Max P2 in sprint qualifying in China: 'It's a motivational boost'

Published on 21 March 2025 by Misha van der Kroon

Max Verstappen secured second place in sprint qualifying for the sprint race in China, finishing just 0.018 seconds behind Lewis Hamilton, who took sprint pole in only his second weekend with Ferrari. Oscar Piastri put his McLaren in third, while Charles Leclerc and George Russell completed the top five in Shanghai.

"I’m very happy," Max said after the session. "We were quite a bit off in the practice session, so I’m very happy to be on the front row now. It’s always tough when you go from the medium to the soft tyre and to nail the lap with no references. Realistically, we shouldn’t have been on the front row, so I’m really happy to be second."

Max confirmed that nothing major has changed on the car since practice. "I don’t think the balance was massively off. We’re just too slow. But this is good for us, it’s a motivational boost to keep maximizing everything. Hopefully, tomorrow will be fun, and we can race."

Sprint qualifying gets underway in warm conditions, with 24°C air temperature and a track temperature of 38°C. Verstappen opens SQ1 with a 1:32.329 but quickly drops down the order as both Ferraris, Lando Norris, Fernando Alonso, and George Russell go faster. Meanwhile, Yuki Tsunoda reports that Russell blocked him in turn 14. In his final push lap, Verstappen improves to P5. Oliver Bearman impresses with a strong lap, and secures a place in SQ2 with the tenth-fastest time. Hamilton is fastest in SQ1.

The session ends early for Max’s teammate Liam Lawson. The New Zealander struggles with tyre performance and is knocked out in SQ1. Nico Hulkenberg, Esteban Ocon, Pierre Gasly, and Jack Doohan also fail to make it out of SQ1.

Max starts SQ2 with a 1:31.521, but Norris sets a much faster lap, taking provisional pole for the sprint with a 1:31.174. Piastri also gets ahead of Verstappen, slotting into second. Meanwhile, the stewards decide that Russell will not face any further actions for the turn 14-incident with Tsunoda. Max stays in the pits for the final minutes of the SQ2 and ends in sixth. Norris, Piastri, and Hamilton lead the pack, while Hadjar, Bortoleto, Sainz, Bearman, and Alonso are eliminated.

At the start of SQ3, Piastri sets a new lap record with a 1:30.929. Norris initially moves into second, but Russell splits the two McLarens. Then, Hamilton snatches the fastest time with a 1:30.849. Norris drops further down and aborts his final lap due to track limits. In the closing moments, Verstappen heads out for one last push and jumps to second place, just 0.018 seconds behind Hamilton. The Brit secures sprint pole in his second weekend for Ferrari, just ahead of Verstappen, and Piastri in third place.

Contest GP China: win a by Max Verstappen signed Red Bull Racing 2025 cap!

Results sprint qualifying China: