Lewis Hamilton stunned the Formula 1 paddock by claiming Sprint pole position with a new track record during just his second weekend as a Ferrari driver at the Chinese Grand Prix.

Despite McLaren entering Sprint qualifying as heavy favorites after Lando Norris dominated practice by nearly half a second, the team faltered when it mattered most. Oscar Piastri initially set the benchmark for pole but couldn’t improve on his second attempt, finishing third overall, while Norris made crucial errors on both flying laps that relegated him to sixth place.

Hamilton capitalized on McLaren’s struggles, putting together a blistering middle sector to set a new track record of 1m30.849s and secure the Sprint pole position.

“I didn’t expect that result, but I’m so, so happy and so proud,” Hamilton said after qualifying. “Obviously the last race was a disaster for us, and clearly we knew there was more performance in the car, we just weren’t able to extract it.”

The seven-time world champion credited his team’s work during the break, saying, “The car really came alive from lap 1. We made some great changes. The team did a fantastic job through the break to get the car ready. I’m a bit in shock. I can’t believe we’ve actually got a pole in the Sprint.”

Despite his success, Hamilton—a six-time pole-sitter and race winner at the Shanghai circuit—cautioned that McLaren would likely remain the team to beat throughout the weekend, noting he’s still adjusting to his new Ferrari environment.

McLaren’s unexpected dip in performance allowed Max Verstappen to secure second place with his final flying lap, finishing just 0.018 seconds behind Hamilton. Piastri held onto third position, missing pole by only 0.08 seconds. Charles Leclerc placed fourth, 0.208 seconds slower than his pole-winning teammate.

George Russell managed fifth place for Mercedes, 0.32 seconds off the pace but still ahead of Australian Grand Prix winner Norris, whose qualifying session was compromised by mistakes in the final sector on both attempts. His first lap suffered from a significant slide through Turn 13, while his second attempt ended with a lock-up at the Turn 14 hairpin.

The top ten was completed by Mercedes rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli in seventh, followed by Yuki Tsunoda, Alex Albon, and Lance Stroll.

Fernando Alonso narrowly missed the final qualifying segment by 0.021 seconds and will start eleventh, ahead of Haas rookie Oliver Bearman. Carlos Sainz struggled with balance issues and could only manage thirteenth place, while Kick Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto and Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar rounded out the top fifteen.

Alpine’s Jack Doohan and Pierre Gasly qualified sixteenth and seventeenth, respectively, with Esteban Ocon, Nico Hulkenberg, and Liam Lawson completing the grid. Lawson, notably disappointed with his performance, finished 0.813 seconds behind teammate Verstappen