New Delhi: Lewis Hamilton took his first pole position for Ferrari in the first sprint race of the year and will be on the line, along with Max Verstappen on the front row at Shanghai International Circuit on Saturday. The British driver had a forgettable outing in Australia in the opening week of the Formula One. Ferrari’s cars looked much less paced than the top four teams.
McLaren weren’t much slower either, with the seconds counting down, Land Norris drove ito the pits and Oscar Piastri couldn’t beat the Ferrari driver by just 0.08 seconds off in P3. The Australian driver will be placed in the second row besides Ferrari’s second driver Charles Leclerc, with Norris in P6 for Saturday’s sprint race.
LEWIS HAMILTON TAKES #F1SPRINT POLE 🤩
Wow! #F1 #ChineseGP pic.twitter.com/iPRaB1nHqg
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 21, 2025
The result is a repeat of the 2021 British Grand Prix, the first F1 sprint race, where Hamilton started P1 while Verstappen was lined alongside him. The Dutch driver had come out on top with Hamilton, who was then at Mercedes and finished 1.43 seconds behind Red Bull’s driver.
Hamilton and Verstappen were neck and neck in the championship race, although Red Bull are struggling this season with their pace. Verstappen himself has said that the team didn’t deserve to be in the front row, and it would be a task to even keep McLarens behind during the sprint race, with both Norris and Piastri were quick until the final runs.
Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari’s return to track
After a poor start in Australia, for both Hamilton and Ferrari, it is some good news at the start of their partnership, as he becomes more important in Maranello fabric. Hamilton’s arrival at the prancing horse team had caused a lot of hype and his initial outing was poor with the team, qualifying eighth and finishing 10th in the race.
Hamilton though felt that there was much more pace in the car and felt that there needed to be a series of changes to the setup of the car to improve their performance in the China race weekend.
While it isn’t the official pole position for the race, Hamilton was clearly overjoyed when engineer Riccardo Adami informed him of his position in P1. Hamilton noted later on that it was unbelievable to get the pole position. It was a session where Hamilton could make the ultimate difference with the other fellow drivers.
Hamilton was happy that they were able to bring the best out of the car. The 40-year-old has noted that the car came alive in Lap one itself and the weather was perfect for the race. While it isn’t the race yet, Hamilton felt there was still work needed for Saturday.
Lewis Hamilton takes his first pole position with Ferrari in the Chinese GP sprint, after a forgettable outing during the season’s first race in Australia, where the 40-year-old finished 10th. Sports Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
