The sun is out and the temperature is nice and pleasant in Shanghai, with highs of 25 degrees for today's qualifying session and not one drop of rain in sight.

Those medium front tyres were put under a lot of stress in the sprint race, but now it's time for the soft compound to take over for qualifying.

First qualifying session is green in Shanghai.

Andrew Benson
BBC F1 correspondent

It just goes to show that class is permanent and Lewis Hamilton drove absolutely brilliantly in the sprint race.

The Chinese Grand Prix returned to the F1 calendar last year after a four-year due to Covid-19 restrictions.

220,000 spectators are expected to attend this weekend, the biggest crowd since its debut in 2004.

Fans are out in force to support the drivers, including China's own Zhou Guanyu, who is Ferrari's reserve driver this season.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Mastering the 5.451km circuit in Shanghai is something Lewis Hamilton is skilled in, as the seven-time world champion has six pole positions and six race victories at the Chinese Grand Prix - and a sprint pole ahead of Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri yesterday.

Last year it was Verstappen who stormed to pole by 0.322 seconds from his former Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez after winning the sprint race. Hamilton, meanwhile, had a dire day for Mercedes following a set-up change and qualified in 18th.

In Melbourne last weekend, McLaren claimed a one-two in qualifying with Lando Norris leading team-mate Piastri to a front-row lock-out.

BBC Radio 5 Live F1 commentator Harry Benjamin picks out five things to look out for at the Chinese Grand Prix, with Ferrari aiming to recover from a disappointing opening race and Red Bull's "second-seat curse" continuing.

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After his sprint victory earlier, Lewis Hamilton mentioned the headlines following his debut race in Melbourne and highlighted how critics had underestimated just how hard the switch to a new environment can be.

The 40-year-old has spoken more on the topic during the break, saying: "I’m not talking back to them or anything like that, we live in such a strange time in the world, people just love to be negative at any opportunity. Even the smallest things.

"I see certain individuals - I don’t really read the news - see people I’ve admired for years just talking out of turn, clearly some of them making uneducated guesses of what’s going on.

"[It's] just a lack of appreciation. It is not easy moving to a new team, a completely different characteristic of car. Sebastian [Vettel] and Fernando [Alonso] did a great job when they joined the team but to build long-term success takes time, and that’s what I'm trying to do, to take my time to build with this great team, there is so much potential with this team."

Will it be McLaren versus Mercedes this season? The constructors' championship are one point ahead of the Silver Arrows after today's sprint, with Red Bull sitting in third place and Ferrari jumping from seventh to fourth.

Thanks to Yuki Tsunoda's three points Racing Bulls are off the mark this season, leaving Alpine and Haas as the only teams yet to score points.

Image source, Getty Images/BBC Sport

It was a bad day in the office for Lando Norris in the sprint but a point rescued means he holds a two-point advantage over four-time world champion Max Verstappen heading into Sunday's main grand prix. George Russell in third is six behind Norris and four behind second-placed Verstappen.

Yuki Tsunoda collected his first points of the season in the 100km race and is now in 11th place in the standings.

Image source, Getty Images/BBC Sport

Andrew Benson
BBC F1 correspondent

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Lando Norris, winner in Melbourne, dropped back from sixth on the grid to ninth on the first lap with an error at Turn Six, running wide after apparently misjudging his braking behind Russell and losing three places.

The McLaren driver spent most of the race complaining he had no grip from his front tyres and could not go any faster, but pounced as Stroll himself ran into trouble in the closing stages.

Norris said: "I went in a bit hot (into Turn Six). On me. I struggled after that. I didn't have any pace. I struggle a lot in these conditions, with the front graining. It's my worst nightmare."

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Lewis Hamilton, who started on pole position and won the sprint race earlier today, his first for Ferrari: "Real, real special weekend so far. Shanghai has always been really good to me since my first race here in 2007. It is one the best new tracks they have built over the last couple of decades.

"It’s a much different view starting from pole, it is quite some time since I had that view. I got in the car early because I wanted to enjoy it.

"[It was a Challenging race, the tyre degradation was pretty huge. The last five laps I was in a pretty comfortable position, hard to put into words what it feels like, it is the sprint race not the main one but it is a good stepping stone.

"The car was feeling really good today and it’s a good platform. I don’t think Lando [Norris] got this lap yesterday and it will be difficult but we will give it our best shot."

Lewis Hamilton's smooth display in the 19-lap sprint was called a "masterclass in tyre management" by his Ferrari race engineer, after he eased his way to a first victory for the Italian team from pole position in the Shanghai sprint.

Reigning world champion Max Verstappen started second but finished third after he was overtaken by the McLaren of Oscar Piastri with only a few laps remaining.

