with all the drivers below them now moving up two places.

Gasly finished 11th so was already out of the points.

It was a disastrous end to a weekend that had started so brilliantly for Ferrari when Hamilton took his maiden win for his new team in Saturday's sprint.

The plank assembly is a skid plate which is designed to wear away when the floor strikes against bumps on the track or kerbs.

If it is too worn it can improve performance as cars can run closer to track, increasing "ground effect" down force.

"The plank assembly of Car 44 (Lewis Hamilton) was measured and found to be 8.6mm (LHS), 8.6mm (car centreline) and 8.5mm (RHS). This is below the minimum thickness of 9mm," said the stewards' ruling.

"The team also acknowledged that there were no mitigating circumstances and that it was a genuine error by the team."

For Leclerc the ruling said: "Car 16 (Charles Leclerc) was weighed by the FIA Technical Delegate inside and outside scales with both scales showing the same result of 799 kg after the customary draining of fuel and the replacement of a broken front wing."

"The calibration of both scales was confirmed and witnessed by the competitor. During the hearing there was no challenge to the FIA's measurements which are taken to be correct and that all required procedures were performed correctly.

"There are no mitigating circumstances and that the team confirmed that it was a genuine error by them."

Hamilton, driving a Mercedes, was disqualified from the 2023 United States Grand Prix for a similar plank-wear problem.

- Agence France-Presse

LEWIS HAMILTON'S FURIOUS RADIO EXCHANGE WITH FERRARI DURING CHINESE GP

Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc have been disqualified from the Chinese Grand Prix after both of their cars failed their respective post-race technical checks. Leclerc and Hamilton originally finished fifth and sixth respectively for Ferrari in the Shanghai race in what proved to be a disappointing day for the team, but things would soon take a turn for the worse.

Hamilton was disqualified for excessive skid-plain wear. The same infringement that cost him second place at the US Grand Prix when racing for Mercedes. Leclerc was dismissed after his vehicle was identified as 1kg underweight.

The disqualification will damage morale within the camp following an already under-par showing in Shanghai. The removal of both drivers will see Ferrari miss out on a staggering 18 points in the Constructors' Championship, but relations between Hamilton and his new engineers already seemed strained before news of the disqualification emerged.

Lewis Hamilton Couldn't Hide His Frustration With Ferrari During the Chinese Grand Prix

Ferrari's new recruit has only raced for the team twice

Tensions appeared high during the Shanghai race following an exchange between Ferrari engineer, Riccardo Adami, and Hamilton and this disqualification will only add to the enormous pressure Ferrari now faces.

Hamilton was heard on the radio imploring his team for advice as the 40-year-old struggled to catch the leading pack. The seven-time world champion realised he was losing ground and made a desperate plea to his garage for some guidance, stating:

"Give me some feedback guys, come on. I need some feedback of where I’m losing [time]."

When Adami responded by letting Hamilton know that the issue might be happening at Exit 13, Lewis snapped back, replying: "Yeah, you told me that already!" That Hamilton is already sound fed up with his new team after just two races together is not an encouraging sign.

Following the disqualification of both Ferrari drivers, Esteban Ocon of Haas was moved from seventh to fifth, whilst his teammate Oliver Bearman jumped up to eighth. Kimi Antonelli of Mercedes was elevated to sixth, with Williams' Alex Albon in seventh.

Hamilton and Leclerc were not the only drivers to face disqualification as Alpine's Pierre Gasly who initially finished 11th, was also disqualified during the post-race examination. While Ferrari will likely be extra vigilant about flouting technical rules in the wake of the disqualifications, it seems there's a fair bit of team building to do before the Japanese Grand Prix on the 6th April given Hamilton's exceptionally blunt words during Sunday's race.

- Patrick Post

THREE CARS HAVE BEEN DISQUALIFIED AT THE #CHINESEGP

Following post-Race technical checks, 3 cars have been disqualified from the #ChineseGP 🇨🇳 

#FIA #F1

PIASTRI ROARS TO MAIDEN F1 POLE IN CHINA AS LAWSON FLOPS FOR RED BULL

© XPBimages

Oscar Piastri set a new all-time Chinese Grand Prix lap record as he bagged a maiden F1 pole position ahead of George Russell. 

The McLaren driver set a 1:30.641s to become the 107th different driver to claim pole position in F1 history and the first Australian since Daniel Ricciardo at the 2018 Mexican Grand Prix, having improved on his final Q3 lap having already held provisional P1. 

Russell ended just 0.082s slower than Piastri to snare a front-row for Mercedes, with Lando Norris aborting his final Q3 lap, having initially been 0.082s down on Piastri, eventually ending 0.152s slower.

Max Verstappen was fourth for Red Bull, whilst Sprint race winner Lewis Hamilton took fifth for Ferrari, ahead of team-mate Charles Leclerc, with Isack Hadjar the best-placed rookie in a strong seventh.

Q3

Piastri initially set the pace to hold provisional pole ahead of Norris, Verstappen and Hamilton, before shaving off 0.062s to set the 1:30.641 that brought him a maiden pole position. 

