Lewis Hamilton took his first sprint pole in F1 Chinese GP in a close fight against Max Verstappen, with Oscar Piastri in third.
SQ1 –
The first part in F1 Chinese GP sprint qualifying saw action straight up on the medium tyres as mandated. It was Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton on top with a 1m31.212s lap after a second round of running, ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
There was couple of impeding actions which were cleared by the FIA stewards, as replays showed drivers using the gravel at Turn 16. The replays also showed moments for both Haas’ Esteban Ocon and Red Bull’s Liam Lawson, where both were knocked out in SQ1 itself.
Alpine’s Jack Doohan (1m32.575s) was first to be out in 16th – missing SQ2 by 0.036s margin. He led teammate Pierre Gasly (1m32.640s), who had a bad first sector on his fast lap, with Ocon (1m32.651s) slotting in 18th from a surprised Nico Hulkenberg (1m32.675s) in the Sauber and Lawson (1m32.729s).
SQ2 –
The second part in F1 Chinese GP sprint qualifying saw the drivers continue on the medium compound as mandated. It was a quick run from Norris to set the pace early on with a 1m31.174s lap. He led Mercedes’ George Russell after a late push to demote McLaren’s Oscar Piastri in third.
Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso (1m31.815s) missed out on a Top 10 by 0.021s margin as he led Haas’ Oliver Bearman (1m31.978s), in a good show from the Brit in a car which is struggling. Williams’ Carlos Sainz (1m32.325s) was only 13th after complaining about balance and loose seat issues.
Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto (1m32.564s) was 14th despite the scare to start the session. He had time to set a lap unlike Visa Cash App RB’s Isack Hadjar, who lost it on his only lap at Turn 1. It left him with no lap, as the Frenchman then helped teammate Tsunoda with a tow.
SQ3 –
The final part in F1 Chinese GP sprint qualifying saw everyone switch to soft tyres. Most opted to do double lap run, while the likes of Ferrari and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen went for a single lap outing. It was McLaren leading the charge at the halfway point, but things changed then on.
Both Piastri and Norris didn’t improve the second time. The Australian did but it wasn’t enough, while the Brit aborted his lap to pit after mistake in the final part despite looking good for pole. He made a mistake on his first one as well, much like Mercedes’ Andrea Kimi Antonelli.
This allowed Hamilton (1m30.849s) to take the top spot with a 0.018s margin over Verstappen (1m30.867s). The Brit had his first F1 sprint pole with Ferrari in Chinese GP. The two demoted Piastri (1m30.929s) to third, who was only 0.080s behind the pole-sitter.
Leclerc (1m31.057s) was fourth after bit of a struggle as Russell (1m31.169s) was fifth after his second run. Norris (1m31.393s) ended up only sixth from Antonelli (1m31.738s), as Tsunoda (1m31.773s) managed to beat Williams’ Alexander Albon (1m31.852s) and Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll (1m31.982s) in the Top 10.
UPDATE: Both Stroll and Leclerc were summoned for failing to follow the race directors’ note which related driving slowly between designated safety car lines. Having reviewed the matter, the stewards cleared both the drivers of any penalty.
Stroll noted that he couldn’t stay on the time after he was overtaken by Norris, while Leclerc couldn’t adhere to the time due to the Canadian being ahead of him. The stewards ruled out any case of impeding after going through the data and video.
Leclerc: https://x.com/fia/status/1903037058890789289
Stroll: https://x.com/fia/status/1903039806331908178
On the other hand, Williams has been asked to visit the stewards on Saturday morning after it failed to provide video files of forward and rearword cameras installed, especially to monitor the front and rear wings. Here: https://x.com/fia/status/1903041620418891942
