Written by Peter Johnson
Lewis Hamilton claimed an impressive pole position for Saturday’s sprint race in China with an all-time lap record at the Shanghai International Circuit.
The Brit appeared at ease with his new machinery throughout Friday morning’s Free Practice and continued to look strong during the rapid-fire sprint qualifying session later that afternoon.
It was a disappointing session for championship leader Lando Norris, whose McLaren car is regarded up and down the paddock as the fastest at the event. The constructors’ champions hindered their performance by trying to squeeze in two laps in Sprint Qualifying 3 (SQ3), meaning that neither Norris nor teammate Oscar Piastri experienced optimal track conditions.
Norris, who topped Practice and the first two SQ sessions, locked up on his final flying lap, leaving him sixth on the grid for the sprint.
Piastri fared better and came within eight-hundredths of pole with the third-fastest time, while Hamilton’s teammate Charles Leclerc was two-tenths off the pace and will line up in fourth.
World Champion Max Verstappen, meanwhile, appeared to outperform his Red Bull machinery once again and will line up second behind Hamilton. His best lap time in SQ3 was a mere 18-thousandths of a second slower than his rival's, whose 1:30.849 was the fastest lap ever recorded in Shanghai.
This lap time eclipsed the 1:31.095 posted by Sebastian Vettel in Qualifying for the 2018 Chinese Grand Prix.
Verstappen's rookie teammate, however, faced a far more troubled afternoon. Liam Lawson suffered a shock elimination from SQ1 just a week after falling short in Q1 in Melbourne. The New Zealand driver was the slowest in the field during the opening phase of sprint qualifying, citing problems with his tyre pressures.
The other rookies fared much better after a baptism of fire for many in Melbourne. Haas’ Oliver Bearman, Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto and Alpine’s Jack Doohan were all quicker than their experienced teammates, while Andrea Kimi Antonelli qualified seventh in his Mercedes, just one-tenth and two positions behind George Russell.
Pole-sitter Hamilton, who has claimed a record six victories in China, said: “I didn’t expect that result but so happy and so proud. The last race was a disaster for us. We knew there was more performance in the car. It felt alive from lap one.
It's amazing to see the P1 [sign as you park up in the pit lane] and in the red car as well. Hopefully, we can hold on to it but the McLarens are very fast, as is Max."
The sprint format has not historically been kind to Hamilton, who will start at the front tomorrow for the first time since the inaugural sprint at Silverstone in 2021. He did, however, have one of his stronger sprint performances in Shanghai last year, finishing where he started in second place.
The sprint race takes place tomorrow at 03:00 GMT, four hours before the qualifying session for Sunday’s Chinese Grand Prix.
