Hamilton wins sprint qualifying

      Clear. Dry. Air +25C, highway +38...35C

      By the 2025 stage, new asphalt was laid on the Chinese highway, providing good grip – during the weekend it was covered with used rubber and its condition changed rapidly.

      During the one–hour training session – the protocol was led by the winner of the first stage, Lando Norris - it was not possible to evaluate the effectiveness of the tires, but the teams used the qualification for the sprint to continue this work.

      Pirelli brought an "average" three compositions – C2, C3 and C4 in the role of Hard, Medium and Soft. The riders spent most of the training on Medium, and in Friday's qualifying they worked with different teams.

      In the first session, the riders went to Medium, as required by the rules. In the first attempt, Piastri showed the best time, completing a lap in an incredible 1:31.723 – two seconds faster than last year's pole position.

      In the second attempt, Norris scored three more tenths, then Hamilton drove even faster – 1:31.212, leaving the first place for himself. Lawson's time was removed for violating the boundaries of the track – he dropped out of the fight along with Duane, Gasly, Okon and Hulkenberg.

      In the second session, everyone went back to Medium. In the first attempt, which many missed, Norris rose to the first place with 1:31.174.

      In the second result, Lando resisted. The final ten was determined in the last seconds – Alonso, Berman, Sainz, Bortoleto and Hajjar did not go further, having failed to start a fast lap after a mistake.

      In the final, everyone put Soft. Piastri immediately raised the bar – 1:30.929, and this is a new absolute track record (the last one was set by Vettel in the final of qualifying in 2018 – 1:31.095). But Hamilton drove even faster, leaving the record for himself – 1:30.849.

      Lewis has qualified for the sprint for the second time in his career. Max Verstappen will share the front row with him tomorrow, Piastri and Leclair will start from the second row, Russell and Norris from the third.

      Sprint qualification results

      Pilot

       Team

       1st session

       2nd session

       3rd session

      

      M

      Time

       Kr

       M

       Time

       Kr

       M

       Time

       Kr

      1. L.Hamilton

       Ferrari

       1

       1:31.212

       6

       4

       1:31.384

       6

       1

       1:30.849

      3

      2. M.Verstappen

       Red Bull

       5

       1:31.916

       6

       6

       1:31.521

       3

       2

       1:30.867

      3

      3. O.Piastri

       McLaren

       4

       1:31.723

       4

       3

       1:31.362

       4

       3

       1:30.929

      5

      4. S.Leclair

       Ferrari

       3

       1:31.518

       6

       8

       1:31.561

       6

       4

       1:31.057

      3

      5. D.Russell

       Mercedes

       6

       1:31.952

       8

       2

       1:31.346

       7

       5

       1:31.169

      3

      6. L.Norris

       McLaren

       2

       1:31.396

       6

       1

       1:31.174

       3

       6

       1:31.393

      4

      7. K.Antonelli

       Mercedes

       7

       1:31.999

       7

       5

       1:31.475

      7

      7

      1:31.738

      3

      8. Yu.Tsunoda

       Racing Bulls

       11

       1:32.316

       6

       10

       1:31.794

       3

       8

       1:31.773

      3

      9. A.Elbon

       Williams

       14

       1:32.462

       6

       7

       1:31.539

       4

       9

       1:31.852

       4

      

      10. L.Stroll

       Aston Martin

       12

       1:32.327

       6

       9

       1:31.742

       3

       10

       1:31.982

       3

      

      11. F.Alonso

       Aston Martin

       8

       1:32.121

       5

       11

       1:31.815

       3

      

      12. O. Berman

       Haas

       10

       1:32.269

       6

       12

       1:31.978

       3

      

      13. K.Sainz

       Williams

       13

       1:32.457

       6

       13

       1:32.325

       4

      

      14. The city of Bortoleto

       Sauber

       15

       1:32.539

       6

       14

       1:32.564

       6

      

      15. A.Hajjar

       Racing Bulls

       9

       1:32.171

       6

       15

        –

       2

      

      16. D. Duane

       Alpine

       16

       1:32.575

       6

      

      17. P.Gasli

       Alpine

       17

       1:32.640

       6

      

      18. E.Okon

       Haas

       18

       1:32.651

       6

      

      19. N. Hulkenberg

       Sauber

       19

       1:32.675

       6

      

      20. L.Lawson

       Red Bull

       20

       1:32.729

       5