Winners and losers from the 2025 Chinese Grand Prix Sprint qualifying

Lewis Hamilton secured his first Sprint pole since the 2021 season in just his second race weekend with Ferrari at the Shanghai International Circuit.

The British driver bounced back from a difficult start in Australia to put the Italian team’s ‘Cavallino’ on top.

2025 Chinese GP Sprint qualifying: Winners and losers

Sprint qualifying delivered a big surprise with Hamilton‘s pole, but also major disappointment for McLaren, due to a serious strategic error and a clearly outpaced Lando Norris, who was beaten by Oscar Piastri.

On the other hand, Max Verstappen missed out on being the fastest man by just 18 thousandths, representing the positive side of Red Bull – unlike Liam Lawson, who raised even more doubts by being the slowest driver in China.

In the midfield, just like in Melbourne, there were some positive standouts like Yuki Tsunoda with Racing Bulls, and some unexpected negatives such as Carlos Sainz’s lack of pace with Williams.

Winner: Lewis Hamilton

After a poor debut with Ferrari in Australia, the seven-time World Champion delivered a perfect lap in Shanghai to secure the second Sprint pole of his career at one of his favourite circuits.

Hamilton was two-tenths faster than Charles Leclerc, who finished fourth and is still struggling to find his rhythm. The British driver made a statement – and so did Ferrari – by managing to challenge McLaren and Max Verstappen.

Hamilton’s Sprint pole is an important message: he hasn’t lost his speed. He simply needed to find it. And it’s more than evident that when he does – though lately it hasn’t been often – he’s unstoppable.

Loser: Liam Lawson

It seems Australia’s problems weren’t just a one-off. The New Zealander not only failed to make it into SQ2 but also ended up at the very bottom of the standings. His final attempt in SQ1, seen from the onboard camera, is a nightmare.

No grip, no control of the car. Lawson’s start with Red Bull couldn’t be worse. After all the hype, the tests, and Helmut Marko’s comments throughout much of the 2024 season against Sergio Pérez… it’s starting to look like the driver wasn’t the main problem after all.

Winner: Max Verstappen

While his teammates struggle to tame their machines, Verstappen seems to be at one with the RB21. He missed out on sprint pole by just 18 thousandths to Hamilton, but the feeling is that he’s one of the top favourites for victory in the Sprint race.

Although Red Bull appears to be a step behind McLaren – and even Ferrari – in China, Max is always capable of placing the car where it doesn’t belong by capitalising on others’ mistakes and maximizing his own performance.

However, in race conditions, he might struggle more to cover up the weaknesses of the RB21, which still feels like a small step forward compared to the RB20 from mid-2024.

Loser: McLaren & Lando Norris

McLaren got overconfident in SQ3 and made a strategic mistake. There’s no other explanation. The MCL39 is and will continue to be the fastest car in China for the rest of the weekend.

The papaya team sent Norris and Oscar Piastri out for two attempts on the soft tyre, with more fuel on board than their rivals. Both drivers have the talent to fight for pole with just one proper attempt, as Ferrari and Verstappen did under optimal track conditions.

In fact, neither Norris nor Piastri improved their lap times on the second run, with Norris aborting his lap before finishing. Even though he improved in Sector 1, the energy already spent on the tyre caused them to fall off completely through the high-speed corners of Sector 2, where optimal rubber is crucial for performance.

As the ideal lap times show, performance-wise McLaren should’ve locked out the front row, with Piastri on Sprint pole.

After a strong weekend in Australia, Norris was outperformed by his teammate and ended up two-tenths slower in SQ3 compared to SQ2 – something that should never happen – but both drivers struggled to put in the perfect lap in the end, meaning that the car might be really difficult to handle as Norris has stated.

More key talking points from Chinese GP Sprint qualifying

👉 McLaren strategy called out after Lewis Hamilton takes Chinese GP Sprint pole

👉 Why the FIA took ‘no further action’ against Leclerc in China Sprint quali

Winner: Yuki Tsunoda

The Japanese driver continues to impress with the VCARB02 from Racing Bulls. Once again, he’s into Q3 and “best of the rest.” Very consistent lap times and a great lap in SQ3, missing out on beating Kimi Antonelli by less than 0.04s.

Now the question arises: did Red Bull and Helmut Marko make a mistake by promoting Lawson instead of Tsunoda? Without a doubt, Yuki is showing serious pace, and even though the RB21 is a completely different machine… this question must surely be circling in more than one head at the Milton Keynes camp.

Loser: Alpine

A tough blow for Alpine. After showing good form in Australia, they struggled heavily in Sprint qualifying on a completely different kind of circuit. Far off the pace, with a car that couldn’t find either balance or grip.

On a more positive note, Jack Doohan finished P16, ahead of Pierre Gasly in P17. The Australian driver must continue outperforming the Frenchman consistently if he wants to avoid crumbling under pressure and facing major decisions from Flavio Briatore mid-season.

Winner: Oliver Bearman

It was hard to do worse than in Australia and Bearman delivered an excellent Sprint qualifying, putting the Haas in P12, just behind Fernando Alonso and coming close to making SQ3.

After several crashes in Melbourne and the clear lack of pace in the VF-25, the British driver pieced together a strong lap in SQ2, ending up more than six-tenths ahead of the far more experienced Esteban Ocon.

Loser: Carlos Sainz

What’s happening to Carlos? The Spanish driver is struggling to post competitive lap times with the FW47. Alexander Albon was clearly ahead, making it into SQ3, while Sainz could only manage P13.

Although things looked positive in Australia, since qualifying in Melbourne, Sainz has been having major issues with the balance of the Williams. He doesn’t feel comfortable, and it’s showing in both performance and results.

The Sprint race will be a good opportunity to reset and regain some confidence before switching to the traditional format for the rest of the weekend – where most of the points are handed out. At the very least, there’s hope that Williams seems capable of fighting toward the top of the midfield.