Hey so the parallels are killing me
"Your old pal Daniel picked up the fastest lap at the end as well"
"Thank you Daniel"
The web weaves itself, really
I want ppl to have chemistry with me like the way the monaco track wall has chemistry with all these drivers😪✊🏽
They just can't resist the attraction can they😔
He just keeps haunting the narrative doesn't he
#
Not only did he set the fastest lap of the race, but he actually BROKE the lap record for the CIRCUIT
Daniel Ricciardo you will forever be famous
Ft. Nico Rosberg quotes because he's commentating again (scroll to the bottom bit)
Out in Q1
P20: Logan Sargeant, who spun out and caused a yellow flag
P19: Yuki Tsunoda, whose DRS wasn't working until the last 6 minutes of Q1
"I mean, there's definitely something going on, I can't be fucking 19. Honestly, the lap was pretty good." - Yuki Tsunoda, Team radio
P18: Lewis Hamilton goes too aggressively in his final lap and exits Q1 for the first time since Jeddah 2022
"When I was making the set-up changes I was like, it can't get any worse surely- and it did." - Lewis Hamilton
P17: Kevin Magnussen
P16: Zhou Guanyu, who placed an impressive P9 for the sprint, gets knocked down and out by Charles Leclerc, to the frustration of his home city
Out in Q2
P15: Pierre Gasly, who makes it into Q2 for the first time this year
P14: Alex Albon, who has exited Q2 in every race this season
P13: Esteban Ocon
P12: Daniel Ricciardo made it into Q2, out-qualifying Tsunoda for the first time this year. He had a minor setback when he reported smoke coming from his breaks in Q1, and wasn't able to advance to Q3
P11: Lance Stroll
Q3 results
P10: Valterri Bottas, who is on an absolute roll with his pace in China, qualifying P9 during the sprint
P9: Nico Hulkenberg, also managing to pull the HAAS to decent results
P8: George Russell
P7: Carlos Sainz, who crashed in Q2 (red flag) but came back on track in time to place third fastest, apparently struggling in Q3
P6: Charles Leclerc, who struggled a bit as well during Q3
P5: Oscar Piastri
P4: Lando Norris, who got pole for the sprint only to finish an unfortunate P6
P3: Fernando Alonso, oversteering a little in his final lap and just getting knocked down by Perez
P2: Checo Perez, making yet another front row lock-out for Red Bull
P1: Max Verstappen, taking Red Bull's 100th pole position, his first pole in China, and becoming the first driver to qualify P1 in all 5 starting races of the calender since Mika Hakkinen.
Bonus Nico Rosberg Commentary
"It's a super difficult one isn't it, for Mercedes. Lewis has put them into quite the difficult position there." (About what Mercedes will do after Lewis leaves)
"Lewis, you know, the 7 time world champion. That's a mistake probably that should be avoidable."
"Lewis tends to say we have so different set-ups and such a big car difference and that's kind of his excuse this year…and he's gone again for that"
"I'm happy to appear on a statistic. I don't appear much very often anymore 'cause it's so long ago." (The statistic being previous poles in Shanghai)
"I know that because he [Fernando Alonso]'s my rival in those statistics. That's why I know his numbers."
On today's episode:
- Alex Albon's crash in FP1 and Williams's lack of a spare chassis means Logan Sergeant will sit out this weekend, as his chassis will be given to Albon. So far, he's been knocked out of Q2 (P12), with the team choosing to save the softs for the race instead of getting a final lap in.
- Lewis Hamilton claims this week's FP2 was "one of [his] worst sessions" and that he's "used to [getting eliminated in Q2] now," just missing out and placing P11 for Sunday's race.
- Daniel Ricciardo was eliminated in Q1 for the first time after his time was deleted for exceeding track limits, an unfortunate situation considering it was the lap that could've gotten him into Q2. His teammate, Yuki Tsunoda, got into Q3 and will start an impressive P8 for the race.
- Carlos Sainz manages a P2 start for today, showing a a spectacular recovery from his surgery. His teammate Leclerc, is less lucky, citing a "strange feeling in FP3" that didn't go away in Quali. "[He] struggled quite a lot with the front tires until the last run of Q3." He will start P5.
- Sergio Perez was handed a 3 grid penalty for impeding Hulkenberg, meaning he will start from P6 instead of P3. Everyone from P6-4 (Norris, Leclerc, Piastri) will all move up a spot.
- Of course, Max Verstappen tops the times and will start from pole today.