He is the first new driver to earn a pole since Kevin Magnussen at the 2022 Sao Paulo GP, and will be joined by Russell after a late stormer from the Mercedes bagged him a first front-row of the campaign. 

He split the McLarens after Norris - who was fast but on a knife-edge, aborted his final lap, with many drivers not improving throughout their final laps.

This happened to Verstappen and Hamilton, who take fourth and fifth, respectively, with Hadjar the best-placed rookie with Kimi Antonelli eighth, Yuki Tsunoda ninth and Alex Albon rounding out the top 10 for Williams.

Sainz's Shanghai struggles

Carlos Sainz's struggles to adapt to the Williams continued as he fell in 15th place, and slowest of all, over a second behind segment topper Norris. 

The Spanish racer was two-and-a-half tenths slower than team-mate Albon, who squeaked through in 10th by 0.030s, from Esteban Ocon, who was the first to fall in P11.

He was joined by Nico Hulkenberg in 12th with the Aston Martin pair of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll set to make up the seventh row of the grid in 13th and 14th.

There was a brief worry for Antonelli, who aborted his push lap, reporting the brake "magic is stuck" but the Mercedes team quickly solved the problem to allow him to post a lap good enough for P9 and earn a first Q3 berth in F1.

Up front, Norris set a new absolute all-time track record of Shanghai of a 1:30.787, eclipsing Hamilton's Sprint pole time, as Verstappen and Piastri slotted in behind. 

© XPBimages

Lawson dumped in Q1

In Q1, Lawson's weekend went from bad to worse as he qualified slowest of all for the second time in the weekend. 

The Red Bull driver's misery was compounded as Hadjar and Tsunoda took second and third in the segment, whilst he also suffered a brief stewards Investigation for failing to slow for yellow flags after a Jack Doohan spin.

With the track ramping up across the second Q1 runs, every driver aside from Verstappen took to the track once again, with Lawson then failing to improve from the danger zone as his weekend continued to show no signs of improvement. 

Elsewhere, in the flurry of late laps, Ollie Bearman was noted for impeding Lance Stroll as the Haas fell in 17th place with Stroll making it through as Pierre Gasly was the first to fall in 16th place.

They were joined by Doohan in 18th - fresh from picking up two penalty points for a collision with Gabriel Bortoleto in the Sprint - with the Brazilian making it four rookies eliminated in Q1 in 19th.

Up front, Norris - after having a scrappy segment which included one lap deleted for track limits posted the fastest time.

© Red Bull Content Pool

-

SHANGHAI CIRCUIT | CHINESE GRAND PRIX 2025

 🇨🇳 Shanghai Circuit- Track Information 

Lenght: 5.451 km

Race laps: 56

Corners: 16

Tyre compound: C2-C3-C4

👉🏼 Sprint weekend 

👉🏼 No rain expected

🔴 S1: Slow speed corners

🔵 S2: Slow T6, medium speed corners 

🟡 S3: Slow/medium speed corners, straights

#ChineseGP 🇨🇳 #f1

F1 ANNOUNCES SPRINT RACE CALENDAR FOR 2025, BELGIUM REPLACES AUSTRIA

 Brazil will host its fifth sprint race since F1 introduced the shortened-race format; Austria drops off schedule

XPBimages

Formula 1 has announced the six grand prix weekends that will feature sprint events in 2025, with Spa-Francorchamps reinstated as Austria drops off for the first time since 2021.

Five of the events on the sprint calendar remain the same from 2024's schedule; China and Miami will continue to host Saturday races, as will Austin, Brazil, and Qatar.

Belgium had previously held a sprint race in 2023, although this was omitted alongside the Azerbaijan sprint from this year's calendar as the returning Chinese Grand Prix and the Miami round were installed as new hosts.

The return of a sprint race to the Belgian Grand Prix weekend comes at the expense of the Austrian Grand Prix, which first hosted a sprint in 2022 and remained on the schedule for the next two seasons.

Having held a sprint in every season since the format was introduced in 2021, the Sao Paulo Grand Prix will continue to do so having produced a series of highly acclaimed shorter races.

Both Qatar and the United States Grand Prix were first introduced to the sprint calendar in 2023 when the number of 100km races was increased from three to six, and remain on the bill for both this season and next.

F1 has also revealed an increase in viewing figures for sprint weekends over 'normal' weekends featuring three practice sessions, underlining its decision to continue with the format.

It is expected that the current layout used in 2024, in which the sprint race takes place on Saturday prior to grand prix qualifying, will remain in place.

This had been changed for this season to allow parc ferme to open between the sprint race and qualifying proper, ensuring that teams could address any mistakes in set-up to account for the loss in practice time.

The changes ensured that the sprints became more of a standalone event, rather than directly affecting the full-length grand prix, and now does not penalise drivers for any set-up changes between the sprint race and the grand prix.

Due to the revisions to the 2025 calendar over 2024, this ensures that the China and Miami sprints are no longer in consecutive weekends, while all three sprint rounds following the summer break are also more spaced out.

