formula 1
Crime thriller in qualifying: McLaren-Jungstar gets starting place one
Updated on 22.03.2025 – 9:10 a.m.Reading time: 1 min.
The qualifying for the Grand Prix of China once again became a crime thriller. In the end, Oscar Piatri kept ahead.
Oscar Piatri secured the pole position for a Grand Prix for the first time in his Formula 1 career. The 23-year-old Australian drove the fastest time in qualifying for the Grand Prix of China and secured the first starting place for the race on Sunday (8:00 a.m. in the live ticker at T-Online) in Shanghai with a round of 1: 30.641 minutes.
Surprisingly, George Russell landed in second place in Mercedes. The favorite World Cup leader Lando Norris finished third in the second McLaren. Nico Hülkenberg starts in clean from twelve.
Record world champion Lewis Hamilton had already celebrated his first victory in Ferrari in the sprint. The 40-year-old Brit won the 100-kilometer race confidently in front of Piatri and world champion Max Verstappen in the Red Bull. Norris had problems in this short race and only finished eighth. In qualifying for the main race on Sunday, however, Hamilton only came for fifth place.
Despite his weaker performance in the sprint, Norris goes into the main race with a narrow lead. The McLaren pilot, which had won the opening race in Australia, is two points ahead of Verstappen, which secured fourth place in the qualification. In the previous year, Verstappen won the Grand Prix of China in front of Norris.