China - Lance Stroll, Aston Martin AMR24

Formula 1 News: Stroll tops only practice for Chinese GP

Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll turned a lap of 1m36.302s on soft Pirelli tires to top the only practice session for the 2024 Chinese GP in Shanghai.

Because of the limited practice time, everyone was on different strategies, some doing qualifying laps while others focussed on race setup, it was hard to tell who was really fastest at this point.

Keen to keep an extra soft set for Sprint Qualifying later on, Lando Norris, the Mercedes duo and Fernando Alonso focussed on hard tire runs.

Oscar Piastri was 2nd quick for McLaren, 0.327s behind the Canadian and just ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.

Sergio Perez wound up fourth in the other Red Bull, as Haas pair Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen also benefitted from last-gasp runs on the soft tyres to place fifth and sixth respectively, just ahead of Alpine’s Esteban Ocon.

Practice 1 Top 3
Practice 1 Top 3

A wide range of run plans were on show as practice developed, with Pirelli’s hard, medium and soft tires all making an appearance across the opening 15 minutes, before a brief pause to proceedings as marshals dealt with a small fire on the trackside grass at Turn 7.

Aston Martin brought upgrades to Japan, and those seem to have made a bit of a difference to the Silverstone based team, but we saw a bit of graining on the tires of both Alonso and Stroll.

Max Verstappen of the Netherlands driving the (1) Oracle Red Bull Racing RB20 on track during practice ahead of the F1 Chinese GP at Shanghai International Circuit on April 19, 2024 in Shanghai, China. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool

Yes, that session won’t have been fully representative with not everyone going for super low fuel runs, but even so – that Aston Martin looks fast.

Red flags, a mixed up order and plenty to play for. Today is set up perfectly ahead of Sprint Qualifying later on. Just a reminder, that session is an abridged version of Qualifying, with slightly shorter segments and mandatory tire compounds.

Note the graining on Lance Stroll’s tires – Aston Martin AMR24 Chinese GP Practice

Up Next: Sprint Race Qualifying

2024 Chinese GP Practice Results

POS NO DRIVER CAR TIME GAP LAPS
1 18 Lance Stroll Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes 1:36.302 +0.000s 21
2 81 Oscar Piastri Mclaren Mercedes 1:36.629 +0.327s 24
3 1 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing Honda 1:36.660 +0.358s 25
4 11 Sergio Perez Red Bull Racing Honda 1:36.690 +0.388s 24
5 27 Nico Hulkenberg Haas Ferrari 1:37.101 +0.799s 23
6 20 Kevin Magnussen Haas Ferrari 1:37.118 +0.816s 23
7 31 Esteban Ocon Alpine Renault 1:37.213 +0.911s 23
8 23 Alexander Albon Williams Mercedes 1:37.229 +0.927s 19
9 3 Daniel Ricciardo RB Honda 1:37.238 +0.936s 25
10 77 Valtteri Bottas Kick Sauber Ferrari 1:37.530 +1.228s 24
11 24 Zhou Guanyu Kick Sauber Ferrari 1:37.626 +1.324s 24
12 22 Yuki Tsunoda RB Honda 1:38.006 +1.704s 27
13 16 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:38.090 +1.788s 20
14 55 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1:38.284 +1.982s 19
15 2 Logan Sargeant Williams Mercedes 1:38.286 +1.984s 23
16 4 Lando Norris McLaren Mercedes 1:38.630 +2.328s 21
17 63 George Russell Mercedes 1:38.806 +2.504s 21
18 44 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:38.839 +2.537s 24
19 14 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes 1:38.936 +2.634s 22
20 10 Pierre Gasly Alpine Renault 1:39.276 +2.974s 21