Chinese GP Sprint Qualifying: Hamilton pips Verstappen, McLaren bomb

It was a great comeback for Hamilton after a tough debut in Melbourne while his form in FP1 in Shanghai did not give a hint of what had followed.

In the end, the seven-time champion became the first driver over 40 to take any pole since Nigel Mansell did so in Adelaide back in 1994.

An overjoyed Hamilton said: "Firstly I want to say a big thank you to this amazing crowd we have today. 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," he claimed.

Hamilton will have to keep a rampant Max Verstappen at bay in the Sprint on Saturday as the Dutchman lines up second on the grid missing out on pole by just 0.018s which one nonetheless an impressive effort from the reigning champion after being nowhere in practice and throughout Sprint Qualifying especially as he delivered with only one run in SQ3.

The Ferrari driver acknowledged: "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."

Oscar Piastri was third fastest for McLaren, 0.080s off Hamilton's time while Lando Norris was only sixth having delivered a clumsy SQ3.

It was undoubtedly a disappointing session for the Papaya team as they entered Sprint Qualifying as the team to beat after being almost half a second clear of their rivals in qualifying in Melbourne one week ago.

George Russell was fifth fastest in the Mercedes ahead of Norris while Kimi Antonelli delivered a better qualifying this weekend, posting the seventh fastest time.

Yuki Tsunoda was eighth fastest after a superb performance for Racing Bulls while Alex Albon was an impressive ninth with Lance Stroll equally impressive in tenth.

The scene is now set for a titanic battle between Hamilton and Verstappen with memories of their 2021 battles already coming back.

Verstappen once again dragged his RB21 into a position it doesn't deserve to be in, Liam Lawson's 20th place proof of how bad that car is.

But can Ferrari maintain the pace they have shown on Friday in Shanghai? They failed to do so in the season opener one week ago, so will it be any different this time around? We will know soon tomorrow.

The clear and hot conditions prevailed over the Shanghai International Circuit as SQ1 started with track temperatures registering 39 degrees Celsius while air temperature was 25 degrees.

As mandated by the rules, the drivers set out for the first stage of Sprint Qualifying with the Medium tyres bolted on the cars.

Verstappen was the first of the top teams to put a lap on the board, a 1:32.329, setting the benchmark, but Hamilton soon went faster while Antonelli was third.

Leclerc went second dropping Verstappen to third as Norris and Piastri were on their flying laps. Norris went only third fastest as Piastri went to the top.

Fernando Alonso then went second fastest in the Aston Martin as Russell was on another push lap after messing up his first attempt. Russell went sixth.

Order of the top 15 after the first runs was: Piastri - Alonso - Hamilton - Leclerc - Norris - Russell - Verstappen - Antonelli - Nico Hulkenberg - Lawson - Isack Hadjar - Albon - Pierre Gasly - Stroll - Jack Doohan.

With less than three minutes remaining, the second round of laps was on as Piastri opted not to run again which was understandable given his four tenth advantage over his closest rival.

In the end of SQ1, Hamilton led the way into SQ2 with a 1:31.212, 0.184s ahead of Norris in the McLaren while Leclerc was third, 0.306s off the pace.

Piastri was fourth with Verstappen fifth while Russell was sixth ahead of Antonelli in seventh. Alonso was eighth ahead of a superb Hadjar in ninth as Bearman was a superb tenth.

Completing the top 15 who moved into SQ2: Tsunoda - Stroll - Sainz - Albon - Gabriel Bortoleto.

Eliminated from Sprint qualifying were: Doohan - Gasly - Ocon - Hulkenberg - Lawson.

The remaining 15 drivers set out on track for the 10-minute SQ2 with Medium tyres still the compound mandated by the rules of Sprint qualifying.

Alonso, Hadjar, Bearman, Tsunoda, Stroll, Sainz, and Albon stayed behind,

Bortoleto had a massive slide on his first timed lap in SQ2 but controlled it and kept it on track, but he had to abort his lap.

Verstappen went to the top briefly only for Norris to go over three tenths faster. Hamilton posted the third fastest time, but then Antonelli took third from the man he replaced at Mercedes.

With the first runs done, the order was: Norris - Piastri - Verstappen - Antonelli - Leclerc - Hamilton - Russell - Bortoleto - Sainz - Albon.

Russell complained that he had no grip from both front and rear tyres. Leclerc also was not faring any better.

The driver kept banging in the laps and in the end, Norris posted the fastest lap, a 1:31.174, 0.172s clear of Russell in second while Hamilton was 0.210s off the pace in fourth.

Antonelli was fifth fastest in the Mercedes, with Verstappen in sixth while Albon was in seventh in the Williams.

Leclerc was down in eighth ahead of ahead of Stroll in ninth as Tsunoda was tenth.

First to miss out on SQ2 was Alonso who lost out by a negligible 0.021s, and was ahead of Bearman who was 12th in the Haas.

Sainz was down in 13th, beaten by his teammate once again, with the radio message on the cool down lap showing he was at loss to explain his pace.

Bortoleto was 14th ahead of Hadjar in 15th, the latter not posting a time after a mistake on his only attempt meant he had to abort it.

With Soft tyres bolted on their cars, the final ten drivers made their way out on track for the final eight minutes of the Sprint shootout.

Piastri went fastest then Norris went only second behind him after a mistake with Antonelli going third but Russell dropped Norris to third, going second behind Piastri.

The Ferraris, Verstappen, Albon, Stroll and Tsunoda were yet to do any times laps opting only for one lap it seemed.

Hamilton then started a timed lap and went fastest, as Leclerc followed and went third. Piastri and Norris were on another lap, but Piastri went second and Norris aborted his lap.

Verstappen was further down the road with his only timed lap and finished second behind Hamilton.

The final order: Hamilton - Verstappen - Piastri - Leclerc - Russell - Norris - Antonelli - Tsunoda - Albon - Stroll