Lewis Hamilton tops the timing sheets in the first competitive session of the weekend as he takes pole position in Sprint Qualifying at the Chinese Grand Prix.
SQ1
Liam Lawson’s horror start to life at Red Bull continued in this session, as he fails to hook up a lap of any real quality, leaving him tied to the bottom of the timing sheets.
The other rookies had a much better time of things. Whilst Doohan was also knocked out in SQ1, he did outqualify teammate Gasly.
Other rookies who beat their teammates were Ollie Bearman and Gabriel Bortoleto, with each of them escaping the drop, while their teammates Esteban Ocon and Nico Hulkenberg each finished in the bottom five.
ELIMINATED
16. Jack Doohan – Alpine +0.036
17. Pierre Gasly – Alpine +0.101
18. Esteban Ocon – Haas +0.112
19. Nico Hulkenberg – Kick Sauber +0.136
20. Liam Lawson – Red Bull +0.190
SQ2
Mercedes looked as though they could have been in a spot of bother during SQ2, with both Russell and Antonelli finding themselves on the bubble of being knocked out due to others improving around them.
Fortunately for the two drivers, they were each able to make their way through in the end, and in a relatively comfortable position, with Russell taking second behind Norris, and Antonelli climbing to fifth.
ELIMINATED
11. Fernando Alonso – Aston Martin +0.021
12. Ollie Bearman – Haas +0.184
13. Carlos Sainz – Williams +0.531
14. Gabriel Bortoleto – Kick Sauber +0.770
15. Isack Hadjar – Racing Bulls NO TIME
SQ3
A McLaren set the early pace in SQ3, but it wasn’t last weekend’s race winner, with Lando Norris going four tenths slower than Oscar Piastri, with the two being split by Russell’s Mercedes. However, they had enough time to set another lap.
While McLaren seemed like the car to beat throughout the first two parts of Sprint Qualifying, Lewis Hamilton managed to pull it out of the bag to take pole position. Though the McLarens had the chance to improve, each failed to do so.
Hamilton will start the Sprint Race alongside Max Verstappen, who was only slower by 18 thousandths of a second. It is the first time the two old championship rivals have locked out the front row since the 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix, which is also the last time Hamilton had taken pole position in any form of qualifying.
Sprint Qualifying results
1. Lewis Hamilton – Ferrari 1:30.849
2. Max Verstappen – Red Bull +0.018
3. Oscar Piastri – McLaren +0.080
4. Charles Leclerc – Ferrari +0.208
5. George Russell – Mercedes +0.320
6. Lando Norris – McLaren +0.544
7. Andrea Kimi Antonelli – Mercedes +0.889
8. Yuki Tsunoda – Racing Bulls +0.924
9. Alex Albon – Williams +0.1.003
10. Lance Stroll – Aston Martin +0.133
