China – Qualifying: Rosberg on pole, Wehrlein on the wall, Hamilton in last place

Lewis Hamilton knew he couldn’t be in pole position due to a five-place penalty from a gearbox change. Nevertheless, the situation is much worse for the world champion as he wasn’t able to set any time in qualifying due to problems with his energy recovery system. Therefore, he is forced into an aggressive race as he will start last on the grid. The characteristics of the Chinese circuit will make the task easier for him, with its long straights.

Q1 was also marked by the accident involving Pascal Wehrlein’s Manor. The young German driver went out on slick tires while parts of the track were still wet. He was unable to control his car and crashed into the wall. The session was therefore neutralized for a good twenty minutes to clear the car and repair the damage on the track.

The list of Q1 eliminations included Lewis Hamilton, Pascal Wehrlein, Rio Haryanto, Jolyon Palmer, Esteban Gutierrez, and Kevin Magnussen.

Q2 was also marked by a red flag, this time with just under a minute left in the session. Indeed, Nico Hülkenberg’s car lost its front right tire. This was particularly frustrating for the German driver as his time would have allowed him to sneak into Q3, which could have resulted in a good starting position on the grid. He was therefore forced to watch the final part of the session from his garage and settle for 10th place on the grid.

The misadventure of the Sahara Force India driver also trapped drivers who were improving in their last lap before the end of Q2, notably Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso. The Brazilian will therefore start 11th, just ahead of his former teammate and Jenson Button. As has been the case since the beginning of the weekend, Romain Grosjean has not been able to display the same pace as at the start of the season and must settle for 14th place. He still leads both Saubers of Felipe Nasr and Marcus Ericsson.

For Q3, everyone was expecting a real battle with the return of the previous seasons’ format. We were not disappointed. In fact, during the first stint, it was Kimi Räikkönen who set the provisional fastest time. However, the Finnish driver was unable to hold on to his lead, as Nico Rosberg managed a final lap half a second ahead of the rest of the field. The surprise came from Daniel Ricciardo, who managed to slip his Red Bull a tenth ahead of Kimi Räikkönen’s Ferrari.

He is ahead of his teammate, Sebastian Vettel. Valtteri Bottas managed to secure 5th place, ahead of Daniil Kvyat. Sergio Perez confirms Sahara Force India’s good form by achieving the 7th fastest time of the session, ahead of the two Toro Rosso cars of Carlos Sainz and Max Verstappen.