F1 | Chinese GP | Sprint Qualifying | Hamilton takes his first pole for Ferrari - Motorsport

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As teams and drivers prepare to battle for prime grid positions at the Chinese GP Sprint Qualifying, the anticipation for the first Sprint Race of the season is at an all-time high. With only one practice session before the session, the pressure is on in Shanghai.

In FP1, McLaren asserted themselves as the team to beat, with Lando Norris setting the fastest lap of 1:31.504. Ferrari showed promising signs of improvement after a difficult Australian GP, with Charles Leclerc finishing four-tenths behind in second. Oscar Piastri rounded out the top three, ahead of Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes’ George Russell. However, the session wasn’t without incident. Track conditions proved tricky, catching out several drivers, while a red flag caused by Jack Doohan’s stranded Alpine briefly halted the session.

Will McLaren’s dominance continue, or can Ferrari, Mercedes, and the rest of the grid mount a challenge under the unique Sprint format?

SQ1

The green light was on for SQ1 and the drivers were already queued at the end of the pit lane, ready to go. Kimi Antonelli was the first driver out, with his teammate just behind him. Fellow Rookie Gabriel Bortoleto was the next to head out, followed by Yuki Tsunoda and Max Verstappen. As per regulation, the medium tyres need to be used for SQ1 and SQ2.

With the track temperature up to 38 degrees Celsius, it should be easy for the drivers to warm their tyres up. The Mercedes duo opted to go for a second warm up lap while Verstappen took the top of the leaderboard. Pierre Gasly and Isack Hadjar were just behind.

Hamilton was up a tenth ahead of Verstappen, taking the top position from the Dutch driver. Leclerc had to settle for second, being one hundredth of a second behind his teammate.

Looking for redemption after a tough home race, Piastri flew into P1, half a second faster than Hamilton. Norris was not able to match his teammate after taking too much kerb on his run. The McLaren driver, slotted into fifth, after Fernando Alonso landed second in his Aston Martin.

With four minutes left, it wasn’t looking too good for Carlos Sainz, Ollie Bearman, Esteban Ocon, Tsunoda and Bortoleto. The drivers were in the danger zone, while Tsunoda was possibly impeded by George Russel. The stewards also noted Bearman and Lance Stroll for impeding.

Mistakes and misfortune

Sainz also looked for redemption, as he set a personal best in the opening sector. The chequered flag was out, and both Williams made it through. Stroll improved to ninth, putting Liam Lawson in the drop zone. Unfortunately for Lawson, he wasn’t on a lap. Bearman was now in the top 10 after a clean lap, knocking out Jack Doohan and Nico Hülkenberg.

While everyone was focused on the drop zone, Hamilton set the fastest time of the session, just as it ended. He was a tenth and a half ahead of Norris, while Leclerc was ahead of Piastri.

Eliminated in SQ1

16) Jack Doohan

17) Pierre Gasly

18) Esteban Ocon

19) Nico Hülkenberg

20) Liam Lawson

SQ2

SQ2 kicked off with the cars still fitted in the medium tyres, and it seemed like the Rookies were feeling more comfortable. Both Bearman and Bortoleto have out-qualified their teammates, while Doohan was ahead of Gasly, Hadjar and Antonelli also made it through to SQ2.

The first times slowly came in and Norris set the benchmark with a 1:31.174s. Verstappen was three and a half tenths behind, while Hamilton slid into P3.

Russell came on the radio to report problems with his tyres. Last season saw Mercedes struggle when track temperatures were up, but Antonelli was flying on fourth. After a big chunk of oversteer, Hadjar had to abandon his lap and there are still a few drivers yet to set a time.

The chequered flag was out again and saw Hadjar sacrifice his lap to help Tsunoda, putting the Japanese driver in fourth. Alex Albon moved up to fifth, but Sainz was knocked out. Russell and Antonelli saved themselves, pulling up a big lap, putting Alonso and Bearman in the drop zone.

Eliminated SQ2

11) Fernando Alonso

12) Ollie Bearman

13) Carlos Sainz

14) Gabriel Bortoleto

15) Isack Hadjar

SQ3

The top 10 shootout on soft tyres got underway at the Chinese GP Sprint Qualifying, with each driver having one set of tyres and two flying laps to make their mark. Piastri was the first to hit the track, followed by Norris, Antonelli, and Russell.

McLaren, known for being gentle on their tyres, had the advantage of potentially completing two flying laps. Meanwhile, Mercedes appeared to need a double warm-up lap. The rest of the field remained in the pits, seemingly opting for a single-lap attempt.

Piastri and Norris set identical times in the first sector, but Piastri pulled ahead by a tenth in the middle sector. The key question remained—did he have enough tyre life left for the final corners? Piastri executed the final sector perfectly, clocking a 1m30.929s, while Norris fell short, ending up third behind Russell.

Antonelli, despite some struggles through Turns 1 and 2, placed fourth but was significantly off the pace. His time looked vulnerable as the rest of the field finally emerged from the pits. With everyone spacing themselves out well, traffic was not expected to be an issue, and no driver seemed close enough to benefit from a tow.

As the session entered a one-lap shootout, Norris initially looked strong, improving on Piastri’s time. However, his tyres lost performance, forcing him to abandon the lap and pit—a major shock. Meanwhile, Hamilton surged to the top of the leaderboard!

Leclerc failed to match Hamilton’s time and slotted into third ahead of Russell, pushing Norris down to fifth. However, Verstappen was still on a lap. Despite losing time in the middle sector, a stunning final sector propelled him into second place, just 0.018s behind Hamilton.

The final classification saw Hamilton take pole, with Verstappen alongside him on the front row. Piastri and Leclerc secured third and fourth, followed by Russell and Norris. Antonelli and Tsunoda completed the fourth row, while Albon and Stroll rounded out the top 10.

With McLaren missing out on pole, reactions from the team were sure to be mixed—some elated, others disappointed.