The grid is set for the Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix.
Oscar Piastri, thanks to the “hairpin of [his] life,” stormed to the front of the field to capture his first Grand Prix pole position. He nipped George Russell for P1 in a thrilling qualifying session and will start right in front of his McLaren teammate Lando Norris, who will start third.
Max Verstappen is of course lurking, as the defending F1 Drivers’ Champion will start alongside Norris in P4.
Saturday’s qualifying session offered up some surprises throughout the field. Rookie driver Isack Hadjar rebounded from a difficult start to his F1 career as he stormed into Q3 and will start seventh, alongside fellow rookie Kimi Antonelli, who lines up eighth. Hadjar’s Visa Cash App Racing Bulls teammate Yuki Tsunoda continues his strong start to the 2025 F1 campaign, as he will start ninth after capturing his first points of the season in the F1 Sprint race earlier in the day.
On the other end of the grid, Liam Lawson’s struggles at Red Bull continue. After qualifying 18th for the Australian Grand Prix, Lawson qualified in P20 for both the F1 Sprint race and the Grand Prix itself in Shanghai.
“I don’t know how else to put it really, it’s just not good enough,” admitted the Red Bull driver after qualifying.
Here is how the entire grid will line up for the Chinese Grand Prix:
Chinese Grand Prix Provisional Starting Grid
| Row | Position | Driver | Team | Position | Driver | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Row | Position | Driver | Team | Position | Driver | Team |
| Row 1 | 1 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 2 | George Russell | Mercedes |
| Row 2 | 3 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 4 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull |
| Row 3 | 5 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | 6 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari |
| Row 4 | 7 | Isack Hadjar | VCARB | 8 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes |
| Row 5 | 9 | Yuki Tsunoda | VCARB | 10 | Alex Albon | Williams |
| Row 6 | 11 | Esteban Ocon | Haas | 12 | Nico Hülkenberg | Sauber |
| Row 7 | 13 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | 14 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin |
| Row 8 | 15 | Carlos Sainz Jr. | Williams | 16 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine |
| Row 9 | 17 | Oliver Bearman | Haas | 18 | Jack Doohan | Alpine |
| Row 10 | 19 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Sauber | 20 | Liam Lawson | Red Bull |
