The first free practice session continued with the sprint qualifying of the Chinese Grand Prix, where Lewis Hamilton surprisingly took pole position!
SQ1 began similarly to what we've seen recently. McLaren led the way with Oscar Piastri, Lando Norris, and Kimi Antonelli. But just before the end, the tide turned, and Scuderia Ferrari took over. Lewis Hamilton finished this stage in the lead, ahead of Norris and Charles Leclerc, while the two Alpine drivers, Esteban Ocon, Nico Hülkenberg, and, surprisingly, Liam Lawson in last place, were among the eliminated.
Q2 began with McLaren dominance again, except this time the orange cars didn't relinquish the lead. Behind them, Lewis Hamilton again emerged with a strong lap, but before we could write that he took third place, George Russell came along and got between the two McLarens, leaving Hamilton in fourth. Fernando Alonso, Oliver Bearman, Carlos Sainz, Gabriel Bortoletto, and Isack Hadjar no longer had such problems; they could go to the showers.
After these signs came the final act, in which, strangely enough, Scuderia Ferrari, and especially Hamilton, found their rhythm and took the lead. Piastri was close to the Briton, while Norris didn't try to catch his compatriot. It was a different story for Verstappen, who had a very serious chance of winning the sprint qualifying until the very last second. It didn't work out, missing out by a whisker, so Lewis Hamilton already celebrated a "historic" victory ahead of Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri. It will be worth getting up for tomorrow's sprint practice!
Photo: IMAGO
