Max starts from P5 in China: 'Ferrari is really fast'

Published on 14 April 2018 by Raymond Snip

Max Verstappen will start the Chinese Grand Prix from the third row. During qualifying, the young Dutchman, driving for Aston Martin Red Bull Racing, achieved a fifth fastest time, while Sebastian Vettel took pole position. At the Shanghai International Circuit, Kimi Raikkonen put his Ferrari on P2 and Valtteri Bottas was third in his Mercedes.

"We didn’t do so bad compared to Ferrari and Mercedes", Max said after the qualifying session. "Ferrari is too fast, they have found a switch for the straights, because they are really fast, even in the corners. They are doing really well this weekend."

Looking ahead to the race, Max continues: "During the race we have to get closer with regard to top speed. Hopefully that will help us a bit. We have to remain positive, there’s a lot that can happen. Even with the strategy, it is still possible. Whether we choose for a one or two stopper is not yet been decided."

Before the start of Q1, the Red Bull Racing team is still working hard to replace the entire power unit in Daniel Ricciardo's car, after the turbo problems earlier in the day. It’s not certain whether we are going to see the Australian in this session. When the lights go green, the wind is blowing and at 12°C, it is still fairly cold in Shanghai and there is a 20% probability of rain.

Sergei Sirotkin, in his Williams, is the first driver to appear on track, but he returns to the pits after only one lap. The same goes for his teammate Lance Stroll. After six minutes, Kimi Raikkonen is on P1 with the Mercedes from Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton respectively on P2 and P3. At that moment Max is still in the garage.

After eight minutes Max hits the track for his first laps. At the same time, Ricciardo gets into his RB14. The first flying lap on ultra-soft tires puts Max in P4, in between the two Mercedes. A little later Charles Leclerc spins at the beginning of the start /finish straight. The Monaco native is able to continue.

With a few minutes to go, Ricciardo makes his appearance on track. The top-eight remains inside the garage, the rest is out for a second run. Ricciardo takes P13 in his first and only flying lap. After Q1 Sergei Sirotkin, Pierre Gasly, Lance Stroll, Leclerc and Marcus Ericsson are done.

Q2 starts with both Mercedes cars on track. Both cars from McLaren and both Ferrari's follow. Shortly thereafter also both Red Bulls are on the track to set a fast lap. Mercedes and Ferrari chose to send both drivers out on the soft tires. Both Red Bulls are on the ultra's. After the first run, the ranking is: Raikkonen, Vettel, Ricciardo, Max, Bottas and Hamilton. The Mercedes-Benz make an extra lap in their first run which puts Bottas in front of Max.

In the second run we see the Ferrari's switch to the ultra soft tires, while the Mercedes drivers stick to the soft tires. Both Red Bull Racing drivers stay inside. Hamilton jumps to P1 while both Ferraris interrupt their lap. At the end of Q2, Max ends up at P8 and Kevin Magnussen, Esteban Ocon, Fernando Alonso, Stoffel Vandoorne and Brendon Hartley can hit the shower. Both Ferraris and Mercedes will start on the soft tire tomorrow, due to the tire choice in Q2.

Nico Hülkenberg is the first driver to appear on track, shortly after, Roman Grosjean follows his example. Not much later, all drivers are on the track with the exception of Sergio Perez. Raikkonen is the first to set a time which Vettel has no answer to. The same goes for the rest of the drivers, and after the first run Ferrari owns the front row, the second row is for Mercedes and the third for Red Bull Racing. Max settled on P5 in front of Ricciardo.

Hülkenberg and Bottas are the first to start their final run. Carlos Sainz and Max are the last ones to join. Bottas does not improve and stays third while Hamilton returns to the pits and remains fourth. Raikkonen improves his time but his teammate Vettel is faster and takes P1. Ricciardo does not improve his time and Max does, but he doesn’t improve his position. P5 for Max.

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Results qualifying China: