By Camille Lebez-Leroy
Hamilton Edges Verstappen for Sprint Pole in Thrilling Qualifying Session The Sprint Qualifying battle took place on a new track surface under a blazing sun, with all the tension we might anticipate from a tight field. With lap speed dropping and tyre strategy proven to be essential, Lewis Hamilton pulled through when it was the most needed, taking pole position by only 0.018 seconds over Max Verstappen. Mercedes and Ferrari showed flexibility as McLaren’s initial power faded. Concerns remain while the Sprint grid is being formed: did McLaren make a mistake in their strategy? Can Verstappen respond when it matters the most?
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SQ1: Early Drama and a Rapid Track Evolution
The cars blast alive as the green light appears. Bortoleto, Tsunoda, Verstappen, and his teammate follow Antonelli as he leads everyone out. With temperatures of 25°C in the air and 38°C on the track, tyre management will be essential on this hot day. Mercedes decides to do a second warm-up lap despite the heat. Verstappen sets the tone ahead of Hadjar and Gasly. Although the new track surface provides a large amount of grip right away, the timings are going to drop with each lap. Hamilton was tenths of a second faster than Verstappen. Leclerc tries to do better than that, but he is just one-hundredth of his Ferrari teammate’s gap. When Piastri shows up, he blows them all away and beats Hamilton’s lap time by half of a second. Replays show that Tsunoda may have been slowed down by Russell, while Sainz, Bearman, Bortoleto, Ocon, and Tsunoda were all in the danger zone. The stewards took note of several incidents but decided not to look into them. Norris takes the lead for McLaren in the final seconds, and Hamilton sneakily finishes first, looking more at ease in the Ferrari than he was last weekend in Australia. In SQ1, Alpine was the only team that lost both of their cars and Williams suffered a bit.
Eliminated in SQ1: 16th – Jack Doohan 17th – Pierre Gasly 18th – Esteban Ocon 19th – Nico Hulkenberg 20th – Liam Lawson
SQ2: Mercedes Bounce Back, but Big Names Drop Out
Mercedes once again sends out their car first as SQ2 begins. Rumour has it that they might do another double warm-up lap. Three and tenths ahead of Verstappen, Norris fires down a 1m 31.174s. Hamilton climbs up to third place, ahead of Russell and Antonelli. Piastri eventually sets a time for P2, two-tenths behind Norris, after abandoning his first lap. The two Williams cars, the Aston Martins and the Racing Bulls represent the drivers who have decided to do a single flying lap. “The tyres are just not working, guys,” radios Russell as he struggles with the tyre temperatures. Hadjar has a major oversteer moment in the first corner, which forces him to abort his lap. Tsunoda steps up to fourth after his teammate gives up his second lap to tow him, and it pays off.
Bearman finishes in ninth, and Alonso in eighth. Russel remains in the drop zone Russell. Sainz gets eliminated and stays in the bottom five. Antonelli gets tossed into the danger zone as Albon rises to P5. Russell jumps to second after getting his tyres working properly, and Antonelli responds by taking P5 himself. As a result, Alonso and Bearman have to go out.
Eliminated in SQ2: 11th – Fernando Alonso 12th – Ollie Bearman 13th – Carlos Sainz 14th – Gabriel Bortoleto 15th – Isack Hadjar
SQ3: Hamilton Seizes Pole in a Nail-Biting Finish
With soft tyres ready for action, it’s time for the top-ten shootout. Russell, Norris, and Antonelli are out right after Piastri. Mercedes would need extra warm-up time, while McLaren might be able to complete two push laps thanks to their tyre-friendly plan. The rest of the grid chooses to stay in the pits to complete a single lap only. Piastri gains a tenth in the middle sector, although Norris and Piastri only meet in one sector. He sets a 1m 30.929s on the last corner, and Pastry cannot be matched. Antonelli loses his grip and f inishes in fourth place, but he is still in danger as the second runs come close. Traffic isn’t an issue anymore as the last runs get underway, nobody is nearby enough to tow someone else. Despite having a strong start, Norris stops his lap after a little mistake. That creates room for Hamilton, who rises to the top when it matters the most.
Russell holds his fourthplace finish, while Leclerc takes third. On a lap, Verstappen survives. He’s down in the middle sector, but an amazing final sector puts him second. Piastri and Leclerc will be in the back row, while Hamilton and Verstappen will once again be in the front row.
Final SQ3 standings: 1st – Lewis Hamilton 2nd – Max Verstappen 3rd – Oscar Piastri 4th – Charles Leclerc 5th – George Russell 6th – Lando Norris 7th – Andrea Kimi Antonelli 8th – Yuki Tsunoda 9th – Alex Albon 10th – Lance Stroll
FULL CHINESE GRAND PRIX PREVIEW
The most disappointed team of the day is probably McLaren.
Hamilton believes that they could be the biggest threat in the Sprint race because of their incredible race pace. The seven-time world champion also warns about Verstappen and his long-term speed. Because Norris ran wide on his last lap, his lap would have been disallowed for track limit, as replays show. Was McLaren’s decision to go for two push laps rather than Ferrari’s one an effective strategic move? As we approach the Sprint race, this question could come up.
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