FACTS AND STATS: Zhou makes the top 10 on home soil as Kick Sauber reach SQ3 for the very first time

Sprint Qualifying threw up all sorts of surprises, with a late rain shower injecting some extra excitement into proceedings. In the end it was Lando Norris who grabbed pole for the Sprint, the McLaren man fending off the charge of Lewis Hamilton. Those two share an all-British front row, which is just one of a number of interesting facts and stats from Shanghai…

• Norris takes his second career Sprint pole position, having taken the last Sprint pole of 2023 and the first of 2024.

• He is the first driver other than Max Verstappen to take multiple Sprint poles.

• Hamilton’s P2 was his team’s best ever performance in a Sprint Qualifying session.

• Fernando Alonso starts third, a step up from last season when he didn’t start a single Sprint in the top five.

• Verstappen was fourth, having started in the top three in every Sprint last year.

READ MORE: Norris claims pole ahead of Hamilton during frenetic wet Sprint Qualifying in China

• Carlos Sainz was P5, the same slot the Spaniard started three of the six Sprints in 2023.

• Sergio Perez grabbed sixth, his lowest starting slot this year having been in the top five in the first four Grands Prix.

• Charles Leclerc had to settle for seventh after crashing on his out-lap at the start of SQ3.

• Oscar Piastri was P8, tying his lowest qualifying position of the year so far.

• Valtteri Bottas was ninth as both Kick Sauber cars made SQ3 – having not done so in any Sprint weekend last season.

• Zhou Guanyu grabbed P10, having only reached Q3 in regular qualifying four times since his debut at the start of 2022.

• George Russell has made Q3 in the four opening race weekends, but had to settle for P11 in the opening Sprint Qualifying of the season.

• Haas grabbed 12th and 13th – the exact same positions as the opening Sprint weekend in 2023, although the drivers are reversed.

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• Pierre Gasly managed to out-qualify his team mate over one lap for the first time this season.

• Alex Albon’s P18 starting slot is his worst of the season, having made it out of Q1 for the previous four Grand Prix weekends.

• Yuki Tsunoda is on a run of three consecutive Q3 appearances, but exited in SQ1 today.