Max Verstappen of Red Bull has completed a Formula 1 double, yesterday taking the pole for the Chinese Grand Prix just hours after winning the first F1 sprint of the season.
Teammate Sergio Perez is to start alongside Verstappen today on the front row, with Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin and Lando Norris of McLaren on the second row.
The three-time defending F1 champion is unassailable — the sport’s best driver in the quickest car.
Photo: AFP
The Dutchman has won 22 of the past 26 GPs and three of the first four this season. Only a brake failure in Australia probably kept him from sweeping all four races.
This season he has won every pole and his start from that spot today is to be the 37th of his career. It is the 100th pole for Red Bull as a team as Verstappen chases his 58th victory.
Qualifying was run under dry conditions and similar weather is expected today.
Photo: Reuters
Verstappen leads the F1 season standings with 85 points, 15 clear of teammate Perez and 21 clear of Charles Leclerc of Ferrari.
Seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes, who dominated the sport before Verstappen, is without a win in 49 races — the last in 2021.
He is to start 18th on the grid after finishing second in the sprint.
The track, which is about 40km northwest of central Shanghai, has been a mystery for teams to solve. This is the first F1 race in China in five years, scratched from the calendar by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The biggest unknown is the racing surface, which has had a thin “seal coating” applied — described as liquid asphalt.
Tire supplier Pirelli said it had not been fully aware of the changes.
In steady rain on Friday, Verstappen said driving in those conditions was like “driving on ice.”
Adding to the intrigue, two small grass fires broke out on at the edge of the track in Friday practice. The circuit was built on a marshy area and a methane gas leak is suspected.
Shanghai-born Zhou Guanyu, the only Chinese to drive in F1, was slow in qualifying and is to start 16th on the grid for Sauber.
Taiwan kept their hopes of advancing to next year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Saturday, backed by solid pitching. Taiwan last night played against Nicaragua. As of press time, Nicaragua was leading 6-0. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan on Saturday kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen struck out one and allowed no hits, except for a hit-by-pitch over
Team Taiwan are set to face Spain in a win-or-go-home match tonight for the final berth at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), despite losing to Nicaragua 6-0 in the WBC qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Sunday. The home team’s loss on Sunday means Nicaragua finish first in the qualifier round in Taipei with a perfect 3-0 record and advances to next year’s finals. After crushing South Africa 9-1 earlier on Sunday, Spain took second place in the four-team qualifier with a 2-1 record. With a 1-2 record, Taiwan finished third while South Africa placed at the bottom with
Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) is considering reducing its pitch clock by two seconds to help players better adjust to the rules applied at the World Baseball Classic (WBC). The proposal aims to shorten the pitch timer from 25 seconds to 23 seconds with the bases empty, and from 20 seconds to 18 seconds with runners on base. Currently, the WBC mandates that pitchers deliver a pitch every 18 seconds with the bases empty and 15 seconds with runners on base. The issue was raised during a pre-season CPBL managers’ meeting on Tuesday by Rakuten Monkeys bench and batting
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