China – Sprint Qualifying: Hamilton leads Verstappen, McLarens miss each other

There was little suspense over the color of the car on pole: a papaya car was expected with the best time in the sprint qualifying of the Chinese Grand Prix. But Lando Norris et Oscar piastri missed the opportunity to lock in a third 100% front row McLaren consecutive.

They were deprived of leading roles by Lewis Hamilton, six times poleman in Shanghai and author of his first sprint pole on the Chinese circuit. The Briton was only 0 ahead Max Verstappen, while Oscar Piastri settled for third place. For his teammate Lando Norris, SQ3 went even less well: the championship leader is only 6th. He was overtaken by Charles Leclerc, 4th despite some difficulty in holding his single-seater in a session where he seemed less comfortable than his teammate.

Mercedes confirmed his fine form, following George Russell's podium finish in Melbourne. While the Briton once again asserted his leadership status with the 5th fastest time, attention naturally turned to the other W16. Kimi Antonelli achieved another impressive performance, five days after his fourth place in Australia, by taking the 7th fastest time.

POLE IN SPRINT QUALIFYING FOR LEWIS HAMILTON ☄️

18 thousandths ahead of Max Verstappen 🥵#ChineseGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/aIW6TRKuSK

— CANAL+ F1® (@CanalplusF1) March 21, 2025

A complicated day for the French, despite Hadjar's nice shot in SQ1

Their teams had not scored any points in Australia, so the French hoped to reverse the trend in China, but it was once again a dark day for Pierre Gasly et Esteban Ocon. The two former partners at Alpine went out in SQ1 and were also overtaken by their young teammates. Oliver Bearman made a nice move by moving into SQ2 with a 0” lead over Esteban Ocon, a good sport and satisfied to see that his car has potential. “It’s already super positive, as a team, that we’ve managed to take a step forward compared to the last race. We’re much more in the game,” the #4 rejoiced on Canal+.

Pierre Gasly was also beaten by Jack Doohan after being impeded in the first corner by a Racing Bulls car from his former team. However, the Australian also remained stuck in SQ1.

On the other hand, for Isack Hadjar, the session was more successful: as in Melbourne, the Racing Bulls driver showed his pace over one lap by brilliantly passing into SQ2, ahead of Yuki tsunoda. Comfortable on a track he was new to, the Parisian finally took 15th place on the grid for the sprint race, after a misfire at the start of his only flying lap two minutes from the end. Despite his failure, Hadjar offered a superb slipstream to his teammate on the longest straight of the circuit, which allowed Tsunoda to qualify for SQ3 by a narrow margin, by 0 seconds.

Within the fold Red BullThe nasty surprise came from Liam Lawson, who was last in SQ1. The Kiwi spoke on the radio about his difficulty warming up his tires. For Max Verstappen's new teammate, this is the second Q1 elimination in a row after Melbourne. He will have to react quickly to avoid falling into a downward spiral.

📻 “I couldn't get the tires to work.”

Liam Lawson, struggling, is last in SQ1 ⬇️
Both Alpine, Esteban Ocon and Nico Hulkenberg are also eliminated ❌#ChineseGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/KNF5YTzQdD

— CANAL+ F1® (@CanalplusF1) March 21, 2025

F1 – Chinese GP

The Sprint Qualifying Rankings