Grand Prix of China: Hamilton with the first Ferrari victory – Piatri in pole position

Lewis Hamilton cheered in the sprint about the first victory in Ferrari, Oscar Piatri shortly afterwards about the premiere in the pole position. WM leader Lando Norris, on the other hand, had no reason to be happy on a bitter Formula 1 day in China. “I made a few mistakes again,” said the McLaren pilot in Shanghai.

The 25-year-old initially only ran eighth in the first short race of the year, despite the favorite role, he was only third in the qualification for China’s Grand Prix on Sunday (8:00 a.m./RTL and Sky).

After all, thanks to his opening win in Australia, Norris will be the next run in Australia as a World Cup leader. However, the lead over world champion Max Verstappen in the Red Bull is only two points, while McLaren teammate Piatri of all people is preparing to further increase the pressure on him. For the first time in his career, 23-year-old Piatri from Australia secured the space at the forefront. “I am very happy with the end result, but it was still a bit difficult,” he said.

Third place for Norris a disappointment

Norris didn’t have much more than congratulating his stable rival. “I am always disappointed when I’m not on the pole,” said the Brit: “But Oscar deserves it today. He did a good job all weekend.” In contrast to himself, because Norris made mistakes on Friday and was unable to take a decisive step forward even in the sprint after an early driving error.

Unlike Hamilton. The record world champion won the first sprint of the season at the start of Saturday and surprised himself. Before Piatri and Verstappen, the 40-year-old from Great Britain led every meter of the race. “I woke up today and felt very good,” said Hamilton: “We did a good job here from the first round. It felt great.”

At the start in Melbourne, Hamilton was still disappointed a week ago. “I don’t feel pressure. We have to stay calm and take one step after the other,” said Hamilton: “Rome was not built in one day either.” In the Grand Prix, the long-time Mercedes driver goes fifth and would only like to make the jump onto the podium in the main race.

Verstappen teammate becomes last

Especially against the favorite McLaren, this will also be a difficult task for defending champion Verstappen. “We are not fast enough,” said the Dutch after fourth place in qualifying. The 27-year-old continues to have big problems with the balance of his car, the car seems to be significantly weaker compared to the competition than in the past few years, when Verstappen has long won one victory after the other.

And an old problem with Red Bull remains: The second driver weakens next to the four -time champion. The racing team had hoped to take one step forward after the separation from the Mexican Sergio Perez and the promotion of Liam Lawson.

But the New Zealander Lawson is a disappointment at the start of the year. The 23-year-old became qualified and has to fear his cockpit early. “Formula 1 is competitive. That is what counts,” said Red Bull’s motorsport consultant Helmut Marko at Sky when asked whether he could imagine changing the pilot during the season.