Hamilton smashes record to edge Verstappen in sensational shootout

Lewis Hamilton scored his first pole position for his new team Ferrari, landing a new record to add his considerable tally.

With McLaren expected to crush the field in the sprint shootout ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix, instead, it was seven-time F1 champion Hamilton who landed the decisive blow in a nip-and-tuck session at the Shanghai International Circuit.

With McLaren's Oscar Piastri on provisional pole, Hamilton saved his best to last with a lap of 1:30.849s to snatch top spot on the grid, and score his first sprint pole since Silverstone 2021.

Hamilton's time also netted a new track record, beating the 1:31.095s set by Sebastian Vettel in 2018 qualifying.

In fact, the top four drivers in this session all beat that Vettel lap, primarily due to the track being resurfaced recently and clearly providing extra grip.

In a familiar-looking front row, Hamilton will be joined by Red Bull's Max Verstappen as the four-time champion pipped Piastri at the death, leaving the Australian alongside the second Ferrari of Charles Leclerc on the second row.

Verstappen finished just 0.018s behind Hamilton.

Mercedes' George Russell and McLaren's Lando Norris, winner of the opening race in Australia five days ago, line up fifth and sixth, the latter enduring a poor SQ3.

Rookie Kimi Antonelli qualified seventh ahead of Yuki Tsunoda for Racing Bulls, the Japanese driver reaching the top 10 thanks to a tow down the back straight from team-mate Isack Hadjar in SQ2.

The fifth row sees Williams' Alex Albon ahead of Aston Martin's Lance Stroll.

More misery for Lawson

Fernando Alonso will start 11th in his Aston Martin, missing out on a place in the top 10 by 0.021s to Tsunoda, primarily thanks to the tow the Japanese gratefully received.

Alongside the two-time F1 champion will be Ollie Bearman for Haas, the British driver posting a superb recovery this weekend so far following a tumultuous one in Australia on his maiden full-time outing with the team.

Whilst Albon performed superbly to net the seventh fastest time in SQ2, new team-mate Carlos Sainz bemoaned the balance of his Williams that leaves the Spaniard 13th on the grid.

Rookie Gabriel Bortoleto lines up 14th for Stake alongside another newcomer in Hadjar, who lost grip through Turn 2 on his attempt at a quick lap and which left him playing a support role to Tsunoda.

It was an astonishing exit for Lawson, who will start from last on the grid, finishing 1.5s adrift of SQ1 pacesetter Hamilton.

Lawson, who started 19th for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, complained on his way back to the Red Bull garage that he "could not get the tyres down", a reference to a lack of grip.

On his second run, in particular, the New Zealander made a mistake at Turn 10 that cost him dearly to leave him staring at a tough sprint race from the back of the pack.

Stake's Nico Hulkenberg will join Lawson on the back row after the veteran German driver was beaten by rookie team-mate Bortoleto for the second successive session.

It was the same story for the more experienced Esteban Ocon after losing out to Bearman. Ocon will start 18th behind fellow Frenchman Pierre Gasly in his Alpine.

Gasly was another driver to be beaten by a rookie team-mate as Jack Doohan managed to get the better of him by 0.065s, leaving them 17th and 16th on the grid respectively.