F1 Chinese GP: Piastri takes pole as McLaren bounces…

Oscar Piastri took his first-ever pole position for a Formula 1 grand prix as he set the pace in China.

Starting from the front could prove to be vital given how badly the field struggled with tyre degradation throughout the sprint race.

Piastri previously started on the front row on seven occasions but secured his first pole on Saturday with an impressive time of 1m30.641s, with McLaren team-mate Lando Norris in third.

A fantastic lap from George Russell saw the Mercedes man split the McLarens, with reigning world champion Max Verstappen fourth for Red Bull.

Piastri had taken second place in the sprint race earlier in the day but now has the chance to convert pole position into grand prix victory on Sunday.

Norris had topped the timesheets in Q1 and Q2 but failed to hook up his final attempt and bailed into the pits instead of taking the flag, admitting once again he had made “a couple of mistakes”.

Lando Norris, McLaren (Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images)

Lewis Hamilton had won the sprint race from pole but was only quick enough for fifth on the grid for the grand prix, ahead of Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc in sixth.

After crashing out before the start of his debut race in Australia last weekend, Isack Hadjar was the pick of the rookies with seventh place for Racing Bulls, as fellow newcomer Andrea Kimi Antonelli took eighth.

Yuki Tsunoda and Alexander Albon rounded out the top 10, with starting position key given the tyre management issues so far in Shanghai.

Haas has looked more on it this weekend and Esteban Ocon will start 11th, ahead of the team’s former driver Nico Hulkenberg who will be aiming for back-to-back points finishes for Sauber.

The two Aston Martins will start alongside one another on row seven with Fernando Alonso just creeping ahead of Lance Stroll in the closing stages of Q2.

In what was another difficult day at his new team, Carlos Sainz could only manage 15th, having admitted on Friday that he was still yet to feel at home at Williams.

Q1 proved a tough session for four of the rookies, especially Liam Lawson who was again 20th and last, with Oliver Bearman, Jack Doohan and Gabriel Bortoleto also knocked out, along with Pierre Gasly.

Chinese Grand Prix qualifying results

1 - 2
Cla	Driver	#	Chassis	Engine	Time	Tyres	km/h
1	O. Piastri McLaren	81	McLaren	Mercedes	1'30.641		216.498
2	G. Russell Mercedes	63	Mercedes	Mercedes	+0.082 1'30.723		216.302
3	L. Norris McLaren	4	McLaren	Mercedes	+0.152 1'30.793		216.135
4	M. Verstappen Red Bull Racing	1	Red Bull	Red Bull	+0.176 1'30.817		216.078
5	L. Hamilton Ferrari	44	Ferrari	Ferrari	+0.286 1'30.927		215.817
6	C. Leclerc Ferrari	16	Ferrari	Ferrari	+0.380 1'31.021		215.594
7	I. Hadjar Racing Bulls	6	RB	Honda	+0.438 1'31.079		215.456
8	A. Antonelli Mercedes	12	Mercedes	Mercedes	+0.462 1'31.103		215.400
9	Y. Tsunoda Racing Bulls	22	RB	Honda	+0.997 1'31.638		214.142
10	A. Albon Williams	23	Williams	Mercedes	+1.065 1'31.706		213.983
11	E. Ocon Haas F1 Team	31	Haas	Ferrari	+0.984 1'31.625		214.172
12	N. Hulkenberg Sauber	27	Sauber	Ferrari	+0.991 1'31.632		214.156
13	F. Alonso Aston Martin Racing	14	Aston Martin	Mercedes	+1.047 1'31.688		214.025
14	L. Stroll Aston Martin Racing	18	Aston Martin	Mercedes	+1.132 1'31.773		213.827
15	C. Sainz Williams	55	Williams	Mercedes	+1.199 1'31.840		213.671
16	P. Gasly Alpine	10	Alpine	Renault	+1.351 1'31.992		213.318
17	O. Bearman Haas F1 Team	87	Haas	Ferrari	+1.377 1'32.018		213.258
18	J. Doohan Alpine	7	Alpine	Renault	+1.451 1'32.092		213.086
19	G. Bortoleto Sauber	5	Sauber	Ferrari	+1.500 1'32.141		212.973
20	L. Lawson Red Bull Racing	30	Red Bull	Red Bull	+1.533 1'32.174		212.897
View full results