Chinese Grand Prix Friday Breakdown

2 hours ago
2 min read

Free Practice 1

I felt like there was a lot less drama on Friday this weekend, versus last weekend, though it wasn't completely without issue. Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris did have a gentle coming together, which was noted by stewards and ultimately decided against further action. Similar to last weekend's rear lockup for Max Verstappen, this time Lewis Hamilton's rear axle locked up going into Turn 6, sending his car spinning. While the spin did not result in a crash and car damage, it did flat-spot all four of his tires, effectively wasting the set. This ruined his session, and he never quite matched the pace of teammate Charles Leclerc.

George Russell, Mercedes

Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

Lando Norris, McLaren

Oscar Piastri, McLaren

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari

Oliver Bearman, Haas

Max Verstappen, Red Bull

Nico Hulkenberg, Audi

Pierre Gasly, Alpine

Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls

Gabriel Bortoleto, Audi

Isack Hadjar, Red Bull

Esteban Ocon, Haas

Franco Colapinto, Alpine

Alex Albon, Williams

Carlos Sainz, Williams

Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin

Valtteri Bottas, Cadillac

Lance Stroll, Aston Martin

Arvid Lindblad, Racing Bulls

Sergio Perez, Cadillac

Sprint Qualifying

I don't recall anything particularly noteworthy happening during Sprint Qualifying, but we later learned that Kimi Antonelli is under investigation for impeding Lando Norris, and Pierre Gasly is similarly under investigation for impeding Max Verstappen. Norris later clarified that he was on a warm-up lap rather than a fast lap, sparing Antonelli a penalty. Gasly was also spared penalty when it was deemed that he was off of the fastest racing line when Verstappen came through. Lewis Hamilton outpaced teammate Charles Leclerc during SQ1 and SQ3, while Charles Leclerc bested Lewis Hamilton in SQ2.