Shanghai.- Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari They achieved their first joint success after the English pilot, seven times F1 world champion, conquered this Friday the ‘pole’ for the esprint race of the sprint of the China Grand Prix that will be played on Saturday.
In a Shanghai circuit bathed by the sun and with a few whores full of fans, Hamilton achieved the best chrono in the classification session: “I cannot believe that we have achieved the ‘pole’,” said English.
Your surprise is justified. Last weekend, Ferrari was far behind McLaren in Australia, the first race of the year, and this Friday, in the only training session in China, the British team was again the protagonist, with the best chrono of Lando Norris, with more than four tenths of advantage over the second, Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), and Oscar Piastri third.
“The last race was a disaster, but we knew that the car was better,” added a Hamilton that, in Melbourne, at its premiere at the wheel of a Ferrari, ended in a discreet 10th place.
Verstappen second
In a layout in which he won six times in the past, ‘King’ Lewis will leave on Saturday ahead of another world champion, the Dutch Max Verstappen (Red Bull). Between the two, eleven world crowns on the front line of the output grill.
Behind was a piastri that saved McLaren’s honor, since Norris ended up in the sixth place, half a second from Hamilton, after making a piloting error in the last attempt to reduce his chrono.
Together with the young Australian, Leclerc and behind George Russell and Norris, in a 100% British line.
The young Andrea Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes), the Japanese Yuki Tsunoda (Racing Bulls), the Thai Alexander Albon (Williams) and the Canadian Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) completed the Top 10.
The session served to confirm that there are four teams above the rest, McLaren, Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes, whose pilots occupied the first seven places.
Four dominant teams
The only exception, the New Zealand Liam Lawson, who at the moment still does not adapt to Red Bull and will leave from the last position of the grill for a sprint that will have just over 100 km to travel in about thirty minutes.
As for the Spaniards, Fernando Alonso stayed at the gates of entering the Top 10 and will leave just behind his partner Stroll and Carlos Sainz is still in the process of adaptation to Williams and will leave from the 13th place, just ahead of the Brazilian Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber).
The winner of that ESPRENT race will get 8 points and will only have the first eight classified.
On Saturday, in addition, the classification session will be played to determine the order of departure of the Sunday Grand Prix.
Friday’s day served to honor Eddie Jordan, founder of the team with the same name (ancestor of current Aston Martin), who died on Thursday at 76, victim of prostate cancer.
Tributes to Eddie Jordan
“The number of young pilots who gave a chance … He was a great champion for young talents,” Red Bull’s pattern, Christian Horner recalled Friday.
Jordan was the one who gave the first opportunity in F1 to a then young Michael Schumacher, converted with the years into legend of this sport with seven world championships (record he shares with Hamilton).
“He was a real competitor, a great leader and one of the great characters in our sport,” said the head of Aston Martin, Lawrence Stroll.
Until Sunday, the two pilots of this team, Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll (son of the owner), will pilot a car decorated by the name of Jordan and a clover, symbol of his Irish nationality.
