Lewis Hamilton’s first full race weekend as a Ferrari Formula 1 driver was not the result he hoped for.
His second is off to a much better start.
After finishing the Australian Grand Prix in tenth place, Hamilton arrived in Shanghai with “aggression.” He put that to use with a thunderous performance in F1 Sprint qualifying, putting his SF-25 on pole position with a performance that left the seven-time champion “gobsmacked.”
“I’m just a bit gobsmacked, honestly,” said Hamilton to the official F1 channel after F1 Sprint qualifying. “I’m a bit taken aback by it. I didn’t know when we would get to this position.
“After last weekend, it was a difficult start to the week and I came here with aggression and just wanted to go into the weekend and get the car into a really great place.”
The driver was surprised by the result, as well as the SF-25’s pace relative to other cars in the field, including McLaren’s MCL39.
“I started out straightaway with a better feeling in the car and I can’t believe that we’re at the front, ahead of a McLaren which has been so fast throughout winter testing, the first race, and even today,” added Hamilton.
“My first sector was really, really strong, I think that’s where I made most of my improvement on that lap, but just little increments through the whole place,” continued Ferrari’s newest driver.
“There’s still time to find, for sure, which I’ll try and make sure that I apply to the next Qualifying session we go out in. It’s amazing to see the number one as you stop and to be in the red car, it’s pretty incredible.”
Hamilton, however, downplayed somewhat his chances to keep P1 during the F1 Sprint race. Max Verstappen, who is always lurking, starts alongside him in the front row. As for those fast McLarens, Oscar Piastri will start directly behind Hamilton in P3, and Lando Norris will start in P6.
Hamilton pointed to those cars as potential threats when the lights go out.
“I’m hoping that we can hold onto it but I think the McLarens are very, very fast, as is Max,” described Hamilton. “But we’re in a good position, we’ll stay positive, we’ll keep our heads high and keep pushing forwards.”