Title leader Lando Norris rescued a point from his sprint race after dropping from sixth to ninth on the opening lap. The Briton was finally able to pass the Aston Martin of Lance Stroll late on and take eighth place and the final point.

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Hello, folks. The first of six sprint events this season is in the bag and it was Lewis Hamilton who claimed his maiden win for Ferrari. It was also the seven-time world champion's first ever win in a sprint race.

Attention now turns to one lap pace and who can put their car on pole position for tomorrow's 56-lap Chinese Grand Prix.

Qualifying gets under way at 07:00 GMT.

Commentary is live on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, BBC Sounds, at the top of this page using the 'listen live' tab and by asking BBC Sounds to play Chinese Grand Prix qualifying via most smart speakers.

Good morning again to Harry Benjamin, McLaren Formula E driver Sam Bird and BBC F1 correspondent Andrew Benson.

Andrew Benson
BBC F1 correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

Lewis Hamilton took his first win for Ferrari on only his second outing for the team with a dominant victory in the sprint race at the Chinese Grand Prix.

The seven-time champion fended off a challenge from Red Bull's Max Verstappen on the run to the first corner and controlled the race from there.

Verstappen fell back from the Ferrari after a few laps into the clutches of McLaren's Oscar Piastri, who passed the world champion with five laps to go.

McLaren's Lando Norris managed to salvage a point after a difficult race by passing Lance Stroll's Aston Martin with two laps to go.

Read the full report here

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Lando Norris says he "wasn't very good today", but the McLaren driver is still leading the drivers' championship after picking up one point in the sprint.

Norris is on 26 points, Max Verstappen in second has moved to 24 points and George Russell is third on 20 points.

Lewis Hamilton is now seventh in the standings on nine points, level with Oscar Piastri and one point ahead of Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc.

Right, get yourselves back to bed for a quick power nap and then come back and join us for build up to qualifying at 06:30 GMT. Q1 goes green at 07:00.

See you shortly!

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On being part of his new team, Lewis Hamilton continued: “I don’t feel the pressure, I know the fans and the team want to win and I know it means everything to them, but it’s one step at a time, we are not going to get ahead of ourselves.

“We’ve got to continue to push and be diligent and just remain focused and stay calm. These moments get us all excited but we will be back at our desks after this and focused on qualifying. It’s a long way, it’s a marathon not a sprint so we have just got to take our time.”

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Red Bull's Max Verstappen, who finished the sprint in third place: “I think it is positive, I tried to give it a go because I also had Oscar [Piastri] behind me pushing, so I was trying to keep in that DRS that helps a lot on the back straight.

“Unfortunately, I think the last eight laps we just didn’t have the pace like the others, so I was trying to survive out there and in P3, even the cars behind were catching up quite a lot. It was tough out there to manage the tyres but it’s OK, we will try to do better.”

On improving the car: “We will try and make it better and look into the data and see what we can improve a bit on the car but in general we just lack a bit of overall pace and naturally as you push a bit harder, you kill your tyres a bit more, so that makes it very difficult.”

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McLaren's Oscar Piastri, who overtook the Red Bull of Max Verstappen to finish second in the sprint race: "Yeah, I think it was a productive sprint, finishing second was great, I really learnt a lot.

On finishing second: "The way I got the result is an encouraging thing. We didn't have enough pace for Lewis at the front but we have a good enough idea for later today and tomorrow.

"We will see what we can to later today to start higher. I think we have good pace in the car, we've got competition this weekend. The Ferraris look pretty rapid. We've got to be on our best form."

Image source, Getty Images

Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, who secures his first win for Ferrari with victory in the sprint race: “I woke up feeling great today, the weather is beautiful here and we have this amazing crowd. The first race [in Melbourne] was difficult and I really do feel a lot of people underestimated the steep climb it is to get into a new team and become acclimatised within a team, understanding and communication, all sorts of things.

“The amount of critics and people I’ve heard yapping along the way just clearly don’t understand, maybe because they’ve never had the experience or are unaware. It felt great to come here and feel more comfortable in the car because in Melbourne I didn’t feel comfortable.

“From lap one this weekend I felt really on it, the engineers and mechanics have done a great job to really fine tune the car and it felt great today. I got a good start and there’s so much new grip on this new tarmac, it’s really hard to look after these tyres but I think everyone was struggling the same.”

Now that the sprint is done and dusted, teams and drivers need to reset (and tinker with the set-up if needed) for today's main qualifying session, which starts at 07:00 GMT.

Can Lewis Hamilton take pole position after his sprint victory? And could his follow up his shorter win with a full grand prix celebration? Tyre management will be key to success in the longer race, and Hamilton, as we, know, is the master at keeping his compound in a happy place.