China – Qualifying: Hamilton Dominates Red Bull, Grosjean in Q3

The conditions have worsened since free practice 3 with a lot of water on the track. The last place will be reserved for Pastor Maldonado, his car being completely dismantled in the garage.

Q1: The Caterham and Marussia drivers hit the track as soon as the green light, but these two teams make a different tire choice, Caterham on intermediates and Marussia on wets. All the drivers quickly take to the track before the threat of worsening conditions, and the wet tires seem the most suitable for the conditions, as proven by Nico Rosberg who sets the fastest time ahead of Lewis Hamilton and the two Red Bull drivers.

Lap times are improving, and Fernando Alonso takes advantage to set the 3rd fastest time, while Sebastian Vettel goes slightly off track at the last corner, but that doesn’t prevent him from improving on the next lap. The battle for Q3 appears to be between Sauber and Toro Rosso, while the Caterham and Marussia drivers re-enter on intermediates to try to advance to Q2. At the top, it’s Sebastian Vettel who improves to set the fastest time in 1:55.926. Kamui Kobayashi and Jules Bianchi fail in their attempt to reach Q2, while both Sauber drivers push Jean-Eric Vergne to 17th place. The Frenchman manages to set the 9th fastest time, while Lewis Hamilton improves Sebastian Vettel’s time by four tenths. Romain Grosjean is saved by a small mistake from Esteban Gutierrez, which prevents the Mexican from improving and eliminating the Lotus driver.

Eliminated in Q1: Gutierrez, Kobayashi, Bianchi, Ericsson, Chilton, and Maldonado

Q2 the drivers set off this time on intermediate tires, Sutil first with a 1:58:188. But his time is beaten by all the following drivers, with Lewis Hamilton taking the lead with a nice second ahead. Next are Nico Rosberg, Daniel Ricciardo, and Fernando Alonso, the Spaniard’s Ferrari not as far from the Mercedes under these wet conditions.

At mid-session, Sebastian Vettel manages to position himself between the two Mercedes drivers, while Romain Grosjean seems to hold a place in the top 10 with the 8th time. The drivers return to the pits to fit a second set of intermediate tires, which starts a new wave of improvements. There’s a minor battle on the track between Kimi Räikkönen and Felipe Massa, resulting in mutual time loss, while Jenson Button and Daniil Kvyat are in danger. Romain Grosjean records the 6th time, which should allow him to reach Lotus’s first Q3 of the season. Nico Hülkenberg positions himself just behind him, before Jean-Eric Vergne slots in between the two drivers. Then it’s Valtteri Bottas’s turn to take the sixth position, while Felipe Massa is only in 9th.

The German from Force India makes a mistake in the last corner and finds himself under pressure. Jenson Button misses out on 12th place, and will be next to Kimi Räikkönen on the grid: the Ferrari driver is clearly not doing well this weekend.

Eliminated in Q2: Räikkönen, Button, Kvyat, Sutil, Magnussen, and Pérez

Q3 Sebastian Vettel is the first driver to go out for the 12 minutes of Q3, ahead of Nico Rosberg and Fernando Alonso. These three drivers are on intermediate tires, despite the intensifying rain. Only Valtteri Bottas is using the extreme wet tires. The Red Bull driver sets the reference time at 1:54:981, a time not beaten by Nico Rosberg, while Fernando Alonso is quite far behind. The German’s time is easily beaten by Lewis Hamilton, creating a significant gap. Romain Grosjean has to return to the pits due to a fuel shortage problem, abandoning his first lap.

Mid-session: Hamilton, Vettel, Rosberg, Ricciardo, Alonso, Massa, Bottas, Vergne, Hülkenberg.

Nico Hülkenberg is on extreme wet tires and changes them for intermediates for a second stint. Lap times are dropping, as are records in various sectors: Mercedes and Red Bull drivers are engaged in a real battle. Nico Rosberg was on pace for a very good lap but made a mistake at the hairpin of the long straight, yet he has one lap left. Meanwhile, Daniel Ricciardo sets the second fastest time, while Lewis Hamilton improves, leaving all competition more than a second behind. The Englishman hits hard and drives the point home. Sebastian Vettel is the second driver under the checkered flag: he does not improve while Nico Rosberg spins at the last turn. The second Red Bull driver, although very fast in the second sector, finishes more than half a second behind Lewis Hamilton.

Fernando Alonso is therefore the best of the rest ahead of the two Williams drivers, Nico Hülkenberg, Jean-Eric Vergne, and Romain Grosjean.

The battle promises to be tight at the first corner, with Daniel Ricciardo alongside Lewis Hamilton while Sebastian Vettel will be a few meters ahead of Nico Rosberg.