Lewis Hamilton has now taken his first pole position since arriving at Ferrari. With a strong history at the Chinese Grand Prix, winning at the Shanghai circuit six times over his career, this will be a substantial confidence boost for the seven-time world champion who suffered a difficult weekend in Australia.
After taking pole for Saturday’s sprint race, the former Mercedes driver has drawn praise from Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko, who labelled his strong performance today as “unbelievable.” This is strong praise coming from a man who usually reserves his compliments for personnel within his own team. But over the years, Marko has often shown appreciation for the Briton, even in 2021 when Red Bull and Mercedes formed a strong rivalry.
In just his second race with the Scuderia, Hamilton edged out his own team-mate Charles Leclerc, who will start fourth, and Max Verstappen, who will start alongside him in second. Only 0.018 seconds separates the pole sitter and runner-up, teasing what could be an intense sprint race tomorrow.
“I think they had an unlucky event in Melbourne,” Marko told Motorsport.com. “But here, from the first session on, Ferrari was strong. And I mean, congratulations to Hamilton in his second race to be in pole position. It’s against Leclerc, who is a fantastic qualifier. It means it’s an unbelievable achievement.”
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Motorsport Images
Does Marko see Ferrari as a threat to Verstappen?
“It’s difficult to say. With this new asphalt, I’m sure degradation will be less and less during the next couple of events. And then we’ll see who can go this speed for a race distance.”
At the beginning of the year, Marko claimed that Hamilton wasn’t going to be a threat to the reigning champion, even with a “mediocre” car.
“The two race teams [McLaren and Ferrari] had the best base for their cars last season and were able to perform well on most circuits,” he told Sport BILD.
“They can build on that, but none of the drivers stand out for me.
“Charles Leclerc is good in qualifying but makes a lot of mistakes in the races.
“And Lewis Hamilton still has the speed, but can he keep that up for a whole season? I have my doubts about that.
“Even if he has a good Ferrari and we build a mediocre Red Bull for Max, I would put my money on Max.”
This pole, albeit only for a sprint race, could be the necessary rejuvenation Hamilton needed. It will be interesting to see how the remainder of the weekend fares for the Ferrari ace.
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