Lando Norris mastered a rain-hit qualifying to secure pole position for Saturday바카라s sprint race at the Chinese Grand Prix. (More Motorsport News)
In soaking conditions at the Shanghai International Circuit, Norris finished 1.2 seconds clear of Mercedes바카라 Lewis Hamilton in an all-British front row for Saturday바카라s 19-lap dash.
Hamilton looked to have taken top spot after Norris바카라 best lap was deleted by the stewards only for it then to be reinstated.
바카라Simply beautiful,바카라 said Norris after he was informed of his pole. Aston Martin바카라s Fernando Alonso qualified third, one place ahead of triple world champion Max Verstappen, who ran off the road on numerous occasions.
Rain threatened throughout qualifying and finally arrived for the decisive Q3 session.
Charles Leclerc was the first to fall foul of the torrid conditions when he lost control of his Ferrari. The Monegasque pirouetted through the gravel before hitting the wall at Turn 2 and braking the front wing on his Ferrari.
Verstappen also made an error, falling off the road in his first attempt, before then running through the sandtrap at the final corner. The driver, who has dominated Formula One, had to settle for fourth.
Hamilton has had a season to forget 바카라 statistically, at least, the worst of his career so far. But for a moment here, he topped the time charts only to see Norris edge him out with an impressive lap.
Norris바카라 time was initially chalked off for exceeding track limits but after the British driver, 23, complained he 바카라didn바카라t go off anywhere바카라, the stewards u-turned on their decision.
바카라It was tricky,바카라 said Norris. 바카라You always know it is going to be in a session like this.
바카라You only have three laps. The first two I aborted so that last lap was all or nothing.
바카라I was nervous because I made a few mistakes, but you have to risk a lot and push and I was quick.
바카라I got a good final lap in for pole so I am happy, sad it is not real qualifying, but it is good enough. It gets your heart going and it is what we wanted.바카라
Mercedes바카라 wretched run looked set to continue after George Russell was eliminated in 11th but when the rain arrived, Hamilton looked at home to secure his spot on the front row.
Elsewhere, Carlos Sainz finished fifth for Ferrari ahead of Red Bull바카라s Sergio Perez with Leclerc seventh.
F1 is back in China following a five-year absence and home favourite Zhou Guanyu sent the home crowd happy after he qualified 10th.
Earlier, the start of Q2 was delayed by several minutes following a second bizarre track fire of the day.
Practice was red-flagged when a patch of grass next to Turn 7 caught fire. And there was a similar incident in qualifying, this time at Turn 5.
Although both blazes were quickly extinguished, the incidents 바카라 which the FIA believe were caused by sparks flying off the drivers바카라 cars 바카라 will be a concern for the sport바카라s bosses.
Saturday바카라s sprint takes place at 11am local time (04:00 BST) ahead of qualifying for Sunday바카라s main event.
