Oscar Piastri claims pole position with new lap record at Chinese Grand Prix

Oscar Piastri has claimed his first pole position in Formula 1 after setting a new lap record during qualifying at the China Grand Prix, as Mercedes’ George Russell snuck onto the front row.

Australian Formula One star Oscar Piastri claimed the first pole position of his rapidly accelerating career after a brilliant record breaking performance in qualifying at the Chinese Grand Prix on Saturday.

Returning to the Shanghai circuit just hours after he finished runner-up to Lewis Hamilton in the opening sprint race of the season, Piastri became the first Australian to get pole position at a Grand Prix since Daniel Ricciardo at Mexico in 2018.

Piastri’s blistering flying lap time of 1:30.641 in his McLaren was just enough to pip Britain’s Mercedes driver George Russell by 0.082 seconds for the front spot on the grid.

“The car just came alive in Q3 and I came alive,” Piastri said. “The laps were still a bit scruffy but I’m just pumped to be on pole.”

Oscar Piastri set a new lap record to claim pole position for the China GP. Picture: AFP

After struggling to produce his best in Q1 and Q2, Piastri unleashed a lightning quick final sector in Q3 that no-one else could match.

“I think that was the hairpin of my life. I just had a little scream in my helmet,” he told his engineers when they informed he had topped the timesheets.

You beauty 💪#F1#[e-mail]/SKNO1rvzvV

— Formula 1 (@F1) March 22, 2025

Piastri’s English team mate Lando Norris, who won last weekend’s season opening round in Australia to lead the drivers’ championship, qualified third while world champion Max Verstappen was fourth, Hamilton fifth and his Ferrari team mate Charles Leclerc sixth.

“I’m always disappointed if I’m not on pole, but Oscar deserved it,” Norris said.

“He’s done a great job all weekend and I’m happy for him - his first pole in Formula One is always cool.”

OSCAR PIASTRI TAKES HIS FIRST-EVER F1 POLE POSITION 🎉#F1#ChineseGPpic.twitter.com/23fVPJ7rfz

— Formula 1 (@F1) March 22, 2025

Piastri had qualified second fastest eight times previously in his career, including at Albert Park last weekend before rain ruined his race and he finished ninth.

But he finally went one better in spectacular style, smashing the Shanghai track record to join Jack Brabham, Alan Jones, Mark Webber and Ricciardo as the only Aussies to claim a F1 pole position.

“When you hook it up, it feels pretty mega, so I will take the fastest lap of Shanghai,” he said.

McLaren team boss Zac Brown was thrilled by Piastri’s performance.

“He’s been close before.... but that was a mega lap,” he said.

The starting grid for Sunday's Shanghai showdown 🤩#F1#ChineseGPpic.twitter.com/UGfZotzl7F

— Formula 1 (@F1) March 22, 2025

Australia’s Jack Doohan failed to make it out of Q1 in his Alpine, raising more doubts about how long he will survive in the cutthroat world of F1, while New Zealand’s Liam Lawson, who replaced Daniel Ricciardo last season, is also under the microscope after he qualified dead last for Red Bull.

“It’s really tough, the window is really small, it’s honestly not an excuse,” a dejected Lawson said. “I’ve got to get a handle of it.”

“ILess than four hours before Grand Prix qualifying, Piastri drove a masterful race to collect his first trophy of the season in the 19-lap sprint.

After starting third on the grid, Piastri patiently waited for his chance to overtake Verstappen towards the end of the 100 km race to finish second and pick up seven valuable points to climb into equal sixth place in the drivers’ championship.

“Finishing second was great, I really learnt a lot,” Piastri said. “The way I got the result is an encouraging thing.

“I think we have good pace in the car (but), we’ve got competition this weekend.”

LAP 15/19

Piastri pounces!

He's up to P2 👏#F1Sprint#ChineseGPpic.twitter.com/OripQCVw8Y

— Formula 1 (@F1) March 22, 2025

British driver Lewis Hamilton celebrates his first win with Ferrari

Hamilton celebrated his first race win for Ferrari by taking a swipe at the critics who had questioned his early season form after switching from Mercedes to the famous Italian manufacturer.

“The amount of critics and people I’ve heard yapping along the way just clearly don’t understand, maybe because they’ve never had the experience or are unaware,” Hamilton said.

Verstappen held on to finish third while Norris placed eighth after a poor performance in qualifying left him well behind the leaders from the get-go.

Doohan finished last after he made contact with Gabriel Bortoleto on the final lap.

Originally published as Oscar Piastri claims pole position with new lap record at Chinese Grand Prix