Lewis Hamilton’s Stunning Sprint Qualifying Pole for Ferrari at Chinese GP

Lewis Hamilton achieved a surprising pole position for Saturday’s Sprint race at the Chinese Grand Prix, marking only his second race weekend with Ferrari.

After a challenging debut with the team in Melbourne last weekend where he finished tenth, Hamilton made a remarkable comeback during the Sprint Qualifying. He consistently competed at the forefront at the Shanghai circuit, a track where he has already secured a record six Grand Prix victories.

Despite McLaren being considered the favorites for the top grid position, Hamilton had different plans. The seven-time world champion not only outperformed his new teammate Charles Leclerc for the first time but also demonstrated superior speed compared to his main competitors. This secured him his first pole position in Ferrari red on only his second attempt.

It is Hamilton’s first pole position in any Formula 1 qualifying format since July 2023.

McLaren managed to secure third place with Oscar Piastri, while Lando Norris finished sixth after a mistake on his final lap, despite being an early contender.

Max Verstappen will start alongside his long-time rival Hamilton on the front row for the Sprint. Leclerc will begin in fourth place, being 0.2 seconds slower than the leading Ferrari.

Upon hearing from his race engineer Riccardo Adami that he had achieved pole position, a clearly surprised Hamilton responded with: “Really? Hahaha! Mega job. Woo!”

George Russell finished fifth for Mercedes, and he will share the third row with Norris for the Sprint race.

Kimi Antonelli claimed seventh in the second Mercedes, showing significant improvement in single-lap performance compared to his debut in Melbourne. However, he was still half a second behind Russell in SQ3.

Yuki Tsunoda of Racing Bulls, after being passed over for a Red Bull seat, qualified again in the top 10, in eighth place. Alex Albon was ninth for Williams, and Lance Stroll edged out Fernando Alonso to place one Aston Martin in the top 10.

British rookie Oliver Bearman qualified 12th, a notable improvement from Melbourne, finishing ahead of his more experienced Haas teammate Esteban Ocon.

Reaction to Hamilton’s First Ferrari Pole

Lewis Hamilton: “I’m just a bit gobsmacked, taken back by it. I didn’t know when we would get to this position. After last weekend, it was a difficult start to the week. We came here with aggression and wanting to get the car into a great place. I started out straight away with a better feeling in the car. I can’t believe we are at the front, ahead of a McLaren which has been so fast throughout winter testing, Australia and even today.”

Commentator Martin Brundle: “You could see straight away in the first four turns, Hamilton had it on point. The car was really stable and he was hustling the throttle and he got the tyres, pressures and temperatures absolutely in the window, so did Max.”

Commentator Karun Chandhok: “What a story! Lewis Hamilton is on pole! We didn’t get a fairytale moment in Melbourne but we only had to wait six days. It’s justified his move in some ways. He’s re-energised, re-invigorated, re-motivated but most importantly he’s delivered on the timesheets.”

Hamilton’s Comeback

Shanghai is the venue for the first of six Sprint events this season, which includes an additional qualifying session and a shorter race before the main Grand Prix.

Following Ferrari’s struggles in Melbourne, Hamilton mentioned on Thursday that he would try a different car setup for this weekend.

Whether due to these adjustments or the Shanghai circuit being more suited to the car, Ferrari showed improved competitiveness from the start. Leclerc was second and Hamilton fourth in the practice session before Sprint Qualifying.

As the weekend’s first competitive session progressed, Ferrari’s performance improved, with Hamilton excelling on a track where he has historically performed well.

Hamilton was fastest in SQ1, second in SQ2, and then fastest again in SQ3 as McLaren’s challenge diminished.

In the end, it was very close, with Hamilton’s pole time of 1:30.849 being just 0.018 seconds faster than Verstappen and 0.080 seconds quicker than Piastri.

“I’m hoping we can hold onto it [on Saturday] but I think the McLarens are very fast, as is Max,” Hamilton said before the Sprint race. “But we are in a good position, we will stay positive and keep our heads high, and keep pushing forwards.”

Leclerc, who outqualified Hamilton in Melbourne, was behind his teammate in all three qualifying segments this time. He expressed surprise at Ferrari’s strategy in SQ2 when he was instructed to let Hamilton pass.

Verstappen, who finished second in the previous race, also expressed surprise at his qualifying result, stating: “I’m very happy. In practice, we were quite a bit off so I’m very happy to be on the front row.”

Norris’s Setback

Despite McLaren’s apparent advantage earlier in the weekend, Lando Norris’s leading lap in SQ2 did not translate into SQ3.

Norris was slower on his first SQ3 run and then made a mistake at the hairpin turn, causing him to abandon his second attempt and finish in sixth place.

McLaren opted for two runs on soft tires in SQ3, while Ferrari and others chose only one.

“I made a mistake,” Norris admitted. “I locked up in the last corner. We just struggled a bit more now, just not quick enough, simply. Struggled a lot with the car. Just our difficulties that we’ve been struggling with showed a lot more today. So, nothing more than that, honestly. Just too many mistakes but just too difficult of a car to drive.”