McLaren’s Piastri takes his first F1 pole at Chinese Grand Prix. Hamilton to start fifth

By Canadian Press on March 22, 2025.

SHANGHAI (AP) — McLaren’s Oscar Piastri scored his first pole position in Formula One ahead of Sunday’s Chinese Grand Prix, with the Australian delivering two sizzling laps which were both quick enough to take the top spot on the grid.

Piastri, who was second in Saturday morning’s Sprint race, could go one better from pole position on Sunday – with the 23-year- old sharing the front row with Mercedes’ George Russell.

Piastri’s McLaren teammate Lando Norris starts third, despite leading the first segments of qualifying (Q1 and Q3), but the Brit pitted on his final lap after a couple of mistakes – continuing his scrappy weekend. Norris starts ahead of his expected title rival, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who could only manage fourth.

Chinese Sprint winner Lewis Hamilton starts fifth for Ferrari, ahead of his teammate Charles Leclerc.

The 56-lap Chinese Grand Prix starts at 3pm local time (0700 GMT).

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AP Formula 1: https://apnews.com/hub/formula-one

Stewart Bell, The Associated Press