Lewis Hamilton achieves the first pole position in the sprint as a Ferrari driver, against all odds, ahead of Verstappen, who was one tenth of a second behind the Englishman. Mclaren, who started as favorites, could not make it to the top. Carlos Sainz and Fernando Alonso disappoint again and are left out of Q3.
Hamilton and Ferrari back on top
We only had to wait for the second race of the Formula 1 World Championship to see Hamilton back at the top of the rankings, in the sprint, but it is a bang on the table for the seven-time world champion, who beats his team-mate, beats Verstappen, and beats the McLarens, who started as clear favourites to take pole in the sprint.
A hard blow for Leclerc: this is the first GP where the Ferraris seem to be working, and at the first opportunity, he has been overtaken by the British driver, a hard blow for the Monegasque, who sees his team-mate beating him. On the pole lap, the Briton was two tenths of a second ahead, a big difference that showed Hamilton’s skill in driving on a windy circuit.
Alonso and Sainz, out of Q3
Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz have been left out of the top 10, a new disappointment for the Spanish drivers, especially because their respective teammates have been among the top 10. The case of Fernando Alonso has been surprising, surpassed by Lance Stroll, who has made it into the best, and after an exciting first lap in Q1, he was left in eleventh place. Lance Stroll set the worst time in Q3, so they will start in tenth place, one ahead of the Asturian driver.
The Madrid driver has also failed to tame the FW47. He has only been able to qualify in 13th place, well below Alexander Albon, who made it into the final round by setting the seventh fastest time in Q3. In Q3, he was unable to improve on his previous times, and will finally start in ninth place, four ahead of Carlo Sainz.
Mclaren disappoints
After the first GP of Australia, McLaren started as the big favorite for the GP of China, but their drivers have been outdone. Lando Norris, who made important mistakes during Q3, could only set the sixth best time of the day, something totally unexpected before qualifying. Oscar Piastri did better, but not as well as expected, and only managed to take third place in the classification, a result that is surprising given the superiority shown.
It was a mixed day for Red Bull.
Verstappen managed to set the second fastest time, almost taking pole, just 28 thousandths of a second behind Lewis Hamilton, but once again made it clear that he is the best driver on the grid. It doesn’t matter how Red Bull is, that it doesn’t have the best car, because he is going to put it among the best. You only have to look at the result of his team-mate.
Liam Lawson had another day to forget, setting the worst time in qualifying. The New Zealander is feeling the pressure of a team as competitive as Red Bull and the shadow of Verstappen looms large. We will see if he is capable of doing well in the sprint race and if he is capable of improving for Sunday’s qualifying, but seeing his teammate’s second place so far shows that he is not up to scratch.
This is how the Sprint Qualifying for the Chinese GP has gone
- Lewis Hamilton
- Max Verstappen
- Oscar Piastri
- Charles Leclerc
- George Russell
- Lando Norris
- Andrea Antonelli
- Yuki Tsunoda
- Alexander Albon
- Lance Stroll
- Fernando Alonso
- Oliver Bearman
- Carlos Sainz
- Gabriel Bortoleto
- Isack Hadjar
- Jack Doohan
- Pierre Gasly
- Esteban Ocon
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Liam Lawson