Chinese GP Qualifying: Oscar Piastri claims maiden Grand Prix pole as George Russell takes second on grid in Shanghai

Oscar Piastri claimed the first Grand Prix pole of his Formula 1 career by edging out George Russell in China.

Piastri, who has twice previously topped Sprint qualifying sessions, came out on top in challenging windy conditions at the Shanghai International Circuit to make it two poles from two for McLaren to start the season.

The reigning constructors’ champions looked set to secure a front-row lockout as the pole contenders struggled to improve on their second runs in Q3, but Russell sprung a surprise to push Lando Norris down to third.

Max Verstappen was fourth for Red Bull, while Lewis Hamilton could only manage fifth – a place ahead of his Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc – following the seven-time world champion’s maiden Ferrari victory in the Sprint earlier on Saturday.

Isack Hadjar drove superbly to take seventh for Racing Bulls, edging out the Mercedes of fellow rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli.

Yuki Tsunoda was ninth in the other Racing Bull, further increasing the rapidly-growing pressure on Liam Lawson, whose nightmare start to his Red Bull career continued as he qualified last.

Alex Albon completed the top 10 for Williams, as Carlos Sainz struggled to match his team-mate’s pace and only qualified 15th after a Q2 exit.

Piastri ‘came alive’ to snatch maiden pole

McLaren had been expected to dominate in China after a strong opening weekend in Melbourne, which saw Norris win and Piastri only miss out on second as a result of a spin in the challenging wet conditions.

But that all changed when Hamilton took Sprint pole for Ferrari, and then backed it up over 19 laps to suggest predictions – most notably from Russell – of a McLaren-dominated season might be misguided.

While it was clear from the start of Saturday’s full-length qualifying that McLaren were in the mix for pole, they were once more far from dominant, with Verstappen appearing perhaps their most likely challenger as Norris topped Q1 and Q2.

Piastri had been the more comfortable of the McLaren drivers in the Sprint, finishing second while Norris took eighth, but was visibly struggling in the early stages of this session.

However, when it mattered most, the Australian rediscovered his form to go fastest on the first runs of the Q3 pole position shoot-out, edging Norris by almost a tenth.

In the fluctuating conditions, improvement was hard to find for all the drivers on their second runs, but Piastri produced a stunning final sector to find a further six hundredths of a second and deliver a time of 1:30.641, while most of his rivals struggled.

Russell was the exception, overcoming what had been a tricky session for Mercedes to surge onto the front row in the dying seconds.

Piastri said: “I found a lot of pace in Q3. Q1 and Q2 I was genuinely struggling and the car came alive, I came alive in Q3.

“The laps were a little bit scruffy but I’m just pumped to be on pole.”

While the 23-year-old is on grand prix pole for the first time, he has twice before won full-length races – in Azerbaijan and Hungary last year – and will start as the clear favourite for Sunday’s race, live on Sky Sports at 7am.

Piastri’s devastating spin when in contention for victory at his home race last weekend left him 23 points back from Norris in a potential title battle between the McLaren pair, but, after gaining six points on his team-mate in the Sprint, he is now well positioned to make further inroads.

Sky Sports F1’s live Chinese GP schedule

Sunday March 23

• 2.40am: F1 Academy Race 2
• 5.30am: Chinese GP build-up: Grand Prix Sunday*
• 7am: THE CHINESE GRAND PRIX*
• 9am: Chinese GP reaction: Chequered flag*
• 10am: Ted’s Notebook*

*Also on Sky Sports Main Event

Formula 1 is in Shanghai this week for the first Sprint weekend of the season at the Chinese GP, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – No contract, cancel anytime