Why Hamilton was energised ahead of the Sprint qualifying session

It seemed that Lewis Hamilton was about to celebrate a pole position for Saturday's sprint race in China, but Lando Norris had a better lap reinstated. Still, the Mercedes driver will start from second on the grid. Hamilton reveals the weather forecast made him "excited" for the session.

Mercedes were downbeat after Hamilton's teammate, Russell, failed to escape SQ2. The younger Brit didn't set a good first lap and then it was too wet by the time he could try again. Hamilton also explains he found the conditions challenging.

"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," Hamilton told F1 TV.

Hamilton set to complete a rain dance

There is rain in the area for the rest of the weekend, but it's still uncertain whether that will fall during the sessions in China. In any case, Hamilton will hoping it rains on both Saturday and Sunday to stand a chance of maintaining a good result.

"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 on some of the others," Hamilton added.

At the start, Hamilton has two of his greatest rivals breathing down his neck. Fernando Alonso will start from P3 while Max Verstappen will start from fourth.