Official Starting Grid for the F1 China GP Sprint Race

The 2025 F1 World Championship is going to be marked by great equality, as teams, drivers and specialists have already warned, and we have only had to wait for the second race to realise this. After the first race in Australia, McLaren was the favourite for China. We will see where they are in the standings and in the race, but in the sprint qualifying they have not been up to scratch, surprised by Verstappen, and above all by a Hamilton who was not in anyone’s predictions and has taken an incredible pole. The Englishman and the New Zealander will face each other again on the front row of the grid, sparks could fly.

Hamilton takes his first pole

The big surprise of the sprint qualifying was Lewis Hamilton’s pole. The British driver did not miss the first opportunity given to him by Ferrari to shine. It was said that Charles Leclerc was in a class of his own, that the Briton was coming to show off in red to put the finishing touch to his career, but he has already shown that the finishing touch to his career is to be world champion again and take Ferrari back to the top.

This pole is a blow for Leclerc, who has been overtaken at the first opportunity by his team-mate. After a disappointing first weekend in Australia for Ferrari, a reaction from the team was expected, but confidence was placed in the Monegasque, not in a newcomer Hamilton who is supposed to still not have got used to the settings of his new car, but there he is, having to show why he is a seven-time world champion and why Leclerc is still just an aspirant.

Verstappen and a return to the past

Max Verstappen is still determined to put Red Bull among the best, even if the Austrians don’t have a car. His second place shows the Dutchman’s hunger, and tomorrow we will return to the past, we will see a start with Hamilton on pole and Verstappen second, sparks could fly, a fight that defines the current history of F1. The two drivers who have marked the history of the last ten years of F1 will once again be fighting from the front row of the grid to see who gets to the first corner first.

Alonso and Sainz, looking for a comeback

Fernando Alonso will start eleventh, a worse result than expected, behind Lance Stroll, and will try to gain some positions that will allow him to fight for points, something complicated since in sprint races only the first 8 receive points, but a good start and a good race pace could allow us to see Alonso in the positions he can be in.

Carlos Sainz will start from thirteenth place on the grid. The Spaniard has not yet been able to get to grips with the FW47, and is being overtaken by Alexander Albon in qualifying, and we will see if this is the case in the race too. Formula 1 is unforgiving and Sainz will have to react to silence the doubts about his adaptation.

Schedule and where to watch the Sprint Race of the Chinese GP

The first sprint race of the season at the Chinese F1 Grand Prix can be followed live on DAZN, an online platform that can also be viewed on Movistar. The race will start at 4:00 am (Spanish time).

The starting grid looks like this

1. Lewis Hamilton
2. Max Verstappen
3. Oscar Piastri
4. Charles Leclerc
5. George Russell
6. Lando Norris
7. Andrea Antonelli
8. Yuki Tsunoda
9. Alexander Albon
10. Lance Stroll
11. Fernando Alonso
12. Oliver Bearman
13. Carlos Sainz
14. Gabriel Bortoleto
15. Isack Hadjar
16. Jack Doohan
17. Pierre Gasly
18. Esteban Ocon
19. Nico Hülkenberg
20. Liam Lawson