Lewis Hamilton secured his first pole position in Ferrari colours at the Chinese Grand Prix. He will line up at the front for the first Sprint race in 2025.
The seven-time world champion beat Max Verstappen by just 18 thousandths of a second for pole position for Saturday’s Sprint. Many had expected McLaren to go fastest but Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris went third and sixth respectively.
| Pos | Driver | Car | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | 1:30.849 |
| 2 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT | 1:30.867 |
| 3 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren Mercedes | 1:30.929 |
| 4 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:31.057 |
| 5 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1:31.169 |
| 6 | Lando Norris | McLaren Mercedes | 1:31.393 |
| 7 | Andrea Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | 1:31.738 |
| 8 | Yuki Tsunoda | Racing Bulls Honda RBPT | 1:31.773 |
| 9 | Alexander Albon | Williams Mercedes | 1:31.852 |
| 10 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes | 1:31.982 |
Ferrari have looked strong so far at the Chinese Grand Prix and their latest signing took advantage of the SF-25’s pace and grabbed his first pole in red. Hamilton beat Sebastian Vettel’s lap record set in 2018 with a time of 1:30.849
Teammate Charles Leclerc will line up fourth in what is a significant improvement on where the Maranello outfit were last time out in Melbourne. Ferrari were in ‘crisis’ as they made the wrong call with their pit strategy, keeping their drivers on dry tyres during the second rain shower – a gamble that did not pay off.
Ferrari were eighth and 10th in Australia and will be looking to go better in Shanghai – Hamilton’s pole for the Sprint is a great foundation to improve.
The Brit had been close to the top of the timesheets throughout Sprint qualifying. But bizarrely, not many fans knew that while watching the Sky Sports TV broadcast.
F1 fans are furious as the timing tower ‘disappeared’ during SQ2 at the Chinese Grand Prix
During SQ2, the timing tower to the left of the broadcast seemed to disappear and reappear during the session. This left fans not knowing the pecking order or the gaps between the drivers.
It did not take long for fans to vent their frustrations on social media. Many took to X (formerly Twitter) as they were left furious by how the timing tower could do this.
One fan was left stunned as they said: “How are we watching quali without the timing tower??” Another added: “Does F1 know that the most important part of the viewing experience for their audience is the timings between cars? So then why do they keep getting rid of the timing tower on screen?”
Some fans pointed out that there was also issues with the timing tower in Australia. One user wondered: “2 races in a row the timing tower has disappeared . Whats going wrong?”
Another wrote: the state of the timing tower in Aus and now China, like we just want to see where people are in the order and the gaps, pls we’re not asking a lot but it’s kind of needed for a quali session.
Even when the timing tower did appear, it did not make for nice viewing as the driver names overlapped with each other, as one fan pointed out: “Really useful for qualifying.”
Another fan expressed their anger as they said: “Why is the timing tower gone 95% of the time? Just SHOW IT.”
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Can Lewis Hamilton secure his first Ferrari win in the Sprint race in Shanghai?
Hamilton’s first Ferrari pole marks a historic day for F1. The world has been waiting for this moment for over a year since the Brit announced his move from Mercedes to Maranello.
He now has the chance to add his name to the list of legendary drivers to win a race in red. Even if it is not a Grand Prix, Hamilton will be keen to take advantage and win the Sprint on Saturday.
| Driver | Wins | From pole |
|---|---|---|
| Michael Schumacher | 72 | 34 |
| Niki Lauda | 15 | 9 |
| Sebastian Vettel | 14 | 4 |
| Alberto Ascari | 13 | 9 |
| Felipe Massa | 11 | 8 |
| Fernando Alonso | 11 | 3 |
| Kimi Raikkonen | 10 | 3 |
| Rubens Barrichello | 9 | 5 |
| Charles Leclerc | 8 | 5 |
| Jacky Ickx | 6 | 2 |
The SF-25 has proved strong so far in China and looks like it can take the fight to the likes of McLaren and Verstappen at the front.
Damon Hill has a new nickname for Hamilton after his pole, labelling him ‘Ferramilton’. The 1996 champion – like many other F1 fans – will be eagerly watching to see if the 40-year-old can take his first win for Ferrari.
