Hamilton Storms to Ferrari's First Chinese GP Sprint Pole with Track Record
Lewis Hamilton secured Sprint pole at the Chinese Grand Prix with a new track record of 1m30.849s in his second weekend as a Ferrari driver, beating Red Bull's Max Verstappen by just 0.018 seconds.
F1 car racing during Grand Prix
McLaren, despite being favorites after dominating practice, faltered in the final session. Oscar Piastri managed third place, while Lando Norris made crucial mistakes in SQ3, relegating him to sixth position.
Hamilton expressed surprise at the result, acknowledging the team's improvements following their previous disappointing race. The six-time Chinese GP winner remained cautious, suggesting McLaren still holds the overall advantage for the weekend.
The qualifying session revealed a tight competition at the top:
- Hamilton (Ferrari) - 1m30.849s
- Verstappen (Red Bull) - +0.018s
- Piastri (McLaren) - +0.08s
- Leclerc (Ferrari) - +0.208s
- Russell (Mercedes) - +0.32s
Notable performances included Andrea Kimi Antonelli placing seventh for Mercedes, while Carlos Sainz struggled to thirteenth. The session proved challenging for rookies, with Oliver Bearman securing twelfth and Liam Lawson qualifying last, citing tire temperature issues.
F1 Sprint China Results
The tight margins throughout the field suggest an exciting Sprint race ahead, with just fractions of a second separating the top contenders.