"Gobsmacked" Hamilton clinches pole for Shanghai Sprint Race

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After a seemingly disastrous start to their 2025 season, Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton has secured Pole position coming into the Shanghai Sprint race this weekend, besting Red Bull's Max Verstappen and McLaren's Oscar Piastri by less than .02 seconds.

Determined to redeem himself after a P10 finish in his Ferrari debut in Melbourne, Hamilton showcased great pace and exceptional consistency throughout the qualifying session in Shanghai on Friday, proving that 7-Time World Champ should not be counted out this season. While it's true that Hamilton is still learning the ins-and-outs of the Ferrari SF-25, this is only the 2nd time he's qualified pole for a sprint race in his career.

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Hamilton performed beautifully during the first session of qualifying, beating McLaren's Lando Norris to the line by just .18 seconds. However, during SQ2, Hamilton finished P-4 behind both McLaren drivers, and Mercedes’ driver George Russell, showing that neither team would be counted out in this race.

Australian GP winner Norris, who set the fastest lap during SQ2, was left to abandon his SQ3 run after briefly locking up the tires coming into Turn 13, forcing him wide and just slightly off-track. During an interview after qualifying, Norris commented on his performance saying that the McLaren was “...just too difficult of a car to drive” before he added that “It was more me rather than the car. I can't make the car perfect, but this was just me trying to push a bit too much.”

Verstappen also displayed tremendous pace and skill during his outing in SQ3, which secured P-2 for the Red Bull team, barely being out-qualified by Hamilton by 0.018 seconds. Meanwhile, Red Bull teammate Liam Lawson seems to be struggling a bit behind the wheel getting knocked out of SQ1, and will be starting the sprint from P-20. When asked about the performance, Lawson told reporters that he was experiencing issues with his tires overheating through the session saying, “Basically we started too hot and then through the lap I just struggled. It's frustrating.”

While Norris had to settle for P-6 after aborting his SQ3 run, Piastri was able to lock down P-3 for the McLaren team, crossing the line behind Verstappen by just 0.062 seconds. This shows that the young driver will be a force to be reckoned with this season, and may even challenge Norris for the top spot in the Drivers' standings. When asked his thoughts on the team's Sprint Qual session, Piastri admitted that McLaren had tried a different approach to SQ3, which may not have been the right call to make looking back, but that he is “still confident to fight from third tomorrow”.

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After the session, Hamilton told reporters that he was “gobsmacked” about his session and added, “I started out straight away with a better feeling in the car. I just can't believe we're at the front, ahead of the McLaren which has been so fast throughout winter testing, and obviously in the last race, and even today. I'm just really grateful to be up there fighting with these great drivers.” In another interview, Hamilton added “Obviously it's not the main race so we've got work to do for tomorrow, but it puts us in a good stead for the race.” That it does Lewis, that it does.

With the grid now set for the Shanghai Sprint, which starts in just a few hours, can Ferrari manage to take home the gold on Saturday, or will another perilous pit strategy keep them from achieving another podium this season?