The first sprint qualifying of the 2025 Formula 1 season is in the books, and we've already seen a bit of a shakeup from last week's first quali session in Australia.
Lewis Hamilton grabbed his first pole for Ferrari in just his second attempt, although the session only sets the grid for Saturday's sprint race — grand prix qualifying comes after the sprint race.
Hamilton is a master of the Shanghai circuit, having won there six times, most recently in 2019 (although this year's Chinese Grand Prix is only the second installment since that previous win).
Hamilton posted a time just .018 faster than Max Verstappen in second spot, an achievement that left him "in shock."
Meanwhile, the McLarens, expected to be quickest, only managed third (Oscar Piastri) and sixth (Lando Norris) after some struggles wrangling the car.
He was favourite for #F1Sprint pole but a mistake at Turn 14 cost Lando 😔#F1 #ChineseGP pic.twitter.com/WZa3bFgysd
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 21, 2025
The top five was separated by less than a half-second -- Charles Leclerc grabbed fourth with George Russell fifth.
It was another shocker for Red Bull's Liam Lawson, who is now 0-for-2 on making it out of the first qualifying sessions of 2025. To add insult to injury, the man who Red Bull passed over, Yuki Tsunoda, has qualified in the top eight in both sessions so far for Racing Bulls.
Here's how the grid will line up for the 19-lap sprint:
Chinese GP sprint race starting grid
Position | Driver | Team |
|---|---|---|
1 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari |
2 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull |
3 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren |
4 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari |
5 | George Russell | Mercedes |
6 | Lando Norris | McLaren |
7 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes |
8 | Yuki Tsunoda | Racing Bulls |
9 | Alex Albon | Williams |
10 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin |
11 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin |
12 | Oliver Bearman | Haas |
13 | Carlos Sainz | Williams |
14 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Sauber |
15 | Isack Hadjar | Racing Bulls |
16 | Jack Doohan | Alpine |
17 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine |
18 | Esteban Ocon | Haas |
19 | Nico Hulkenberg | Sauber |
20 | Liam Lawson | Red B |
There were six sprint races in F1 last year, Verstappen won four of them, including the Chinese GP edition. The McLaren drivers Norris and Piastri took first place in São Paulo and Qatar respectively.
Hamilton has never won a sprint race since they were introduced in 2021. Ferrari as a team has never won a sprint either.
Besides Verstappen, Piastri and Norris, the only other driver with a sprint win to their name is George Russell, who took the crown in São Paulo in 2022.