Piastri secures thrilling maiden Pole Position in Shanghai

For the first time in his Formula 1 career, Oscar Piastri will line up from Pole Position at the Chinese Grand Prix, setting a new lap record after mastering a highly-competitive qualifying session in Shanghai.

Qualifying 1:

Putting the added stress of the now-completed Sprint formalities behind them, the target of a high grid slot for the Chinese Grand Prix’s main event was the sole focus as the drivers began queuing minutes before the light went green in the pitlane. 

When the field was finally released, the competition kicked off with the usual suspects topping the timing sheets.

Piastri made quick work of the first stage of qualifying, foreshadowing what was to come when he jumped to the top of the order with a time of 1:31.591s.

Despite the early strength, track evolution meant that no one was guaranteed a place in the top fifteen as the field returned to the track.

Piastri’s initial time held strong, however, fast-tracking him to Q2.

Unable to say the same were Jack Doohan and Liam Lawson, with both drivers running a session they’d rather forget in Shanghai.

The Australian started his session with a disorientating spin, setting the tone of his Q1 campaign when he was forced to tiptoe back to the pitlane after jumping on the throttle too early at Turn 8.

Recovering, Doohan wasn’t able to impress across his next attempt, only slotting into P16 as one of five drivers in the elimination zone.

On his final attempt, yellow sectors ruined the Australian’s last-ditch hopes, and he was locked in to start the Chinese Grand Prix from P18 as both Alpines made an early exit from the session.

Looking for his first positive result of the season, Liam Lawson spent the opening eight minutes of the session without a time to his name, aborting his first lap after being interrupted by Doha’s yellow flags.

Crossing the line for the first time, the Kiwi was over a second slower than his benchmark-holding teammate, sitting in P15 as the driver at risk.

When it came time for the final attempts, Lawson had a huge ask ahead of him, with Pierre Gasly throwing a spanner into the works by overtaking the Red Bull driver as they rounded the final corner to start the lap.

The Kiwi showed improvements on the timing sheets, setting personal best sectors across the lap, however, as he took the chequered flag, the #30 was the unlucky loser doomed to start the Chinese Grand Prix from last place.

Meanwhile, the RB drivers excelled, with Isack Hadjar and Yuki Tsunoda booking their tickets through to Q2 with the second and third fastest times.

As for the rest of the field, it was a momentary P1 for the most recent Sprint winner before Piastri bested Hamilton by one-tenth, while Max Verstappen lapped the Shanghai International Circuit even quicker.

Having had his first attempt deleted for track limits at Turn 8, Lando Norris set the fastest first sector, wasting the pace at the final corner when he was forced to overcorrect, leaving him in P6.

Also slower than he would have liked was Charles Leclerc down in P13, over a tenth clear of the elimination zone as the final round of last-ditch efforts kicked off.

Needing to improve from the bottom five to keep their chances of a Q2 appearance alive were Esteban Ocon, Pierre Gasly, Carlos Sainz, Lawson and Doohan. 

All drivers barring Verstappen rolled out onto the 5.4km circuit, with the likes of George Russell in P10 being informed “we do need this lap” as he charged towards the line.

Huge improvements were seen across the board, however, at the back end of the order, Gasly, Oliver Bearman, Doohan, Gabriel Bortoleto and Lawson were all knocked out in Q1.

Qualifying 2:

It was a far calmer start to Q2 in Shanghai, with the cars gradually rolling out of the pitlane instead of forming the usually impatient queue.

Having used an extra set of tyres in Q1, Piastri had one less tool in the shed to use for the remainder of the session.

Piastri’s initial lap, a 1:31.200s, momentarily placed him fastest overall before Norris, with three purple sectors, put four-tenths between himself and the #81. 

For his final attempt, McLaren sent Piastri out on a used tyre, differing from his competitors who were sporting shiny sets of the soft compound.

The Australian didn’t have to worry too much, with his McLaren carrying him safely into the top ten shootout with the third-fastest time.

Behind the McLarens during the early stages of Q2, Verstappen was the closest driver while the Ferrari duo looked nervous in P7 and P8.

Even more nervous were Lance Stroll, Ocon, Hadjar, Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz, who all found themselves sitting in the elimination zone before the final round of flying laps kicked off.

Despite setting a purple middle sector on his last attempt, a yellow final sector left Hamilton in P8 while Leclerc sat just one position higher.

The duo scrapped through to Q3, sharing the excitement, and relief, with the likes of Alex Albon and the flying RB duo who were both under half a second slower than Norris’ fastest time of 1:30.787s.

Exiting qualifying in Q2 were Ocon, Nico Hulkenberg, Alonso, Stroll and Sainz, with the Williams driver still not confident with his new team’s challenger. 

Qualifying 3:

Pushing and shoving one another for track position, Russell instantly challenged Verstappen as the pairing led the queue on track to start the shootout.

Despite losing the front-runner spot, Verstappen soon took P1 on the timing sheets, however, it was short-lived.

Lighting up the timing sheets, Piastri started his Q3 campaign by securing provisional pole with a time of 1:30.703s, beating his teammate by a slim nine-hundredths of a second while the Dutchman sat two-tenths back.

Behind the top three, Ferrari looked out of the race for a place on the front row, with the drivers running in P4 and P6, split by Russell. 

As for the midfield contenders, the Racing Bulls had the edge over Alex Albon, however, an unsafe release for Isack Hadjar made his heart skip a beat as he exited the pitlane to launch for the final time.

Verstappen was one of the first drivers to begin the lap, setting a purple opening sector before dropping off as the kilometres ticked by. 

As a result, the Red Bull driver failed to improve on his position in P3, a notion that Norris also dealt with when he aborted his final run, admitting defeat as he continued straight into the pit entry as opposed to the final straight.

Continuing on track, Oscar Piastri charged around the Shanghai International Circuit, matching Verstappen and Norris through the first sector.

Despite securing provisional pole thanks to the #1 and #4’s slower effort, the Australian followed through to the chequered flag, improving on his lap to cement his first-ever pole position of his F1 career. 

His time of 1:30.641s smashed the all-time lap record in China, declaring the slow-speed Turn 14 “the hairpin of my life” in process.

Russell was last to cross the line, being the only driver to come within touching distance of the lead grid slot when he boosted his Silver Arrow into P2, just 82 milliseconds behind the Australian.

The Mercedes-powered top three were all smiles as they congratulated each other in Parc Ferme, however, come lights out on Sunday, all notions of friendship will go out the window. 

Chasing redemption after a heartbreaking home Grand Prix, Piastri will hunt his first victory of the season when the five lights go out at 18:00 AEDT tomorrow.

Image: McLaren

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