Piastri stuns Verstappen, Norris and Hamilton in Formula 1 first

Shanghai: McLaren’s Oscar Piastri scored his first pole position in Formula 1 ahead of Sunday’s Chinese Grand Prix, with the Australian delivering two sizzling laps which were both quick enough to take the top spot on the grid.

The Australian, a two-time race winner who has had sprint poles before, lapped in one minute, 30.641 seconds – a Shanghai lap record.

Piastri, who was second in Saturday morning’s sprint race, could go one better from pole position on Sunday, with the 23-year- old sharing the front row with Mercedes’ George Russell.

Piastri’s McLaren teammate Lando Norris will start third, despite leading the first segments of qualifying. The Brit pitted on his final lap after a couple of mistakes – continuing his scrappy weekend. Norris starts ahead of his expected title rival, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who could only manage fourth.

Chinese sprint race winner Lewis Hamilton will start fifth for Ferrari, ahead of his new teammate Charles Leclerc.

“The laps were a little bit scruffy but I’m just pumped to be on pole,” said Piastri, who brushed aside the heartbreak of starting on the front row in Australia but managing only ninth after spinning off in the race’s closing stages.

The Melburnian had finished second in the sprint at Shanghai, bagging seven points, and can now look forward to scoring a sackful more on Sunday.

“It’s awesome to have Oscar get his first pole. He’s been close, [had] a lot of front rows, and that was a mega lap,” said McLaren Chief Executive Zak Brown.