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The F1 Chinese GP qualifying ended with Max Verstappen on pole position, with Sergio Perez helping to secure a Red Bull front row. The RB20 is certainly a step up in terms of qualifying prowess, and that's more than obvious this season, and Verstappen picked up his fifth consecutive pole of the season.
The Red Bull duo was followed by Fernando Alonso, who continues to defy expectations and put together impressive results in the Aston Martin, whose second driver is just not good enough. Then we had the two McLaren and the two Ferrari drivers who would be a bit disappointed looking at the gap to the front that still exists.
Lewis Hamilton had a disappointing session, while Daniel Ricciardo got one over Yuki Tsunoda. After the qualifying session for the F1 Chinese GP is done and dusted, what did we learn? Let's take a look.
2024 F1 Chinese GP Qualifying: Key Takeaways
#1 Red Bull is just too far ahead
Arguably a disappointing takeaway has to be the fact that Red Bull is just too far ahead now and there's no catching this team at the F1 Chinese GP. The only team that could come close was Ferrari, but it started the race too far behind.
Red Bull was expected to struggle on the front limited track with plenty of slow-speed sections, but by the looks of it, none of that made a difference as the team continued to roar at the front.
#2 Fernando Alonso is leveling up Aston Martin
Aston Martin started the season as the fifth fastest car of the season with a major divergence between qualifying and race pace. That divergence might exist at the F1 Chinese GP as well but we still need to wait and see. The Spaniard is placing this car in places where it maybe doesn't belong, and that should lift the morale of the team.
In a team with only a fully efficient driver, Alonso's performances are going to be the catalyst for a step forward, just like it has made since the start of the season.
#3 Lewis Hamilton's 'experiments' need to stop
Another qualifying session ended, and it was another case of Lewis Hamilton blaming the experimental setups for the result. One has to question what is the point of trying experimental setups in a car that secured a P2 finish early in the day but only Lewis can give an answer to it.
As Nico Rosberg rightly pointed out, whenever Lewis Hamilton has finished behind George Russell this season, something that's happened more often than not, he's used the experimental setup as the reason. Something like this needs to stop because if this is true, then it is illogical to experiment when the car is finishing P2 in a sprint.
#4 Ferrari and McLaren need upgrades
Ferrari and McLaren ended the session as possibly the fourth and third fastest cars over a lap and unfortunately, the gap to the front is only increasing. We're into the fifth race of the season, and by the F1 Chinese GP, multiple teams have brought new parts, and it's about time these two squads start bringing stuff and closing the gap to the front.
#5 Sauber and Haas have made a decent step
Both Sauber and Haas making it to Q3 was very impressive and it was once the two veterans dragging the results out of their cars. It will be interesting to see if they can keep a hold of these positions and score points, nonetheless a good starting point for the F1 Chinese GP.
