F1 Chinese GP: Piastri takes pole as McLaren bounces back

Oscar Piastri took his first-ever pole position for an F1 grand prix as he set the pace in China.

Starting from the front could prove to be vital given how badly the field struggled with tyre degradation throughout the sprint race.

Piastri had previously started on the front row on seven occasions but secured his first pole with an impressive time of one minute 30.641, with McLaren team-mate Lando Norris in third.

A fantastic lap from George Russell saw the Mercedes man split the McLarens with reigning world champion Max Verstappen fourth for Red Bull.

Piastri had taken second place in the sprint race earlier in the day but now has the chance to convert pole position into grand prix victory on Sunday.

Norris had topped the timesheets in Q1 and Q2 but failed to hook up his final attempt and bailed into the pits instead of taking the flag, admitting once again he had made “a couple of mistakes”.

Lewis Hamilton had won the sprint race from pole but was only quick enough for fifth on the grid for the grand prix, ahead of Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc in sixth.

After crashing out before the start of his debut race in Australia last weekend, Isack Hadjar was the pick of the rookies with seventh place for Racing Bulls with fellow newcomer Andrea Kimi Antonelli eighth.

Yuki Tsunoda and Alex Albon rounded out the top 10 with starting position key given the tyre management issues so far in Shanghai.

Haas have looked more on it this weekend and Esteban Ocon will start 11th, ahead of the team’s former driver Nico Hulkenberg who will be aiming for back to back points finishes for Sauber.

The two Aston Martins will start alongside one another on row seven with Fernando Alonso just creeping ahead of Lance Stroll in the closing stages of Q2.

In what was another difficult day at his new team, Carlos Sainz could only manage 15th, having admitted on Friday that he is still yet to feel at home at Williams.

Q1 proved a tough session for four of the rookies, especially Liam Lawson who was again 20th and last, with Oliver Bearman, Jack Doohan and Gabriel Bortoleto also knocked out, along with Pierre Gasly.

Chinese Grand Prix qualifying results

1 – 2
Cla	Driver	#	Chassis	Engine	Time	Tyres	km/h
1	O. PiastriMcLaren	81	McLaren	Mercedes	1’30.641		216.498
2	G. RussellMercedes	63	Mercedes	Mercedes	+0.082 1’30.723		216.302
3	L. NorrisMcLaren	4	McLaren	Mercedes	+0.152 1’30.793		216.135
4	M. VerstappenRed Bull Racing	1	Red Bull	Red Bull	+0.176 1’30.817		216.078
5	L. HamiltonFerrari	44	Ferrari	Ferrari	+0.286 1’30.927		215.817
6	C. LeclercFerrari	16	Ferrari	Ferrari	+0.380 1’31.021		215.594
7	I. HadjarRacing Bulls	6	RB	Honda	+0.438 1’31.079		215.456
8	A. AntonelliMercedes	12	Mercedes	Mercedes	+0.462 1’31.103		215.400
9	Y. TsunodaRacing Bulls	22	RB	Honda	+0.997 1’31.638		214.142
10	A. AlbonWilliams	23	Williams	Mercedes	+1.065 1’31.706		213.983
11	E. OconHaas F1 Team	31	Haas	Ferrari	+0.984 1’31.625		214.172
12	N. HulkenbergSauber	27	Sauber	Ferrari	+0.991 1’31.632		214.156
13	F. AlonsoAston Martin Racing	14	Aston Martin	Mercedes	+1.047 1’31.688		214.025
14	L. StrollAston Martin Racing	18	Aston Martin	Mercedes	+1.132 1’31.773		213.827
15	C. SainzWilliams	55	Williams	Mercedes	+1.199 1’31.840		213.671
16	P. GaslyAlpine	10	Alpine	Renault	+1.351 1’31.992		213.318
17	O. BearmanHaas F1 Team	87	Haas	Ferrari	+1.377 1’32.018		213.258
18	J. DoohanAlpine	7	Alpine	Renault	+1.451 1’32.092		213.086
19	G. BortoletoSauber	5	Sauber	Ferrari	+1.500 1’32.141		212.973
20	L. LawsonRed Bull Racing	30	Red Bull	Red Bull	+1.533 1’32.174		212.897
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