Oscar Piastri stripped George Russell in China and claimed the first Grand Prix Paul of his Formula 1 career.
Piastri, who previously topped two sprint qualifying sessions, came to the top in challenging windy conditions at the Shanghai International Circuit, with McLaren in two poles to start the season.
As Paul’s candidate struggled to improve his second run in the third quarter, the real-life constructors champion looked ready to secure a front row lockout, but Russell infused with surprise to push Randororis down to third place.
Max Verstappen was fourth in Red Bull, but Lewis Hamilton managed only fifth place before Ferrari’s teammate Charles Leclair, following the victory of seven-time world champion Maiden Ferrari in the sprint on Saturday.
Isack Hadjar drove brilliantly, finishing seventh for the Race Bulls and taking off fellow rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s Mercedes.
Tsunoda was ninth in the other Racing Bulls, further increasing the rapidly growing pressure on Liam Lawson.
Alex Albon completed Williams’ top 10. Because Carlos Sainz struggled to match the pace of his teammates, only 15th place after the exit in the second quarter.
Piastri’Came Come Alive” stolen the maiden pole
McLaren was expected to take control in China after a strong opening weekend in Melbourne. This saw Norris win and Piastri miss the second as a result of a spin in a challenging wet state.
But that all changed when Hamilton took a sprint pole for Ferrari and backed it up to propose a prediction for a season that McLaren dominated (the most notable prediction from Russell).
It was clear from the beginning of Saturday’s full-length qualifying McLaren was appearing in Paul’s mix, but they weren’t dominant once again, and Verstappen looks perhaps the most likely challenger as Norris broke through the first and second quarters.
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Piastri takes pole for China’s Grand Prix
Piastri has the McLaren driver comfort in the sprint, with Norris in eighth place, and he was visibly struggling early in this session.
But when that was most important, Australia rediscovered his form, making it the fastest in the first run of a Q3 pole position shootout, bordering Norris almost a tenth.
In fluctuating conditions, it was difficult to find improvements for all drivers on the second run, but Piastri produced a stunning final sector to improve in another 600th of a second to deliver a time of 1:30.641 while most of his rivals struggled.
Russell was the exception, overcoming a tricky session for Mercedes to surge into the front row in the dying seconds.
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Annoyed, Liam Lawson said he needs to get the Red Bull handle after finishing the final Chinese Grand Prix qualifier
Piastri said:
“The rap is a little sloppy, but I’m just pumped up like I’m on the pole.”
The 23-year-old will be at Grand Prix Paul for the first time, but he will start twice before winning full-length races in Azerbaijan and Hungary last year, and as a clear favourite for Sunday’s race. I live at Sky Sports at 7am.
While competing for a home race victory last weekend, Piastri’s devastating spin returned 23 points from Norris in a potential title battle between the McLaren pair, but after scoring six points with his teammate in the sprint, he is now well suited to make more intrusions.
Sky Sports F1 Live China GP Schedule
Sunday, March 23rd
- 2.40am: F1 Academy Race 2
- 5:30am: China GP Build-Up: Grand Prix Sunday*
- 7am: China’s Grand Prix*
- 9am: China’s GP Reaction: Checkered Flag*
- 10am: Ted’s Notebook*
*Sky Sports Main Event
Formula 1 will be in Shanghai this week on the first sprint weekend of the season at Chinese Grand Prix. Stream Sky Sports Now – No Contract, Cancel Anytime
