Chinese Grand Prix 2024 qualifying: Max Verstappen seals pole position for Chinese Grand Prix as he heads Sergio Perez and Fernando Alonso

Q2 – Sainz bounces back after bringing out red flags

The 15 remaining drivers returned to the track for Q2, with another queue forming in the pit lane. Leclerc shared his frustration over this on team radio as everybody tried to build a gap for themselves before hitting the circuit.

As the initial laps came in, Verstappen threw down the gauntlet by putting himself half a second clear of Norris at the front. There was drama soon afterwards, though, when Sainz suffered a spin out of the final corner, resulting in his Ferrari making contact with the barriers.

The red flags were thrown to bring a pause to proceedings. Sainz was able to get his car restarted and make his way back to the pit lane, allowing the mechanics to assess the damage to his SF-24.

Six minutes were left on the clock when Q2 was resumed at 1545 local time. Russell was keen to hit the track, having failed to set a time prior to the session stoppage, and the Mercedes man slotted into third before traffic began to build on the circuit, with Verstappen still in P1.

In the final minutes, Sainz was able to rejoin the action after repairs to his front wing and subsequently went up to P3. Bottas, meanwhile, impressively hauled himself into P10, pushing Stroll out in P11.

Ricciardo also exited in 12th, while the Alpine pair of Ocon and Gasly ended the session in 13th and 15th, with the Williams of Albon between them in 14th.

Knocked out: Stroll, Ricciardo, Ocon, Albon, Gasly