Lando Norris 'saves' F1 rival from penalty after Chinese GP sprint qualifying

Lando Norris managed to prevent another F1 driver from getting a grid penalty after Chinese Grand Prix sprint qualifying - even though it ultimately cost himself in the process.

Norris qualified in an excellent third place in Shanghai, finishing ahead of Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton and behind the two Mercedes of polesitter George Russell and Kimi Antonelli.

Given the reigning champion was six tenths behind Russell and three tenths behind Antonelli, Norris effectively got the most of the McLaren in sprint qualifying.

The Brit did have to visit the stewards' room after the session, though, after the FIA noted a possible impeding infringement involving himself and Antonelli during SQ2.

As Norris entered turn one at speed, Antonelli had positioned his Mercedes on the inside of the corner, forcing the McLaren driver to back out to avoid a collision.

After hearing from both drivers and team representatives, the FIA decided to take no further action against Antonelli - because of Norris' own statement.

The FIA decision document states: "The driver of Car 1 (Lando Norris) told us that he was on a 'pushing warm-up lap' and not on a push lap.

"In other words, he was not actively seeking to set a meaningful lap time when Car 12 (Kimi Antonelli) came out of the pit lane and on to the track.

"Had Car 1 been on a push lap then, given the position of Car 12 on the track, Car 12 would have unnecessarily impeded Car 1.

"In light of the clear position taken by the driver of Car 1 that he was not impeded by Car 12 as he was not seking to set a meaningful lap time, we took no further action."

Had Antonelli received a grid penalty, it would have promoted Norris on to the front row alongside Russell.

The first race of the season in Australia was won by Russell ahead of Antonelli, with Ferrari's Charles Leclerc crossing the line eight tenths ahead of team-mate Hamilton to complete the podium.

Norris was a distant fifth, 35.5 seconds behind Hamilton, having been involved in a battle with Red Bull's Max Verstappen in the closing stages of the race.

Whether McLaren have taken a step forward in terms of race pace in China remains to be seen, with Ferrari notably more competitive during the race in Australia than they were during qualifying.

Speaking post-race in Melbourne, Norris said: "We were not even close to the cars in front us. It was difficult to understand things while racing.

"We learned things during the race. We were quite slow at the beginning, but it got better at the end compared to Max."