McLaren’s Oscar Piastri seized the first proper pole position of his Formula One career at the Chinese Grand Prix on Saturday with the fastest lap yet around the Shanghai International Circuit.
The Australian, a two-time race winner who has had sprint poles before, lapped in one minute, 30.641 seconds and was joined on the front row for Sunday’s start by George Russell after the Mercedes driver put in a storming final effort of 1:30.723.
McLaren’s Lando Norris, the winner of the season-opener in Australia and leader of the championship, abandoned his final lap and will start third with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen fourth.
Ferrari filled the third row, with Lewis Hamilton securing fifth after winning the earlier sprint race and teammate Charles Leclerc sixth.
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“The laps were a little bit scruffy but I’m just pumped to be on pole,” said Piastri, who started on the front row in Australia but finished only ninth after spinning off.
The Australian had finished second in the sprint, bagging seven points, and can now look forward to scoring a sackful more on Sunday.
French rookie Isack Hadjar qualified seventh for Racing Bulls, a strong response to his nightmare debut in Melbourne, with Mercedes’ Andrea Kimi Antonelli eighth and Yuki Tsunoda ninth for Racing Bulls.
Williams’ Alex Albon completed the top 10.