Round 3: China 2016: Qualifying

Greetings Internet, 

Well the old format of qualifying has returned following some unfavourable attempts at getting the elimination format off the ground in Australia and then again in Bahrain we have the most exciting grid of the championship thus far. To some extent that wasn't a factor of the format but due to technical difficulties beyond anyone's control. But of all the race weekends to step away from the version of qualifying that we were stumped with since the start of the year, this one proved to be far better served by the reinstated configuration. A session that featured two red flag interruptions would have caused mayhem under the elimination format, because drivers would be forced to the pits during the clean up. On the restart there isn't enough time for drivers to drive an outlap and then a flying lap before being counted out. So on balance not only do we have a highly anticipated grid for tomorrow's race, but we also had an entertaining session and the best one of 2016 - which included a battle for pole between two teams for once.

That rain which was forecast for Saturday did arrive, but only in FP3 and then again after the final part of qualifying had been completed - the track itself throughout the afternoon was dry. With the exception of two patches underneath the giant bridges over the main straight as they were shielded from the wind and water leaking from the towers continually replenished the puddles.

Q1

With the damp patches, several drivers played it safe by starting the session on the intermediates rather than a slick option, others on the other hand were feeling a little bit braver. Those taking the brave pills included the two Manor drivers - while Mercedes being less risky... although Hamilton radioed that there was a problem with his engine. It turned out to be a problem that would prove terminal for his car, demoting him to the back of the grid. Another car facing

problems was the Manor of Pascal Wehrlein who bounced off the wall on the main straight. A replay showed that Pascal hit a bump in the middle of the first puddle with the DRS open - a combination of these things caused the German to lose control of the car and visit the barrier. A red flag was thrown and a comedic display of Chinese marshals appearing to attempt to clear the puddle with a carpet commenced...

Several minutes later the session restarted and everyone decided that the intermediates were of no real use... and they also decided to avoid using DRS when crossing the first puddle (the one that wasn't cleared up at all by the carpet). Jenson Button later pointed out that the carpet truck was bizarrely parked in the run-off area at the final corner. With the back row now decided, the battle for relegation was between Renault and Sauber - Haryanto was the only running car predictably locked into the relegation zone. Nasr was the first to escape and Renault tried to respond with both cars and only Magnussen was able to cling onto a Q2 place... Until Ericsson came along and demoted the second Renault along with Gutierriez for Haas. 

Q2

Moving into the second part of qualifying and with Hamilton out, Rosberg in the remaining Mercedes tried something a little different - using the soft tyres rather than the super-softs. If Nico could make it in to Q2 on these tyres he'd gain an advantage at the start of the race with a longer stint while the others have to stop earlier. Rosberg's time on the soft tyres initially looked vulnerable to those on the faster option, but when the main contenders tried to challenge it started to look a lot safer. Ricciardo came within three tenths of Nico's time and the Ferrari pairing of Kimi and Vettel were only able to go a couple of tenths faster than the Mercedes despite having tyres which were supposed to be almost a second faster on this circuit. In the relegation zone things were close, and populated with drivers who thought they could make it into Q3 with a final run later on. McLaren were aiming for the final part of qualifying as was Felipe Massa currently in relegation after a mistake on his first lap.

But there was a slight problem, just as everyone barring Rosberg and the Ferrari's headed to the track with fresh tyres for a final charge - the session was stopped again. A stoppage that particularly annoyed Fernando Alonso on his return to the championship following his shunt in Melbourne who vented his frustration down the radio once the red flags came out. The reason behind this stoppage was Nico Hulkenberg's Force India which took to the circuit with one wheel incorrectly fitted, a wheel that obediently parted company on the exit of turn four and rolled down the road. In order to collect the car, and the errant wheel the session was stopped with just over a minute remaining, and was not restarted. This trapped the McLarens, Massa and Grosjean in relegation but was good for Toro Rosso and Force India who got both cars into Q3.

Q3

With the old format reinstated ten cars get to play for the pole position instead of eight under the less old elimination version, but only nine were able to compete as Hulkenberg's three wheeled car was unable to join the party. Of the front runners it was Rosberg the first to set a time easily brushing aside the opening times set by Perez and the Toro Rosso's and into a provisional lead. But the time on the super-soft tyre was slower than his time on the soft tyre in Q2 and was naturally vulnerable to attack from the two Ferraris. An attack they certainly capitalised on, initially only with Raikkonen's car, and with Nico vulnerable the Finn found more pace and took provisional pole. Vettel on the other hand was holding back for a single flying run at the end of the session.

When the second runs started it was Daniel Ricciardo who stole the limelight by driving the underpowered Red Bull to provisional pole with an exceptional lap dropping Nico off the front row. Vettel couldn't compete with his former team-mate's lap nor his current team-mate's one but was able to out-pace Rosberg. Raikkonen also failed to improve as both Ferrari's out braked themselves in the final hairpin after setting sector times which could have challenged for pole. After being dumped down to 4th place, Rosberg had plenty of room for improvement. Nico was able to make ground when others didn't quite get the job done and found a sizable chunk of time to retake pole position meaning that Mercedes bookend the entire field.

The Bonus Points Championship

The first conventional qualifying session of the year becomes deserving of all the bonus points unlike the mess that was the Australian qualifying session and the winners from this part of the weekend are as follows.

• 10pts - Daniel Ricciardo - A brilliant front row performance for the Red Bull with a lap no-one saw coming 
• 8pts - Marcus Ericsson - A very impressive lap in Q3 to get out of relegation move a long way into safety 
• 6pts - Kimi Raikkonen - The lead Ferrari driver for once after being largely shadowed by Vettel recently
• 5pts - Nico Rosberg - A clever Q2 strategy could make the race very easy for Nico... depending on how the start works out
• 4pts - Valtteri Bottas - After a slow start to the weekend for Williams, Valtteri has made a good job of qualifying - add a good start and another car in the mix at turn one.
• 3pts - Sergio Perez - A strong Q3 showing plus an impressive save crossing the same bump that fired Wehrlein into the wall.
• 2pts - Haryanto/Wehrlein - Get a couple of points each for being the first drivers to try slicks on in the first part of qualifying when the puddles were biggest. It just didn't work for Pascal
• 1pt - Hulkenberg's Left Front Wheel - Stayed off the racing line and tidied itself up after parting company with the car

• -1pt - The Chinese Marshals - The  approach of drying the track with a carpet tied to a pick-up truck was less than ideal and a terrible waste of time. Especially considering that it was a combination of a bump, the damp and the DRS which caused Wehrlein's crash.

Looking to Tomorrow

The Chinese GP grid is set up for a very entertaining race, we have a Mercedes off the back of the pack and one at the front which may be vulnerable off the line on harder tyres than those around him. So the opening stint of the race could be very interesting - a quick start for Ferrari or Bottas could lead to six cars all fighting over the lead into the first corner. After this strategy becomes a big factor - Rosberg will be running longer and might find himself driving off into the distance and on for a sixth straight win. But I doubt it is going to be quite as simple as that, in fact I hope it isn't going to be as simple as all that either.