Lewis Hamilton expressed his surprise at securing his first pole position for Ferrari in the sprint race at the Chinese Grand Prix, out-qualifying Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. The seven-time champion’s teammate Charles Leclerc took fourth place, while Lando Norris’ McLaren finished sixth.
Hamilton said he was “gobsmacked” by his performance, which outqualified Leclerc by 0.208 seconds and Norris by 0.544 seconds. Despite struggling in the past, Hamilton’s Ferrari team made a significant improvement. This is his first pole position for Ferrari since last month’s Australian Grand Prix.
Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur attributed the result to the tight competition among top teams and the challenge of finding the optimal car setup and tire management. The team’s struggles in Melbourne were followed by a promising Friday session, which mirrored the weekend’s ups and downs. This pattern is consistent with last year’s performances, where three or four teams won by 30 seconds from track to track depending on the tires.
Source: https://www.bbc.com/sport/formula1/articles/ceqjell0qpdo