Lewis Hamilton confessed to being ‘gobsmacked’ after achieving Sprint pole position for Ferrari at the Chinese Grand Prix.
Following considerable anticipation surrounding his move from Mercedes after 12 years, Hamilton experienced a very disappointing Ferrari debut in Australia the previous weekend, finishing 10th.
His performance, coupled with McLaren’s perceived advantage, lowered expectations for the first Sprint event of the season in Shanghai. However, Hamilton surprised his competitors with an exceptional lap, securing his first pole position for Ferrari.
Hamilton expressed his astonishment, saying, “I’m just a bit gobsmacked, taken back by it. I didn’t know when we would get to this position.”
“After last weekend, it was a difficult start to the week. We came here with aggression and wanting to go into the weekend and get the car into a great place.”
“I started out straight away with a better feeling in the car. I can’t believe we are at the front, ahead of a McLaren which has been so fast throughout winter testing, Australia and even today.”
“I’m really grateful to be up there with these great drivers and be so close to all these other teams.”
Hamilton will start on the front row for Saturday’s Sprint alongside Max Verstappen, his long-time rival, who also capitalized on McLaren’s unexpected dip in performance to take second place for Red Bull.
Oscar Piastri leads McLaren in third, while Lando Norris, the winner in Melbourne, could only manage sixth.
Hamilton significantly outperformed his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc, who finished fourth, while George Russell, Hamilton’s former Mercedes teammate, secured fifth place.
Hamilton added, “I didn’t expect that result but I’m so happy and so proud.”
“The last race was a disaster for us and we knew there was more performance in the car but wasn’t able to extract it.”
“To come here to a track I love, Shanghai a beautiful place, the weather has been amazing and the car came alive from lap one.”
“We made some great changes, the team did a fantastic job in the break to get the car ready.”
“I’m a bit in shock. I can’t believe we get a pole for the Sprint. It puts us in good stead for the race.”
Hamilton Hopeful About ‘Holding On’ in Sprint
Despite Hamilton’s achievement, Red Bull demonstrated strong pace during practice runs. They, along with Verstappen, remain a significant threat.
Hamilton enters the Sprint with limited long-run experience in the SF-25 due to a technical issue during pre-season testing and a chaotic wet race in Australia.
He commented, “I didn’t do a race run in Bahrain testing, we did the race last weekend in the wet but tomorrow will be my first real long-ish race run, then Sunday my first proper race run in the dry with this car.”
“I’m hoping we can hold onto it, but I think the McLarens are very fast, as is Max.”
“But we are in a good position, we will stay positive and keep our heads high, and keep pushing forwards.”
‘Hamilton has justified his move’
Commentator Karun Chandhok noted that Hamilton’s result partially validates his move to Ferrari.
“What a story! Lewis Hamilton is on pole,” Chandhok exclaimed. “We didn’t get a fairytale moment in Melbourne but we only had to wait six days.”
“He’s hugely popular with the fans in China, as he is everywhere else.”
“It’s justified his move in some ways. He’s re-energised, re-invigorated, re-motivated but most importantly he’s delivered on the timesheets today.”
Commentator Martin Brundle highlighted the experience of Hamilton and Verstappen in SQ3, enabling them to optimize their tyre performance.
“You could see straight away in the first four turns, Hamilton had it on point,” Brundle observed.
“The car was really stable and he was hustling the throttle and he got the tyres, pressures and temperatures absolutely in the window, so did Max.”
“Max’s experience comes through again. Championship leader Norris down in sixth and that’s not where he needs to be.”
