A slow charge at the China Grand Prix has seen Lewis Hamilton secure his first Formula One Sprint pole since joining Ferrari.
Lewis Hamilton surprised the crowd and himself by securing the position of Ferrari’s maid sprint poles in the final moments of qualifying at China’s Formula One Grand Prix.
Hamilton arrived in China last weekend after a disappointing season-opening race in Australia, where he finished 10th. He managed only the fourth fastest in opening practice on Friday, due to a slight improvement in Shanghai.
He was the top of the first section of the sprint qualifiers before Randnoris’ dominant McLaren took over in SQ2. The cancelled lap from the McLaren driver handed the chance to Hamilton following a mistake on his final lap. And the seven-time world champion took it in a stunning style with less than a minute left.
Ferrari’s British driver Lewis Hamilton drives during the first practice session of the Formula One Chinese Grand Prix at Shanghai International Circuit [Jade Gao/AFP]
Hamilton’s time was Noris’ McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri, who finished third, just 18th of a second compared to Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was fourth, while Mercedes’ George Russell closed out the top five.
“I didn’t expect that outcome, but I’m very happy and proud,” Hamilton said. “I think the last race was obviously a disaster. Obviously we knew there was more car performance, but we couldn’t extract it,” in Melbourne.
“So to come here to the truck I love, and the cars were really lively. The team did an amazing job preparing the cars.
