Sprint Qualifying Report - Hamilton grabs sprint pole in Shanghai

Lewis Hamilton, Australian GP 2025
© Ferrari

Lewis Hamilton stormed to sprint pole position at the Chinese Grand Prix in a thrilling final qualifying shootout, narrowly beating reigning world champion Max Verstappen by just 0.018 seconds.

Hamilton, who earlier in his career dominated at Shanghai with six pole positions and six wins, looked back to his best in Friday’s sprint qualifying.

After a difficult Ferrari debut in Australia, the seven-time world champion looked comfortable throughout all three segments of qualifying and delivered a lap-record 1:30.849 to seal the top spot for tomorrows sprint race.

While Hamilton’s form came as a surprise after Ferrari’s recent struggles, Verstappen was also on strong pace, pushing Hamilton to the very edge. The Dutchman, who finished second in Melbourne, came close to denying Hamilton the pole, but ultimately had to settle for the front row alongside the Briton.

McLaren had appeared dominant early in the session, especially in SQ1 and SQ2, but couldn’t quite deliver in SQ3. Oscar Piastri ended up third, while teammate Lando Norris could only manage sixth after making mistakes on both of his flying laps.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc will line up fourth, just behind Piastri.

Mercedes had an up-and-down session. George Russell managed fifth, while rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli placed seventh, a result that may disappoint the Silver Arrows given the strong pace of their rivals. The team has shown flashes of speed but struggled to match the consistency to match the other top rivals over one lap.

The top ten was rounded out by Yuki Tsunoda in eighth for Racing Bulls, Alex Albon in ninth for Williams, and Lance Stroll in tenth for Aston Martin. Tsunoda once again impressed in the RB-Honda, continuing his string of strong qualifying performances.

Further down the grid, veteran Fernando Alonso narrowly missed out on the top ten, placing 11th for Aston Martin. Haas rookie Oliver Bearman impressed again with 12th place, outqualifying his teammate and showing strong pace throughout the session.

Carlos Sainz struggled and will start only 13th in the Williams after a lackluster final segment, while Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto and Racing Bulls rookie Isack Hadjar slotted in 14th and 15th respectively.

There was disappointment for the second Red Bull of Liam Lawson, who ended the session in 20th and last after having a lap time deleted in SQ1. He was over 1.5 seconds off Hamilton’s pace. Both Alpines also failed to progress past Q1, with Jack Doohan edging teammate Pierre Gasly for 16th. Esteban Ocon and Nico Hulkenberg were 18th and 19th, each slower than their respective rookie teammates.

With Hamilton now on pole for the sprint, all eyes will be on whether he can translate his electric qualifying form into a long-awaited win on Saturday.