Karun Chandhok has admitted that one Formula 1 team ‘surprised’ him after both of their drivers ‘outperformed expectations’ in qualifying for the Chinese GP in Shanghai.
The Jiading District saw Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez hand Red Bull a one-two start for the Chinese GP in qualifying this Saturday. It also marks the team from Milton Keynes’ 100th pole position in Formula 1. No team would eclipse the pair in Q3 as they lapped in the 1:33s.
Verstappen with a 1:33.660 and Perez with a 1:33.982 were the only drivers to post times in the 1:33s. Fernando Alonso will head the second row of the grid from Lando Norris as Aston Martin emerged as the best of the rest. Oscar Piastri put two McLarens in the top five spots.
Karun Chandhok feels McLaren ‘outperformed’ in qualifying for the Chinese GP
Norris and Piastri putting both McLaren cars in the top five in qualifying for the Chinese GP ‘surprised’ Chandhok. The Sky Sports F1 pundit did not expect the Woking squad to enjoy a better session than Ferrari did. Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz could only take P6 and P7.
The Scuderia’s deficit to Verstappen only made Ferrari’s qualifying worse. Leclerc and Sainz both finished Q3 with lap times more than six-tenths of a second slower than the Red Bull driver’s pole position run. Leclerc was even 0.124s slower than Norris in the final segment.
READ MORE: 5 unforgettable Chinese GP moments including Schumacher’s last win in F1
Norris posted a 1:34.165 in Q3 to secure a second-row start for the Chinese GP. Piastri even posted a 1:34.273 to head off the threat of the Ferrari pair. Leclerc and Sainz would only lap the Shanghai International Circuit with personal bests of 1:34.289 and 1:34.297 respectively.
Ferrari failed to improve in Q3 like McLaren or Aston Martin from Q2
Chandhok, though, expected Q3 to finish in the reverse order with Ferrari ahead of McLaren at the Chinese GP. But Norris, Piastri and Aston Martin racer Alonso all improved more in Q3 from their Q2 times than Leclerc and Sainz could manage in the SF-24 in the Jiading District.
“I’m surprised to see them ahead of the Ferraris,” Chandhok stated on Sky Sports F1 (20/04, 09:45). “I thought the Ferraris would be the best of the rest. But, actually, Fernando and the McLarens found a big chunk between Q2 and Q3.
“It was about four or five-tenths for Fernando [and] three-tenths for the two McLarens. The Ferraris only found a tenth. So, actually, I think in some ways they slightly outperformed expectations in terms of Q3. We’ll see how that plays out in the race.”
Verstappen and Perez set the pace in Q2 but it was Ferrari who ran as the best of the rest in P3 and P4. Sainz lapped the Shanghai track in 1:34.368 ahead of Leclerc’s 1:34.399 run. The best that Norris would manage was P5 as Alonso took P7 and Piastri finished Q2 down in P8.
Yet Norris jumped from a 1:34.460 in Q2 to set his 1:34.165 run in Q3, Piastri improved from a 1:34:659 to post his 1:34.273 and Alonso gained from a 1:34.652 to set a 1:34.148. Alonso set the outright best lap by a non-Red Bull driver in qualifying for the Chinese GP by 0.220s.
So, Norris will now eye his 15th career Formula 1 podium from P4 on the grid at the Chinese GP. The 24-year-old had spurned a chance to win the Sprint on Saturday after starting from pole position. But Norris will learn from how Lewis Hamilton ran the Briton wide at the start.
The post ‘Outperformed expectations’: Chandhok admits 14-podium F1 driver ‘surprised’ him at Chinese GP appeared first on F1 Oversteer.