Hamilton claims insane sprint pole for Ferrari in China

Lewis Hamilton claimed his first pole position, although only for Sprint, in Ferrari colours, finishing ahead of Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri.

F1 & MotoGP news to your inbox every day.

SQ1

Kimi Antonelli was the first out, eager to set an early lap. The young Mercedes driver said before the session that this Sprint format reminded him of his Formula 2 and FRECA days, where drivers go straight from practice into qualifying and then the race.

As the track improved, Max Verstappen was the early leader despite struggling with understeer in Turn 12. Lewis Hamilton then took P1, beating Verstappen’s time by 0.100s, even with a small lock-up. Charles Leclerc followed closely, just 0.010s behind.

Then, the McLarens joined the fight. Lando Norris set a 1:31.396, three-tenths quicker than Oscar Piastri, who had briefly led with a 1:31.723. Fernando Alonso also put in a strong lap, taking P2, just 0.398s behind Piastri and ahead of both Ferraris and Red Bulls.

Near the end, Liam Lawson had his best lap deleted for track limits at Turn 10, dropping him to P20. He was eliminated along with Nico Hulkenberg (P19), Esteban Ocon (P18), Pierre Gasly (P17), and Jack Doohan (P16). At the top, Hamilton reclaimed P1 with a 1:31.212, making a strong start to his Ferrari career and leading into SQ2.

SQ2

Max Verstappen was first to set the fastest time, but Lando Norris quickly responded, going just 0.1s slower than Sebastian Vettel’s all-time record at this track.

At the end of the session, it was heartbreak for Fernando Alonso, who missed out on SQ3 by just 0.021s after Yuki Tsunoda benefited from a tow by Isack Hadjar. Oliver Bearman, Carlos Sainz, Gabriel Bortoleto, and Hadjar were also eliminated.

Norris remained at the top until the end of SQ2, while George Russell managed to put his Mercedes in second place during the last seconds but still complained that the car is "all over the place".

At the end replayes showed Charles Leclerc being asked by hif engineer to swap positions with Lewis Hamilton. He followed but was obviously confusion about it, claiming Ferrari has 'never done that'.

SQ3

The battle for Sprint Pole was on as the final eight-minute SQ3 session began, with all 10 drivers switching to soft Pirelli tyres for their last flying laps. Oscar Piastri set the early benchmark with a 1:30.929, but a mistake from Norris left him down in third, behind George Russell. Kimi Antonelli, one of the few drivers with time for two flying laps, placed fourth after his first attempt.

Then came Lewis Hamilton, pushing his Ferrari to the limit. He stormed to provisional pole with a 1:30.846, taking the top spot with a brilliant lap. Piastri couldn’t improve, Norris pitted without finishing his, and it was down to Max Verstappen to challenge the new Ferrari signing. But Verstappen fell just short, missing out by 0.018s.

Oscar Piastri secured third place, showing McLaren’s strong pace, while Charles Leclerc slotted into fourth, ensuring both Ferraris start near the front. George Russell led the Mercedes charge in fifth, just ahead of Lando Norris, who had the pace but couldn’t complete his final lap.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli impressed in seventh, marking a solid performance for the rookie. Yuki Tsunoda put in a strong lap for Racing Bulls, securing eighth, while Alexander Albon and Lance Stroll rounded out the top ten for Williams and Aston Martin.