2025 F1 sprint race calendar

Chinese GP - Shanghai International Circuit - 22 March

Miami GP - Miami International Autodrome - 3 May

Belgian GP - Spa-Francorchamps - 26 July

US GP - Circuit of the Americas - 18 October

Sao Paulo GP - Autodromo de Interlagos - 8 November

Qatar GP - Losail International Circuit - 29 November

- Jake Boxall-Legge

RICCARDO: NO APOLOGY FROM STROLL FOR CHINESE GP CRASH

 MIAMI - Daniel Ricciardo said Lance Stroll did not reach out to apologise for their collision behind the safety car at the Chinese Grand Prix two weeks ago.

Stroll drove into the back of Ricciardo's car as the pack slowed ahead of a restart in Shanghai.

Ricciardo said Stroll had "made his blood boil" in the immediate aftermath of the incident when he found out the Canadian had suggested he was at fault.

In the two weeks since, Ricciardo said there has been no attempt from Stroll to reach out.

When asked if he would seek Stroll out to talk about the incident, Ricciardo said: "I would say no, because I feel it's not going to go anywhere. "If he texted just saying, 'Yeah, you know, my bad', whatever... I can accept an apology, I'm not that much of an asshole. But the fact that there's not even that...

"He clearly doesn't think he did anything wrong. So I guess there's not much to say.

"Obviously, if we sit next to each other in the drivers' briefing and he wants to chat, I'm not going to ignore him or anything."

Meanwhile, Stroll refused to engage journalists when asked about the situation in a news conference on Thursday ahead of the weekend's Miami Grand Prix.

He said: "Those talks are not for this room. It's for behind closed doors," and did not comment further on the matter.

HAMILTON SECOND IN SPRINT BUT QUALIFIES 18TH IN CHINESE GP

Reuters 

 Seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton failed to make it out of the first part of qualifying for the Formula One Chinese Grand Prix, despite having finished second in Saturday's sprint.

The 39-year-old Briton had told reporters after his second place finish behind Max Verstappen in the sprint race that he had missed the feeling of lining up on the front row and forgotten what it felt like to lead a race.

The Mercedes driver did not think he would be challenging for the front row on Sunday but 18th place was far worse than expected.

"I made massive changes into qualifying," Hamilton told Sky Sports.

"(The car) wasn't too bad in some places. I couldn’t stop in turn 14.

"It is what it is."

His team mate George Russell qualified eighth on the grid for Sunday, with Verstappen taking Red Bull's 100th pole in F1.

Hamilton had said he had found out a lot about the car from the sprint and would make adjustments to the setup ahead of qualifying.

"This morning George and I had very similar cars but then this afternoon, we're trying to experiment still with the car so I went one way, a long way, and then he went the other way just to see if we could find anything," Hamilton said.

Hamilton's former Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg, the 2016 world champion, said 18th place was "seriously painful".

"He had a great lap until then," he added. "It was really unnecessary to push the limit and as a seven-time world champion that is a mistake which should be unavoidable."

- Joe Cash

VERSTAPPEN TAKES DOMINANT AT POLE AT CHINESE GRAND PRIX; PEREZ SECOND AHEAD OF ALONSO

Max Verstappen takes Red Bull's 100th pole position at the Chinese Grand Prix.

 Max Verstappen continued his run of pole positions with a dominant performance at the Chinese Grand Prix.

Verstappen claimed his sixth straight pole position, and his fifth from five this season, going 0.3s quicker than Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez.

Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso continued his stellar form by beating McLaren pair Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri to third, while Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz had to settle for sixth and seventh respectively.

Alonso said after the session: "We didn't give up, we kept pushing all the way through the lap and I set a good lap time, I think the car did improve since this morning. We made a few set-up changes, let's see tomorrow if we can translate that into points."

Red Bull has finished one-two at three of the four races so far this year and will look to do so again on Sunday.

The session was red flagged in Q2 as Sainz hit the gravel at the final corner and spun off the track, damaging his front wing. But he returned to the track for Q3 when the session resumed. 

Verstappen and Red Bull's supreme pace was revealed in the sprint race held several hours before qualifying for the grand prix.

Verstappen started that event fourth but made quick work of his rivals, before cantering away to win by 13 seconds.

The Dutchman will look to do the same in Sunday's main event.

He said: "I think after the sprint race it gave us a few more ideas about the car and I think the car worked even better in qualifying now, so definitely very happy with how qualifying went, the car was really nice to drive.

"That final lap in Q3 felt really decent and also very happy to drive here as well in the dry, the conditions were pretty good and it was a lot of fun."

Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton provided the biggest shock of the session, failing to make it past the first qualifying session, Q1.

It marked a huge turnaround in fortunes for Hamilton after qualifying second for the sprint event.

He told Sky Sports after qualifying: "We [George Russell & Hamilton] were trying to experiment still with the car, so I went one way and he went the other way -- that's what we need to do at the moment -- and yeah, it didn't work.

"18th is pretty bad. When I was making the set up changes I thought, 'it can't get any worse, surely' and it did so s--- happens."

- Nate Saunders