The Canadian intervened in the end-of-session series of soft tyre laps to leapfrog Oscar Piastri’s effort moments before the chequered flag, which nobody else had enough time to beat.
His surprise appearance at the top of the timesheets rather defined the atypical order locked in at the close of the session, as many teams opted for varying run plans to prepare for the sprint weekend in China.
A series of tentative laps opened the session as the field got to experience the Shanghai circuit for the first time in five years; home hero Zhou Guanyu reported that grip levels were low as the new bitumen layer had yet to be fully rubbered in.
The first laps shook out in the 1m40s, although Max Verstappen was tasked with the early stewardship at the top of the order after he took the times below the 100-second barrier and continued to find time on the medium tyre.
The session was then red-flagged after approximately 15 minutes, when a patch of grass at the side of the track in Turn 7 appeared to spontaneously self-immolate – leaving a trail of scorched earth in the immediate vicinity. A spark produced by a car bottoming out was believed to be the culprit.
Running resumed two minutes later when the tiny fire was exhausted, but in a poetic twist it appeared that the majority of drivers’ streak of hot laps had also been largely doused by the intermission.
Verstappen’s headline effort on the medium tyre was, however, eclipsed by the two soft-shod Ferraris; both Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz moved to the top of the order after the pause, shuffling the Red Bulls down a couple of positions.
Sainz had initially got to the headline time through posting a 1m38.382s, before Leclerc put his team-mate in the shade. The Monegasque reeled off a 1m38.130s, and followed it up with a 1m38.090s to press his advantage further.
After a series of continued race runs across the field on the medium and hard tyres, a handful of drivers started to move across the aisle to pick up softs for a series of faster times in the final 15 minutes of the session.
Logan Sargeant began the festivities but subsequently branded his 1m38.317s “terrible”, while Williams team-mate Alex Albon then bolted on softs to secure a 1m37.229s.
Sergio Perez went just under a tenth quicker than the Anglo-Thai driver, but this was little more than preamble to Verstappen’s return to the top of the order; the Dutch driver bagged a 1m36.660s.
This remained the headliner for…
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