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- Lewis Hamilton claimed a stunning first pole at his new team Ferrari in Shanghai
- The seven-time world champion bounced back from a miserable debut for Ferrari
- Lando Norris finished in 6th, despite looking dominant until the third session
Lewis Hamilton landed the first major blow of his Ferrari swansong by taking pole position for the sprint race in China.
The seven-time world champion made up for a slow start at the opening race in Melbourne last weekend, when he finished 10th, by rolling back the years over a single lap at the Shanghai International Circuit.
To paroxysms of cheering from the home crowd, Hamilton pipped Red Bull’s defending champion Max Verstappen (the man who simply refuses to yield even in inferior equipment) by 0.018sec.
The yellow-helmeted Hamilton stood on his red car afterwards. More loud cheers as Ferrari flags were waved in the grandstands. Lewis was congratulated in the pit lane by his father Anthony. They hugged in celebration.
‘First, I want to say a big thank you to this amazing crowd we have today,’ said Hamilton, a winner of a record six grands prix in China. ‘I didn’t expect that result but I’m so happy and so proud.
‘The last race was a disaster for us and we knew there was more performance in the car but we weren’t able to extract it.
Lewis Hamilton claimed the first pole position of his Ferrari swansong after a dismal debut
The seven-time world champion celebrated the triumph with his father, Anthony Hamilton, taking pole position for the sprint race in China after finishing 10th at the Australian Grand Prix
There are eight points on offer for the winner of the 19-lap sprint, with Hamilton now on pole
‘To come here to a track I love is great. Shanghai a beautiful place, the weather has been amazing and the car came alive from lap one.
‘We made some great changes. The team did a fantastic job in the break to get the car ready.
‘I’m a bit in shock. I can’t believe we get a pole for the sprint! It puts us in good stead for the race.’
Oscar Piastri was third quickest for McLaren, Charles Leclerc fourth for Ferrari, George Russell fifth for Mercedes – and Lando Norris, the winner in Australia, only sixth for McLaren, a poor result for the title favourite following an error in both his final flying laps.
He first lost control on the exit of Turn 13 and paid for it, and then ran wide at Turn 14 on his next attempt.
The British star admitted his errors in the post-race interview after previously revealing his current car does not suit his way of driving.
‘I made a mistake and locked up in the last corner,’ said Norris. We were not quick enough and I struggled with the car. I was pushing too much. I need to back off a little bit.’
There are eight points on offer for the winner of the 19-lap sprint due for 3am GMT on Saturday morning.
The 40-year-old admitted he was in ‘shock’ after being told he had qualified in pole position
Max Verstappen (above) and Oscar Piastri joined him in the top three after positive sessions
It was another woeful day for Verstappen’s team-mate Liam Lawson. After spinning off in Melbourne, the New Zealander qualified last, the jitters setting no doubt setting in even this early in his Red Bull initiation. The team is not famed for patience.
It was a better afternoon for British rookie Ollie Bearman, who outperformed his Haas contemporary Esteban Ocon. Six places separated 19-year-old Bearman, who qualified 12th, from the Frenchman.
