Hamilton 'a bit shocked' after his sprint pole in China: 'I didn't expect this result'

In Shanghai, Lewis Hamilton is in his garden… and he reminded everyone this Friday! The British driver, six-time winner of the Chinese Grand Prix, took an unexpected pole position in Sprint Qualifying, on the eve of the first Sprint race of the season. For his second qualifying session with Ferrari, the seven-time world champion surprised everyone – including himself – to set the fastest time in the SQ3, 18 thousandths of a second ahead of Max Verstappen and 80 thousandths ahead of Oscar piastri !

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 week after the laborious Australian Grand Prix, where he finished in 10th place, Lewis Hamilton set the record straight in China, beating both McLaren – yet favorites in Shanghai – and Charles Leclerc, relegated to two tenths. Starting from pole position, the Englishman has a great opportunity to take his first victory with Ferrari, Saturday in the Sprint. However, even in a state of shock, the number 44 knows that his opponents will make life difficult for him behind him and does not want to get ahead of himself on a potential result in the Sprint race.

Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari), Sprint poleman in China : “I didn’t expect this result, but I’m so happy and so proud. Last race was a disaster for us, and we knew there was more performance in the car, but we weren’t able to extract it. Coming here to a track I love in Shanghai, it’s a beautiful place and the car showed itself from the first lap. We made big changes, the team did a great job during the break to prepare the car. I’m a bit shocked, I can’t believe it… We got a pole for the Sprint, but it’s not for the Grand Prix, so we still have work to do tomorrow, but it’s a good step forward for the race.”

(On how he got pole for the Sprint) “I have no idea, I have to go back [to the garage] and watch. My first sector was very good, that’s where I improved the most, but there were mostly some adjustments throughout the lap. There’s still time to find, for sure, and I’ll make sure I find it for the next qualifying session. It’s amazing to see the No. 1 in Parc Fermé, and to be in the red car is pretty amazing. (…) Even though we raced last week in the rain, this will be my first dry stint with this car. I hope we can maintain this position, but the McLarens are very quick, Max [Verstappen] too. But we’re in a good position and we’ll try to push.”

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