F1 China GP 2025: Hamilton clinches first pole for Ferrari in sprint qualifying, breaks Schumacher lap record

F1 China GP 2025: Hamilton clinches first pole for Ferrari in sprint qualifying, breaks Schumacher lap record

Lewis Hamilton clinched his first pole for Ferrari on Friday after finishing on top of the timesheet during sprint qualifying ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix.

The seven-time world champion also broke Michael Schumacher’s long-standing lap record of 1:32.238 — set in a Ferrari on the track’s F1 debut in 2004 — with a timing of 1:30.849.

Hamilton arrived in China after a disappointing season-opening race last weekend in Australia, where he finished 10th. He only managed fourth fastest in opening practice on Friday for a modest improvement in Shanghai.

He topped the first section of sprint qualifying before the dominant McLaren of Lando Norris took over in SQ2. An aborted lap from the McLaren driver, following a mistake on his final lap, handed Hamilton his chance – and he took it in stunning style with less than a minute remaining.

Hamilton’s time was just 18 one-thousandths of a second ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, with Norris’ McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri third. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was fourth, with Mercedes’ George Russell closing out the top five.

“I didn’t expect that result, but so, so happy and so proud,” Hamilton said. “I think obviously the last race was a disaster. Clearly, we knew that there was more performance in the car, but we just weren’t able to extract it,” in Melbourne.

“So, to come here to a track that I love — and the car really came alive. The team did a fantastic job to get the car ready and yeah, I’m a bit in shock.”

(With inputs from AP)