After a rather disappointing maiden race weekend for Ferrari in Australia, Lewis Hamilton couldn’t have had a better start to proceedings at the Chinese GP. While the SF-25 looked just a bit better in the only free practice session on Friday morning, Hamilton extracted the most out of it to clinch the sprint pole by the smallest of margins.
The Briton topped SQ3 ahead of Max Verstappen by only 0.018 seconds! While the McLarens looked quick in their initial runs, only Oscar Piastri came within touching distance of the sprint pole before Hamilton came along to beat him by eight-hundredths of a second.
Meanwhile, Verstappen put in a last-gasp attempt but failed to beat the Briton and had to settle for P2. Naturally, the Hamilton fans at the Shanghai International Circuit went ecstatic as it was his first glory moment in Ferrari red. The crowd in the grandstands were cheering vigorously for him as the sprint shootout ended.
And after his post-race activities were done, Hamilton even got mobbed by a group of his admirers in the paddock. F1 photojournalist Kym Illman gave a firsthand account of the seven-time world champion somehow escaping this group of fans.
“Afterwards down here in the paddock, he was besieged by fans and had to make an escape on his scooter,” Illman said in his latest YouTube short video.
Illman also highlighted how the emotions on Hamilton’s face after getting the Chinese GP sprint pole reminded him of the old times when the Briton used to dominate the F1 grid. He was quite “smiley” and “happy“, showing that he is getting his act together at Ferrari.
A first P1 in red ❤️#F1Sprint #ChineseGP @ScuderiaFerrari pic.twitter.com/g3kYfhymwY
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 21, 2025
While Hamilton did state in his interview post the shootout that this is still not for the main Grand Prix, his camp will be quite happy, especially his father Anthony, who was again present in the Shanghai paddock.
Hamilton hugs his father, seems set for a positive China weekend
After his post-session media commitments and regulatory weight checks, Hamilton went to his father and gave him a warm hug, per Illman. The interesting thing was that the Briton wasn’t wearing his team cap, which gave the photographers a clear view of his gleeful face.
Usually, drivers wear the team’s cap after the Grand Prix qualifying or the sprint shootout as part of the team’s sponsor commitments. In Shanghai, though, Hamilton could’ve forgotten to do so, given it was his first pole for Ferrari — a moment he would want to savor without thinking about these secondary aspects.
While Ferrari were in a spot of bother after the Australian GP, this sprint pole by Hamilton would reinvigorate the environment at the Italian outfit. Heading into the sprint race on Saturday, the #44 driver would be keen on securing his first race win in red.
He will have to fend off a charging Verstappen, who’ll look to capitalize on Lando Norris being down in P6 and claw back some points in the championship standings. Even Piastri would want to redeem himself after he had a disappointing home race in Melbourne last weekend when he only managed a P9 finish.
But for Hamilton, the Chinese GP will be all about establishing that he still has the ingredients to deliver elite performances. And if Ferrari can carry this good form into the Grand Prix as well, one cannot rule out the seven-time world champion to paint the Shanghai International Circuit red on Sunday.
