Mark Gallagher
BBC Radio 5 live Formula 1 analyst

"That was a classic aquaplaning moment, lost control of the car and slammed into the barrier. He did try to continue but realised there was no point, too much damage and the session is red flagged as a result."

Red flagpublished at 08:04 British Summer Time 16 April 2016

08:04 BST 16 April 2016

Lewis Hamilton may say it is too dry but there are puddles and Pascal Wehrlein flies through one on the super softs, loses grip and spins into a barrier.

Damage to his Manor but Wehrlein is OK and able to climb out.

Rio Haryanto had gone out on super softs and that is evidently the right choice.

"It is dry," reports Lewis Hamilton and in he goes to bin the inters.

Lewis Hamilton is overtaken by Rio Haryanto.

You know what? I'm going to say that again.

Lewis Hamilton is overtaken by Rio Haryanto.

If only it was in a race.

Away. We. Go.

The Mercedes are straight out, intermediate boots on. It looks like most of their rivals are doing likewise.

Mercedes non-executive chairman Niki Lauda: “I hope pole position but the Ferraris are quick. Lewis is five places back so he has to go for pole. I think Ferrari are 0.2-0.3secs closer than in the last race. But if we make no mistakes, the Mercedes cars should still be in the lead.”

Mark Gallagher
BBC Radio 5 live Formula 1 analyst

"It isn't that damp now and the very fast moving weather means the rain earlier has moved way. There is a 30% chance of rain expected, which is much less than we had expected this morning."

BBC Radio 5 live sports extra

The drivers are climbing into their cars which can mean only one thing - qualifying is coming right up.

Five minutes to go. Listen to 5 live sports extra commentary right now on this page.

Image source, Getty Images

Kimi Raikkonen, who won the Chinese Grand Prix in 2007, has never been on pole in Shanghai.

Could this be his year?

If, like me, you need to squint to read the banner above, it says "Finally 'REAL' qualifying is back!"

Yes Sharon! Loving your work here.

Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer

"It was only a matter of time and sure enough engine politics are beginning to raise their ugly head again this season. 

"The manufacturers are working on a package of changes for the end of April to address four concerns of governing body the FIA - cost to customers, guaranteed supply, performance convergence and improved noise.

"Red Bull team boss Christian Horner, who for a time last year was struggling to secure an engine for this season as a result of his team’s fall-out with Renault, said: 'We are not anywhere near having met any of those criteria.' 

"Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolff disagreed: 'It’s happening. We have offered much cheaper engines and met the targets we set ourselves. We have structured an obligation to supply, which we don’t like particularly but it’s to avoid the Red Bull situation. It is all on paper but as usual not everyone is happy. He (Horner) isn’t happy.'

Image source, Getty Images

Fifty-eight percent of Chinese GPs have been won from pole position. Lewis Hamilton holds the record number of pole positions in China with five.

Whatever he does today, the highest he can start tomorrow's race is from sixth after he was hit with a grid-place penalty for a gearbox change.

The last time he started the race sixth was in 2010. He went on to finish second., external

Here's a reminder of how old school qualifying works: 

• Q1: Lasts for 18 minutes with the six slowest drivers eliminated at the end.

• Q2: The 16 remaining cars run in a 15-minute session, at the end of which the slowest six are eliminated from qualifying, leaving 10 to progress to Q3. 
• Q3: The top 10 shoot-out. A 12-minute session takes place to decide the pole position and the starting order for the top ten grid places.

Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer

"If not everyone was convinced Ferrari could turn their Friday practice pace into Mercedes-challenging speed in qualifying, at least one man did seem to be. And he was the world champion. 

"'The Ferraris are particularly strong,' Lewis Hamilton said yesterday, 'so I think we’re going to have a fight this weekend. It seems like we’re going to have a bigger fight than we’ve ever had, so it’ll be good for the fans.' 

"Hamilton was struggling with balance and locking brakes on Friday and had a couple of offs and he was a sniff off team-mate Nico Rosberg. 

"Sebastian Vettel said what he always does on Friday, almost word for word, and Raikkonen said the Ferrari was only quick on the super-soft."