Lewis Hamilton casted all doubts aside today after qualifying on pole for the Chinese Grand Prix Sprint race. After a disappointing outing in Australia, Ferrari ahs regrouped and rallied to secure their first pole position of the season. Hamilton edged out Max Verstappen by 0.018s and broke the Shanghai International Circuit record in sprint qualifying. Hamilton was verbally surprised by the outcome on the team radio as he didn’t think the car would be running at the front given the challenges the team has faced thus far this year.
Oscar Piastri finished P3 ahead of Charles Leclerc. Lando Norris, Piastri’s McLaren counterpart settle for an uncharacteristic P6 and will have his work cut out for him come tomorrow. Liam Lawson continues to struggle with his Red Bull which raises questions as to whether the team made the correct call forgoing a promotion of Yuki Tsunoda to the parent team. T make matters worse Tsunoda qualified P8 for the sprint race. Lawson has a short leash already with Red Bull team advisor Helmut Marko already giving warnings to the driver.
Oliver Bearman was the top qualifying rookie. During sprint qualifying the F1 rookies outperformed multiple veterans on the grid which should make for some exciting on track action in the sprint and grad prix.
Sprint Race Qualifying Results
| Pos | No | Driver | Car | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Laps |
|---|
| 1 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | 1:31.212 | 1:31.384 | 1:30.849 | 15 |
| 2 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT | 1:31.916 | 1:31.521 | 1:30.867 | 12 |
| 3 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren Mercedes | 1:31.723 | 1:31.362 | 1:30.929 | 13 |
| 4 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:31.518 | 1:31.561 | 1:31.057 | 15 |
| 5 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1:31.952 | 1:31.346 | 1:31.169 | 18 |
| 6 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren Mercedes | 1:31.396 | 1:31.174 | 1:31.393 | 13 |
| 7 | 12 | Andrea Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | 1:31.999 | 1:31.475 | 1:31.738 | 17 |
| 8 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | Racing Bulls Honda RBPT | 1:32.316 | 1:31.794 | 1:31.773 | 12 |
| 9 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams Mercedes | 1:32.462 | 1:31.539 | 1:31.852 | 14 |
| 10 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes | 1:32.327 | 1:31.742 | 1:31.982 | 12 |
| 11 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes | 1:32.121 | 1:31.815 | | 8 |
| 12 | 87 | Oliver Bearman | Haas Ferrari | 1:32.269 | 1:31.978 | | 9 |
| 13 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | Williams Mercedes | 1:32.457 | 1:32.325 | | 10 |
| 14 | 5 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Kick Sauber Ferrari | 1:32.539 | 1:32.564 | | 12 |
| 15 | 6 | Isack Hadjar | Racing Bulls Honda RBPT | 1:32.171 | DNF | | 8 |
| 16 | 7 | Jack Doohan | Alpine Renault | 1:32.575 | | | 6 |
| 17 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine Renault | 1:32.640 | | | 6 |
| 18 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Haas Ferrari | 1:32.651 | | | 6 |
| 19 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Kick Sauber Ferrari | 1:32.675 | | | 6 |
| 20 | 30 | Liam Lawson | Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT | 1:32.729 | | | 5 |