Shanghai, March 21 Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton put in a sensational drive to claim pole position in Sprint Qualifying at the Chinese Grand Prix, edging out Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and McLaren’s Oscar Piastri in a fiercely contested session.
Hamilton set a blistering lap time of 1m 30.849s during the crucial SQ3 phase, beating Verstappen by a mere 0.018s. Piastri and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc were also in close contention in an incredibly tight battle.
Hamilton's lap set a new record at the Shanghai International Circuit, and when informed of his achievement over team radio, the seven-time world champion reacted with disbelief. "Really?" Hamilton asked, laughing in surprise.
George Russell led Mercedes' efforts by securing fifth place, capitalising on a scruffy final segment from Lando Norris. The McLaren driver had shown strong pace earlier but made an error on his first SQ3 attempt and had to abandon his second lap.
Kimi Antonelli followed in sixth, about half a second behind his more experienced teammate Russell. Racing Bulls’ Yuki Tsunoda, Williams’ Alex Albon and Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll completed the top 10.
Fernando Alonso narrowly missed out on SQ3 in the second Aston Martin, while Haas rookie Ollie Bearman bounced back from a tough debut in Australia to claim 12th, ahead of Williams’ Carlos Sainz, Kick Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto and Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar.
Red Bull’s Liam Lawson had another frustrating outing, with his struggles from the season opener continuing. A deleted final lap due to track limits violations saw him drop to 20th and last on the Sprint grid.
Alpine endured a difficult session as well, losing both drivers in SQ1 - Jack Doohan narrowly outpacing teammate Pierre Gasly in 16th and 17th. They were joined in early elimination by Lawson, along with Haas’ Esteban Ocon and Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg.
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