Oscar Piastri storms to his maiden pole in Shanghai, outpacing Russell and Norris as Verstappen falters in a tense qualifying.
Following this morning’s Sprint, the drivers are now taking part in qualifying for the Chinese Grand Prix. After Lewis Hamilton’s dominance in the Sprint qualifying and the short race, the weekend enters a new phase.
The teams were able to adjust the car setups thanks to the removal of Parc Fermé restrictions, which normally prevent any modifications. As a result, the outcome could differ from what was seen in the initial phase of the weekend.
Jack Doohan received two penalty points for colliding with Gabriel Bortoleto on the final lap of the Sprint, following a failed move on the Sauber driver.
The sun remains present in Shanghai as qualifying gets underway. Air temperature is at 26°C, with track temperature reaching 40°C.
Q1 – 18 minutes
Piastri quickly set the initial benchmark with a 1’31.591, narrowly ahead of Lewis Hamilton. The Mercedes drivers soon slotted in just behind the two leaders, while Jack Doohan spun.
Max Verstappen then went fastest with a 1’31.424, as Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon temporarily occupied sixth and seventh places.
Racing Bulls confirmed their strong form with Yuki Tsunoda and Isack Hadjar taking fourth and fifth. Fernando Alonso provisionally claimed sixth, before being surpassed by Alex Albon.
Oliver Bearman posted the seventh-best time, just ahead of Nico Hülkenberg. Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s best lap was deleted for exceeding track limits.
Lando Norris set the seventh-fastest time, Antonelli went third, and Charles Leclerc placed 13th. Gaps were extremely close, with the Monegasque driver only 0.634s off the provisional best.
Liam Lawson made another mistake during his flying lap at Turn 1 and returned to the garage. Several drivers went back out, as just 0.788s separated the fastest time from the first eliminated—leaving no one safe.
Hülkenberg climbed to seventh, Alonso moved into sixth, and multiple drivers improved. Leclerc jumped to second, and Tsunoda set the fastest time with a 1’31.238.
Russell moved into second before Hadjar went quickest with a 1’31.162, then beaten by Norris with a 1’30.983. Albon climbed to sixth, while Verstappen and Piastri remained in the garage.
The drivers eliminated—those over one second off Norris’s best—were Gasly, Bearman, Doohan, Bortoleto, and Lawson.
Q2 – 15 minutes
Ocon set the initial fastest time, immediately beaten by Antonelli with a 1’31.590, then by Russell with a 1’31.307. Hadjar and Sainz posted slower times than Ocon, unlike Stroll.
Piastri claimed the top spot with a 1’31.200 before Norris made a significant step forward with a 1’30.787. Tsunoda recorded the provisional fourth-fastest time, and Hamilton went sixth, just ahead of Leclerc.
Albon slotted in between the Ferrari drivers, and Verstappen set the third-best time. Hülkenberg climbed to tenth, just ahead of Stroll, while Alonso managed only the 14th-fastest provisional time.
Antonelli failed to improve, unlike Verstappen who moved up to second. Hamilton advanced to sixth place, and Leclerc positioned himself just ahead of his teammate.
Ocon set the tenth-fastest time, and Hadjar went fourth, which eliminated the Haas driver. Tsunoda moved up to fifth. Norris did not return to the track, as his four-tenth advantage gave him a comfortable margin.
Antonelli went for another flying lap but did not improve. Alonso climbed only to 13th, and Sainz did no better than 15th.
The eliminated drivers were Ocon, Hülkenberg, Alonso, Stroll, and Sainz.
Q3 – 12 minutes
Verstappen set a time of 1’30.925, with Antonelli behind on a 1’31.6. Hadjar went quicker with a 1’31.4, ahead of Tsunoda as well. Russell completed a second preparation lap.
Piastri took the top spot with a 1’30.703, and Hamilton went third, just two thousandths behind Verstappen. Leclerc couldn’t do better, slotting in just behind Hamilton. Norris took second, 0.090 off Piastri. Russell ended his run with the fifth-fastest time.
Antonelli’s time was deleted once again after another off-track excursion at the exit of the final corner. The Italian has struggled to navigate that turn cleanly since the start of the weekend.
Hadjar was released in front of Verstappen in the pit lane, and it’s possible Racing Bulls could face a penalty for the incident. Verstappen remained behind the Frenchman.
Verstappen set the fastest first sector overall but missed his second sector. Norris also lost time in the middle sector, unlike Hadjar, who was improving.
Verstappen finished his lap without improving, and Hadjar moved up to seventh. Norris aborted his flying lap as he was behind on time, and Hamilton also remained fourth. Piastri improved to 1’30.641. Leclerc stayed sixth, and Russell improved to take second place.
Piastri therefore claims his first career pole position, ahead of Russell and Norris. Verstappen is fourth, followed by Hamilton and Leclerc, who will share the third row of the grid.
Hadjar will start seventh — a strong performance from the Frenchman — alongside Antonelli on the grid. Tsunoda and Albon will share the fifth row.
2025 F1 Chinese Grand Prix – Qualifying Results
| P. | Driver | Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Piastri | McLaren | 1:31.591 | 1:31.200 | 1:30.641 |
| 02 | Russell | Mercedes | 1:31.295 | 1:31.307 | 1:30.723 |
| 03 | Norris | McLaren | 1:30.983 | 1:30.787 | 1:30.793 |
| 04 | Verst | Red Bull | 1:31.424 | 1:31.142 | 1:30.817 |
| 05 | Hamilton | Ferrari | 1:31.690 | 1:31.501 | 1:30.927 |
| 06 | Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:31.579 | 1:31.450 | 1:31.021 |
| 07 | Hadjar | R.Bulls | 1:31.162 | 1:31.253 | 1:31.079 |
| 08 | Antonelli | Mercedes | 1:31.676 | 1:31.590 | 1:31.103 |
| 09 | Tsunoda | R.Bulls | 1:31.238 | 1:31.260 | 1:31.638 |
| 10 | Albon | Williams | 1:31.503 | 1:31.595 | 1:31.706 |
| 11 | Ocon | Haas | 1:31.876 | 1:31.625 | |
| 12 | Hülk | Stake | 1:31.921 | 1:31.632 | |
| 13 | Stroll | A.Martin | 1:31.923 | 1:31.688 | |
| 14 | Alonso | A.Martin | 1:31.719 | 1:31.773 | |
| 15 | Sainz | Williams | 1:31.628 | 1:31.840 | |
| 16 | Gasly | Alpine | 1:31.992 | ||
| 17 | Bearman | Haas | 1:32.018 | ||
| 18 | Doohan | Alpine | 1:32.092 | ||
| 19 | Bortoleto | Stake | 1:32.141 | ||
| 20 | Lawson | Red Bull | 1:32.174 |
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2025 F1 Chinese Grand Prix – Qualifying 2025 F1 Chinese Grand Prix – Qualifying