Oscar Piastri raised the stakes in his championship battle with Lando Norris by securing the first pole position of his career at the Chinese Grand Prix.
Norris won last weekend’s opening round in Australia with Piastri only ninth after he slipped off the road in the rain when narrowly trailing his McLaren team-mate.
But at the second round of the season in Shanghai, Piastri pulled out all the stops to see off George Russell of Mercedes by just 0.082 seconds with Norris having to settle for third, more than a tenth adrift of the Australian.
Max Verstappen took fourth spot, one place ahead of Lewis Hamilton, who landed his first win as a Ferrari driver in the earlier sprint race.
Follow live coverage of the Chinese Grand Prix with The Independent
When is the Chinese Grand Prix?
All times GMT
Sunday 23 March
- Race: 7am
How can I watch it online and on TV?
The Chinese Grand Prix will be broadcast live on Sky Sports in the United Kingdom - and ESPN in the United States. Sky’s coverage of Sunday’s race starts at 5:30am (GMT).
Sky Sports subscribers can watch all the action in Shanghai on the Sky Go app. If you’re not a Sky customer you can grab a NOWTV Day Pass here to watch without a subscription.
If you’re travelling abroad and want to watch the Chinese Grand Prix then you might need a VPN to unblock your streaming app. Our VPN roundup is here to help: get great deals on the best VPNs in the market.
2025 F1 CALENDAR IN FULL:
ROUND 2 - CHINA (sprint weekend)
Shanghai International Circuit - 21-23 March
ROUND 3 - JAPAN
Suzuka International Racing Course - 4-6 April
ROUND 4 —BAHRAIN
Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir - 11-13 April
ROUND 5 - SAUDI ARABIA
Jeddah Corniche Circuit - 18-20 April
ROUND 6 - MIAMI (sprint weekend)
Miami International Autodrome, Hard Rock Stadium - 2-4 May
ROUND 7 - EMILIA ROMAGNA
Imola Circuit - 16-18 May
ROUND 8 - MONACO
Circuit de Monaco - 23-25 May
ROUND 9 - SPAIN
Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya - 30 May-1 June
ROUND 10 - CANADA
Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal - 13-15 June
ROUND 11 - AUSTRIA
Red Bull Ring, Spielberg - 27-29 June
ROUND 12 - GREAT BRITAIN
Silverstone Circuit - 4-6 July
ROUND 13 - BELGIUM (sprint weekend)
Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps - 25-27 July
ROUND 14 - HUNGARY
Hungaroring, Budapest - 1-3 August
ROUND 15 - NETHERLANDS
Circuit Zandvoort - 29-31 August
ROUND 16 - ITALY
Monza Circuit - 5-7 September
ROUND 17 - AZERBAIJAN
Baku City Circuit - 19-21 September
ROUND 18 - SINGAPORE
Marina Bay Street Circuit - 3-5 October
ROUND 19 - UNITED STATES (sprint weekend)
Circuit of the Americas, Austin - 17-19 October
ROUND 20 - MEXICO
Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, Mexico City - 24-26 October
ROUND 21 - BRAZIL (sprint weekend)
Interlagos Circuit, Sao Paulo - 7-9 November
ROUND 22 - LAS VEGAS
Las Vegas Street Circuit - 20-22 November
ROUND 23 - QATAR (sprint weekend)
Lusail International Circuit, Lusail - 28-30 November
ROUND 24 - ABU DHABI
Yas Marina Circuit - 5-7 December
F1 Chinese GP LIVE: Sprint qualifying results and updates as Lewis Hamilton claims shock pole
F1 grid: Starting positions for Chinese Grand Prix sprint race
Rock-and-roll Eddie Jordan gave Schumacher his debut – and his flamboyance captivated F1’s paddock
F1 Chinese GP LIVE: Piastri claims brilliant pole as Hamilton falters in qualifying
Oscar Piastri ‘came alive’ to beat George Russell and Lando Norris to pole
Lawson painfully honest after torrid start to Red Bull F1 career: ‘Not good enough’