Lewis Hamilton put in a jaw-dropping lap to claim pole position for the Chinese Grand Prix sprint race, setting a new Shanghai lap record of 1:30.849. the Ferrari’s driver who has won a record of seven times, beat Red Bull’s Max Verstappen to pole by just 0.018 seconds, with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri in P3.
Hamilton’s teammate Charles Leclerc took fourth, with Mercedes’ George Russell and McLaren’s Lando Norris rounding out the top six. Hamilton’s pole is a big boost after he lamented finishing only 10th at the season-opener in Melbourne.
“I’m a little bit in shock,” Hamilton said. “A fantastic start to the weekend getting pole for the sprint.”
Kimi Antonelli, a Mercedes rookie, RB’s Yuki Tsunoda, Williams’ Alex Albon and Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll completed the top 10.
Over at Red Bull, Liam Lawson had a hard time of things, exiting SQ1 when he exceeded track limits and will line up 20th. There were other early departures, including Pierre Gasly, Jack Doohan, Esteban Ocon and Nico Hülkenberg.
The 19-lap sprint race is on Saturday morning, followed by full Grand Prix qualifying later that day and Sunday’s race of 56 laps.
