Hamilton “gobsmacked” as he gets first Ferrari sprint pole

Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton says he’s “a bit in shock” after taking his first dash pole of his nascent Ferrari period.

Hamilton got here to Shanghai after a tough weekend for each himself and Ferrari in Australia, solely managing tenth in Melbourne by an absence of tempo and poor technique.

However the 40-year-old rebounded strongly in China by taking pole for Saturday’s first dash race of the season in a brand new Shanghai monitor report, warding off reigning world champion Max Verstappen by 0.018s, with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri additionally inside a tenth.

“I did not anticipate that consequence, however so, so blissful and so proud,” Hamilton mentioned. “Clearly, the final race was a catastrophe for us and clearly we knew that there was extra efficiency within the automobile, however we simply weren’t capable of extract it. Coming right here, the automobile actually got here alive from lap one. We made some nice modifications. The crew did a incredible job by the break to get the automobile prepared.

“I am a bit in shock. I am unable to imagine we really bought a pole within the dash. It isn’t the principle race, so we have got work to do for tomorrow, however this places us in good stead for the race. It is superb to see the primary as you cease and be within the purple automobile. It is fairly unimaginable.”

Increasing on his qualifying effort to Sky Sports activities F1, he mentioned that he had been uncertain of when Ferrari could be ready to compete on the entrance given McLaren’s early dominance, and he was “gobsmacked” to already be mixing it up with them on the entrance.

“I am only a bit gobsmacked. I used to be a bit taken again by it,” he mentioned. “I did not know once we would get to this place and after final weekend it was a tough begin to the week. We got here right here with simply aggression and wanting to enter the weekend and actually get the automobile into an ideal place. I began out immediately with a greater feeling within the automobile and I simply cannot imagine that we’re on the entrance and forward of McLaren, which has been so quick all through winter testing and clearly within the final race and even at the moment.

“I am actually grateful simply to be up there preventing with these nice drivers and to be so shut to those different groups.”

Hamilton defined he’s nonetheless racing into the unknown for Saturday morning’s dash as he hasn’t executed a correct race run on dry situations but within the SF-25.

“I did not get to do a race run in Bahrain,” he mentioned. “Clearly, we did the race final weekend within the moist, however tomorrow might be form of my first actual race run, and Sunday might be my first correct race run within the dry with this automobile.

“So, I will be studying. I am hoping that we are able to maintain on to it. However I feel the McLarens are very, very, very quick, as is Max, however we’re in an excellent place. We’ll keep constructive.”