Norris beats Hamilton to Chinese Grand Prix Sprint Qualifying pole
Alonso third ahead of Verstappen
Lando Norris dramatically beat Lewis Hamilton to pole position in Chinese Grand Prix Sprint Qualifying, with Fernando Alonso third ahead of Max Verstappen.
The McLaren driver set a stunning lap time of 1:32.773 to finish 0.651 seconds ahead of Hamilton's Mercedes.
Alonso was a further 0.148 seconds back in his Alpine, with Verstappen fourth in the Red Bull.
The sprint race result will not have any impact on the grand prix qualifying on Saturday nor the grand prix on Sunday.
Sprint qualifying will follow the same format as the traditional qualifying session, with drivers setting their lap times in Q1, Q2 and Q3.
However, the top 10 drivers in sprint qualifying will earn points towards the world championship, with the winner receiving three points, the second-placed driver receiving two points and the third-placed driver receiving one point.
The change means that everything that happens on Saturday is now effectively a race, with drivers battling for both track position and points.
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