Lewis Hamilton secured his first pole position with Ferrari on Friday by breaking the Shanghai circuit lap record during sprint qualifying for the Chinese Grand Prix.

The seven-time world champion clocked 1:30.849, narrowly edging out Red Bull's Max Verstappen by just 0.018 seconds.

The result marks a significant turnaround for Hamilton, who finished 10th in the season opener in Melbourne. "I didn’t expect that result, but I'm so happy and so proud," he said. Teammate Charles Leclerc starts fourth, behind McLaren's Oscar Piastri, while championship leader Lando Norris lines sixth after a costly error.