SIR LEWIS HAMILTON had the perfect response to his dismal Ferrari Formula One debut in Australia by racing to pole for the Chinese Grand Prix Sprint race.
Hamilton had a debut to forget as he finished P10 in a tricky Melbourne race.
The 40-year-old had been highlighted for his X-rated conversation with his engineer, Riccardo Adami, after growing frustrated at the communication throughout the race.
However, a week on Hamilton responded with a stunning performance in Shanghai as he pipped old rival Max Verstappen to Sprint pole.
The Brit raced around the circuit to prove his doubters wrong by landing his first Ferrari pole, first career pole since 2023 and second-ever Sprint pole.
But more remarkably, Hamilton’s pole saw him achieve two feats not seen for over 30 years.
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The first saw Hamilton become the first F1 driver over the age of 40 to grab pole since Nigel Mansell in 1994.
The second saw Hamilton become the first British driver to score pole for the Scuderia since 1990, a record also held by Mansell.
When he was told the news by his engineer that he had qualified on pole, Hamilton replied: “Really? Hahaha! Mega job. Woo!”
He celebrated with his dad Anthony after the session as he set a new lap record around Shanghai with a time of 1:30.849.
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Speaking after the session, he said: “I didn’t expect that result but so, so happy and so proud.
“Clearly the last race was a disaster for us but we knew there was more pace in the car.
“I’m a bit shocked. I can’t believe we got a pole in the Sprint!”
Hamilton can win up to eight points for winning the Sprint Race, which commences tomorrow at 3am UK time.
Qualifying for the feature race will take place from 7am, with the full race happening at 7am on Sunday.
Source: Motorsport - thesun.co.uk
