Lewis Hamilton on Friday bounced back from the disappointment of finishing 10th in his first race for Ferrari at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix by taking pole position for Chinese Grand Prix sprint race.
The seven-time Formula One world champion from Britain clocked a new lap record at the Shanghai International Circuit to top the time-sheet ahead of Red Bull's reigning title-holder Max Verstappen.
McLaren's Oscar Piastri was third and Hamilton's team-mate Charles Leclerc will be fourth on the grid.
"I didn't expect that result but I'm so, so happy and so proud," Hamilton said.
"I think the last race was a disaster for us, and clearly we knew that there was more performance in the car, but we just weren't able to extract it.
"To come here to a track that I love, Shanghai, a beautiful place, the weather's been amazing and the car really came alive from Lap 1.
"We made some great changes, the team did a fantastic job through the break to get the car ready.
"I'm a bit in shock, I can't believe it's actually… we got a pole in the Sprint. "Obviously, it's not the main race so we've got work to do for tomorrow, but it puts us in good stead for the race." .
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