A "gobsmacked" Lewis Hamilton obliterated the Shanghai lap record to take a stunning pole position on Friday for the Chinese Grand Prix sprint in only his second race weekend with Ferrari.
Hamilton, who has won a record six Chinese Grands Prix, flew round the resurfaced 5.451km Shanghai International Circuit in 1min 30.849sec.
His lap easily beat the 1:32.238 set in 2004 at the inaugural Chinese GP by fellow seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher, also in a Ferrari.
Reigning world champion Max Verstappen of Red Bull, who won both the sprint and main race in China last year, was second fastest 0.018sec behind and McLaren's Oscar Piastri was third.
Charles Leclerc was fourth as Ferrari showed a big improvement from Melbourne, where Hamilton was 10th and Leclerc eighth – the Scuderia's worst season-opening performance since 2009.
"I'm just a bit gobsmacked, taken back by it. I didn't know when we would get to this position," said Hamilton, who emerged from his car to a huge ovation from the Chinese fans.
"I started out straight away with a better feeling in the car. I can't believe we are at the front, ahead of a McLaren which has been so fast throughout winter testing, Australia and even today."
A big surprise was Melbourne winner Lando Norris, whose McLaren had been fastest by almost half a second in morning practice ahead of Leclerc, Piastri and Hamilton.
Norris was sixth after he ran wide and aborted his final flying lap.
"I made a mistake. I locked up in the last corner," admitted Norris, who complained his car was not to his liking.
"Just too many mistakes but just too difficult of a car to drive," the Englishman said.
Verstappen said he was fortunate to be second on the grid for the sprint race.
"The lap was very good. I don't even think we should have been on the front row anyway so I'm very happy to be second," said the four-time world champion.
Mercedes' George Russell was fifth with his teammate Kimi Antonelli seventh behind Norris.
Yuki Tsunoda's RB, Alex Albon's Williams and Lance Stroll's Aston Martin rounded out the top 10.
Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur said it was difficult to understand the difference between Friday's sessions.
"Sometimes McLaren had a huge gap, sometimes not so. Let's analyse it. We have a lot of work to do," Vasseur told Sky Sports F1.
"For sure it's a good feeling and gives a positive energy to the team and Lewis, but I always see the negative side."
All the cars were obligated to run medium-compound tyres in the first two sprint qualifying sessions, termed SQ1 and SQ2.
Red Bull rookie Liam Lawson had a bad start to his weekend, failing to get out of the first session after having a lap time deleted for exceeding track limits and the New Zealander will start 20th and last.
Also eliminated after the first session were the Alpine pair of Jack Doohan and Pierre Gasly, Haas' Esteban Ocon and the Sauber of Nico Hulkenberg.
In SQ2, Fernando Alonso was 11th in the Aston Martin and missed out on the top-10 shootout.
Also eliminated were Oliver Bearman's Haas, the Williams of Carlos Sainz, Gabriel Bortoleto in a Sauber and Isack Hadjar's RB.
The 19-lap sprint race will take place on Saturday morning before grand prix qualifying later the same day.
Sunday sees the Chinese Grand Prix over 56 laps.
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The design
The protective shell is covered in solar panels to make use of light and produce energy. This will drastically reduce energy loss.
More than 80 per cent of the energy consumed by the French pavilion will be produced by the sun.
The architecture will control light sources to provide a highly insulated and airtight building.
The forecourt is protected from the sun and the plants will refresh the inner spaces.
A micro water treatment plant will recycle used water to supply the irrigation for the plants and to flush the toilets. This will reduce the pavilion’s need for fresh water by 30 per cent.
Energy-saving equipment will be used for all lighting and projections.
Beyond its use for the expo, the pavilion will be easy to dismantle and reuse the material.
Some elements of the metal frame can be prefabricated in a factory.
From architects to sound technicians and construction companies, a group of experts from 10 companies have created the pavilion.
Work will begin in May; the first stone will be laid in Dubai in the second quarter of 2019.
Construction of the pavilion will take 17 months from May 2019 to September 2020.
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Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
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Ain Issa camp:
- Established in 2016
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Teams
Punjabi Legends Owners: Inzamam-ul-Haq and Intizar-ul-Haq; Key player: Misbah-ul-Haq
Pakhtoons Owners: Habib Khan and Tajuddin Khan; Key player: Shahid Afridi
Maratha Arabians Owners: Sohail Khan, Ali Tumbi, Parvez Khan; Key player: Virender Sehwag
Bangla Tigers Owners: Shirajuddin Alam, Yasin Choudhary, Neelesh Bhatnager, Anis and Rizwan Sajan; Key player: TBC
Colombo Lions Owners: Sri Lanka Cricket; Key player: TBC
Kerala Kings Owners: Hussain Adam Ali and Shafi Ul Mulk; Key player: Eoin Morgan
Venue Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Format 10 overs per side, matches last for 90 minutes
Timeline October 25: Around 120 players to be entered into a draft, to be held in Dubai; December 21: Matches start; December 24: Finals
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In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
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Who is Mohammed Al Halbousi?
The new speaker of Iraq’s parliament Mohammed Al Halbousi is the youngest person ever to serve in the role.
The 37-year-old was born in Al Garmah in Anbar and studied civil engineering in Baghdad before going into business. His development company Al Hadeed undertook reconstruction contracts rebuilding parts of Fallujah’s infrastructure.
He entered parliament in 2014 and served as a member of the human rights and finance committees until 2017. In August last year he was appointed governor of Anbar, a role in which he has struggled to secure funding to provide services in the war-damaged province and to secure the withdrawal of Shia militias. He relinquished the post when he was sworn in as a member of parliament on September 3.
He is a member of the Al Hal Sunni-based political party and the Sunni-led Coalition of Iraqi Forces, which is Iraq’s largest Sunni alliance with 37 seats from the May 12 election.
He maintains good relations with former Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki’s State of Law Coaliton, Hadi Al Amiri’s Badr Organisation and Iranian officials.
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As it stands in Pool A
1. Japan - Played 3, Won 3, Points 14
2. Ireland - Played 3, Won 2, Lost 1, Points 11
3. Scotland - Played 2, Won 1, Lost 1, Points 5
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Scotland v Russia – Wednesday, 11.15am
Ireland v Samoa – Saturday, 2.45pm
Japan v Scotland – Sunday, 2.45pm
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The specs: 2018 Audi RS5
Price, base: Dh359,200
Engine: 2.9L twin-turbo V6
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 450hp at 5,700rpm
Torque: 600Nm at 1,900rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 8.7L / 100km
