Mercedes remain the team to beat after George Russell claimed pole position for the first sprint race of the season in China.
Russell had the fastest time on the boards in every session throughout qualifying with teammate Kimi Antonelli securing second spot on the grid for the sprint.
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Russell once again left the field in his wake as he crossed the line with a time of 1:31.520, around three tenths clear of Antonelli.
But in a more worrying sign for the remaining F1 teams, the closest rival was reigning champion Lando Norris who was more than six tenths behind.
Aussie Oscar Piastri looked on track to produce an upset after setting the fastest time in the first sector, but he slipped back and will start from fifth on the grid.
Having been the most vocal critic of the regulation changes, Max Verstappen was squandering behind and will start from eighth on the grid.
His time across the line was 1.7 seconds slower than what Russell registered for pole position.
After the qualifying session came to an end, the four-time world champion did not hold back over the radio.
“I can’t. This is undriveable. We never had anything this bad,” Verstappen fumed.
His frustration after sprint qualifying came following his shot at the regulation changes while also admitting he was conflicted about his future in the sport.
“I don’t want to leave, really,” he said.
“I wish I had a bit more fun for sure, but I’m also doing other stuff that is a lot of fun.
“I get to race the Nordschleife. I hope in the coming years I can do [24 Hours of] Spa, hopefully [24 Hours of] Le Mans.
“I’m combining stuff to find other stuff that I find really fun as well.
“I have my team going on, so I have a lot of distractions at the same time — positive distractions I would call them.
“But at the same time, it’s a bit conflicting because I don’t really enjoy driving the [current F1] car, but I do enjoy working with all the people in the team and from the engine department as well.
“It’s almost like a bit of a mind — I can’t swear.
“I wish I had a bit more fun at the moment here, but at the same time I’m also very happy that the team let me do all these things.
“It’s just something that I’m looking forward to.”
China Grand Prix sprint race starting grid
1. George Russell
2. Kimi Antonelli
3. Lando Norris
4. Lewis Hamilton
5. Oscar Piastri
6. Charles Leclerc
7. Pierre Gasly
8. Max Verstappen
9. Ollie Bearman
10. Isack Hadjar
11. Nico Hulkenberg
12. Esteban Ocon
13. Liam Lawson
14. Gabriel Bortoleto
15. Arvid Lindblad
16. Franco Colapinto
17. Carlos Sainz
18. Alex Albon
19. Fernando Alonso
20. Lance Stroll
21. Valterri Bottas
22. Sergio Perez
