Max Verstappen maintains pole position streak in Chinese GP Qualifying as Lewis Hamilton suffers unexpected early elimination | F1 News

Max Verstappen continued his dominant streak by securing his sixth pole position in a row at the Chinese Grand Prix, marking Red Bull’s 100th pole position in Formula 1. In a dramatic turn of events, Lewis Hamilton, who had a strong Sprint race finishing second, suffered a shocking early exit in the qualifying session and will start the main race from 18th on the grid.

Verstappen’s exceptional performance in dry qualifying sessions extended his pole position streak to five at the start of the 2024 season, with a career-best total of six poles overall. He led a Red Bull front-row lockout alongside his teammate Sergio Perez.

On the other hand, Hamilton’s day took a turn for the worse as he made a crucial mistake at the hairpin on his final attempt in Q1, resulting in him failing to progress to Q2. This marked Hamilton’s worst qualifying performance in two years, leaving him in 18th place on the grid.

The top 10 qualifiers for the Chinese Grand Prix included Max Verstappen, Sergio Perez, Fernando Alonso, Lando Norris, and Oscar Piastri. Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, who crashed during the session, managed to secure the seventh spot on the grid.

With Hamilton’s unexpected early exit, the stage is set for an exciting race on Sunday, live on Sky Sports F1 at 8 am. Fans can expect a thrilling battle between Verstappen and the rest of the grid as they vie for victory at the Shanghai International Circuit.