Oscar Piastri narrowly got the better of Mercedes rival George Russell and McLaren team mate Lando Norris during Qualifying for the Chinese Grand Prix, securing his first-ever Formula 1 pole position in the process.
Piastri delivered a time of 1m 30.703s on the opening runs of the decisive pole shootout and improved to a 1m 30.641s with his second effort, giving him P1 over Russell by just under one tenth of a second.
Russell found a chunk of lap time with his final lap to the chequered flag, brilliantly securing a spot on the front row of the grid alongside Piastri, and leaving championship leader Norris to settle for third position.
Reigning four-time World Champion Max Verstappen took fourth, with the Ferraris of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc this time winding up in P5 and P6 respectively – the Briton unable to repeat his Sprint heroics.
Racing Bulls starred throughout Qualifying, with Isack Hadjar achieving a fine seventh on the grid and team mate Yuki Tsunoda placing ninth, around the other Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli, as Williams’ Alex Albon completed the top 10 places.
Haas driver Esteban Ocon enjoyed a much stronger outing to reach Q2 and earn 11th on the grid, while Melbourne points scorer Nico Hulkenberg put his Kick Sauber 12th over the Aston Martins of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll.
Carlos Sainz could not quite match the pace of team mate Albon as he dropped out of the second phase in 15th position, the Spaniard still trying to build up confidence in the Williams challenger following his switch from Ferrari.
As per Sprint Qualifying, Alpine lost both cars at the Q1 hurdle, with Pierre Gasly falling agonisingly short of Q2 in 16th and Jack Doohan taking 18th after a mistake on his final lap – the team mates sandwiching Haas rookie Ollie Bearman.
Gabriel Bortoleto was 19th in the second of the Sauber machines, while Liam Lawson endured another tough session as he ended 20th and last on the Qualifying timesheets – the RB21 proving to be a tricky beast for him to tame.
FORMULA 1 HEINEKEN CHINESE GRAND PRIX 2025 – Qualifying results
|
POS |
NO |
DRIVER |
CAR |
Q1 |
Q2 |
Q3 |
LAPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
81 |
Oscar Piastri |
McLaren Mercedes |
1:31.591 |
1:31.200 |
1:30.641 |
20 |
|
2 |
63 |
George Russell |
Mercedes |
1:31.295 |
1:31.307 |
1:30.723 |
22 |
|
3 |
4 |
Lando Norris |
McLaren Mercedes |
1:30.983 |
1:30.787 |
1:30.793 |
17 |
|
4 |
1 |
Max Verstappen |
Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT |
1:31.424 |
1:31.142 |
1:30.817 |
15 |
|
5 |
44 |
Lewis Hamilton |
Ferrari |
1:31.690 |
1:31.501 |
1:30.927 |
21 |
|
6 |
16 |
Charles Leclerc |
Ferrari |
1:31.579 |
1:31.450 |
1:31.021 |
21 |
|
7 |
6 |
Isack Hadjar |
Racing Bulls Honda RBPT |
1:31.162 |
1:31.253 |
1:31.079 |
20 |
|
8 |
12 |
Kimi Antonelli |
Mercedes |
1:31.676 |
1:31.590 |
1:31.103 |
22 |
|
9 |
22 |
Yuki Tsunoda |
Racing Bulls Honda RBPT |
1:31.238 |
1:31.260 |
1:31.638 |
19 |
|
10 |
23 |
Alexander Albon |
Williams Mercedes |
1:31.503 |
1:31.595 |
1:31.706 |
20 |
|
11 |
31 |
Esteban Ocon |
Haas Ferrari |
1:31.876 |
1:31.625 |
|
15 |
|
12 |
27 |
Nico Hulkenberg |
Kick Sauber Ferrari |
1:31.921 |
1:31.632 |
|
15 |
|
13 |
14 |
Fernando Alonso |
Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes |
1:31.719 |
1:31.688 |
|
15 |
|
14 |
18 |
Lance Stroll |
Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes |
1:31.923 |
1:31.773 |
|
15 |
|
15 |
55 |
Carlos Sainz |
Williams Mercedes |
1:31.628 |
1:31.840 |
|
15 |
|
16 |
10 |
Pierre Gasly |
Alpine Renault |
1:31.992 |
|
|
9 |
|
17 |
87 |
Oliver Bearman |
Haas Ferrari |
1:32.018 |
|
|
8 |
|
18 |
7 |
Jack Doohan |
Alpine Renault |
1:32.092 |
|
|
8 |
|
19 |
5 |
Gabriel Bortoleto |
Kick Sauber Ferrari |
1:32.141 |
|
|
9 |
|
20 |
30 |
Liam Lawson |
Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT |
1:32.174 |
|
|
8 |
Formula 1 Media | Photos: Formula 1
