SHANGHAI — McLaren’s Oscar Piastri clinched his first-ever Formula 1 pole position at the Chinese Grand Prix, marking a significant career milestone. His remarkable performance included two laps that topped the timesheets, surpassing George Russell of Mercedes.
The 23-year-old Australian feels energized following a strong showing in the Sprint race. Piastri now aims to capitalize on this momentum in Sunday’s race, where managing tire wear will be crucial.
Starting the 56-lap race two slots ahead of teammate Lando Norris, Piastri’s success hinged on a daring final lap during Q3. “My initial lap was actually better, but I lost some time on the back straight and didn’t execute the best hairpin,” confessed Piastri. He later decided to push at the hairpin on his second attempt, recovering lost time and gaining speed in the last corner. Reflecting on his decision, he noted, “I was thinking of boxing earlier, but I’m happy I pushed through.”
Norris, winner of the season’s first race in Australia, will start in front of Max Verstappen from Red Bull, who qualified fourth. Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton, the Sprint victory holder, will begin in fifth place for Ferrari, followed by his teammate Charles Leclerc.
Russell, thrilled with his position, will join Piastri on the front row for the first time since Qatar last year. He expressed pride in this achievement, noting the previous pace challenges: “Starting on the front row is an excellent position.” His Q3 performance was hard-fought, reflecting the complexities of tire management. The British driver expressed, “That first Q3 lap felt complete, and I was expecting P5, but then I managed to find four-tenths on the final lap.”
Norris led during initial qualifying segments but admitted to some blunders, deciding to pit after errors on his last lap. “Oscar has demonstrated exceptional speed. I certainly haven’t,” Norris remarked. He acknowledged struggles with tire graining, which hindered his performance and considers it a challenging aspect to overcome.
He plans to spend time reviewing data and identifying improvements for the main race. Red Bull’s second team, Racing Bulls, also secured strong positions in the top 10, with rookie Isack Hadjar starting seventh following an earlier crash in Australia. However, Hadjar was fined for an unsafe pit release that interfered with Verstappen. Another rookie, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, placed eighth for Mercedes.
Williams’ Alex Albon rounded out the top 10, with his teammate Carlos Sainz Jr. starting 15th. This occasion marks the first pole position for an Australian in F1 since Daniel Ricciardo for Red Bull in 2018 at the Mexican Grand Prix. Piastri expressed pride in the achievement, both personally and for Australia.
The exciting race is set to commence at 3 p.m. local time (0700 GMT).