Formula 1 News: Piastri wins pole for 2025 Chinese GP
Driving a superior McLaren, Australian Oscar Piastri turned a lap of 1m30.641s to win the pole for the 2025 Chinese GP at the Shanghai International Circuit.
–by Mark Cipolloni–
“In Q3, I just found a lot of pace – Q1 and Q2 I was genuinely struggling,” explained Piastri. “The car just came alive in Q3, and I think I came alive in Q3. I’m happy with what I did at the end, it was still… the laps were a little bit scruffy. I’m just pumped to be on pole, so I’m very happy.”
How superior is the McLaren? Piastri beat Max Verstappen’s pole time for last year by 3.019 seconds!
Piastri beat the Mercedes of George Russell by less than 1/10th of a second. Russell jumped up to 2nd in the waning seconds of the session with a sensational lap.
Driving the other superior McLaren, Lando Norris qualified third, just a fraction slower than Russell
Reigning four-time World Champion Max Verstappen took fourth in the Red Bull ‘sled’.
How bad is the Red Bull, and why do we call it a ‘sled’?
His Red Bull teammate, Liam Lawson, qualified dead last for the Sprint race and was dead last in this qualifying session in the identical car. It is clear that Verstappen is carrying the inferior Red Bull on his back.
If Verstappen was driving a McLaren, Mercedes or a Ferrari, he would likely run away with the championship, such is his level of talent.
The Ferraris of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc were 5th and 6th, with Hamilton not able to repeat his pole he took for the Sprint race.
The Racing Bulls were fast throughout qualifying, with Isack Hadjar finishing in 7th and teammate Yuki Tsunoda 9th, sandwiching the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli.
The Williams’ of Alex Albon rounded out the top 10 places.
Carlos Sainz Jr. could not quite match the pace of teammate Albon and was out in Q2 and will start in 15th position.
2025 Chinese GP Qualifying Results
| Pos | No | Driver | Car | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 |
| 1 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren Mercedes | 1:31.591 | 1:31.200 | 1:30.641 |
| 2 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1:31.295 | 1:31.307 | 1:30.723 |
| 3 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren Mercedes | 1:30.983 | 1:30.787 | 1:30.793 |
| 4 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT | 1:31.424 | 1:31.142 | 1:30.817 |
| 5 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | 1:31.690 | 1:31.501 | 1:30.927 |
| 6 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:31.579 | 1:31.450 | 1:31.021 |
| 7 | 6 | Isack Hadjar | Racing Bulls Honda RBPT | 1:31.162 | 1:31.253 | 1:31.079 |
| 8 | 12 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | 1:31.676 | 1:31.590 | 1:31.103 |
| 9 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | Racing Bulls Honda RBPT | 1:31.238 | 1:31.260 | 1:31.638 |
| 10 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams Mercedes | 1:31.503 | 1:31.595 | 1:31.706 |
| 11 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Haas Ferrari | 1:31.876 | 1:31.625 | – |
| 12 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Kick Sauber Ferrari | 1:31.921 | 1:31.632 | – |
| 13 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes | 1:31.719 | 1:31.688 | – |
| 14 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes | 1:31.923 | 1:31.773 | – |
| 15 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | Williams Mercedes | 1:31.628 | 1:31.840 | – |
| 16 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine Renault | 1:31.992 | – | – |
| 17 | 87 | Oliver Bearman | Haas Ferrari | 1:32.018 | – | – |
| 18 | 7 | Jack Doohan | Alpine Renault | 1:32.092 | – | – |
| 19 | 5 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Kick Sauber Ferrari | 1:32.141 | – | – |
| 20 | 30 | Liam Lawson | Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT | 1:32.174 | – | – |