“As soon as I saw the rain coming, I got excited” - Lewis Hamilton credits rain for sparking Chinese Sprint qualifying to life

Lewis Hamilton has stated that he was excited by the rain at the Shanghai International Circuit during the Sprint Qualifying session in the 2024 Chinese GP on Friday.

Hamilton displayed some amazing car control and expertise behind the wheel in the treacherous conditions in the SQ3 session to finish P2. The combination of low grip due to the surface being repainted and the rain caught many drivers out who went off-track on more than one occasion.

Lewis Hamilton was just seconds away from pole position and lost out to Lando Norris, whose lap time was reinstated by the FIA after an initial penalty for exceeding track limits. The seven-time world champion spoke about the conditions with Sky Sports and said:

"It was very tricky. Not a lot of grip for everyone but I'm so happy. As soon as I saw the rain coming I got excited because in the dry we were not quick enough, so when the rain came I thought we would have a better opportunity and that's when it came alive."

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Lewis Hamilton chimes in on his chances in the Sprint race

Lewis Hamilton stated that his result on Saturday in the Sprint race will depend on the conditions as he has to fend off the likes of Fernando Alonso, Carlos Sainz and Max Verstappen. Alonso, Verstappen and Sainz finished in P3, P4 and P5 respectively, with Sergio Perez at P6 and Charles Leclerc at P7.

As quoted by the aforementioned source, the Mercedes driver said:

"It really depends on what the conditions will be. If it's like that, we will have a chance of being somewhere up there. If it's dry, the Ferraris and Red Bulls will come by but maybe we can hold off some of the others."

Hamilton's teammate George Russell notably didn't have the same fortune as his experienced compatriot as he finished P11 and could not make it to SQ3.

On Saturday, Hamilton will look to jump Lando Norris from the line and also keep the faster Red Bulls and Ferraris behind him.