Lewis Hamilton surprised and delighted after his first pole with Scuderia Ferrari

Hamilton sets a time of 1:30.849 and becomes the fastest on this track. Leclerc takes second place. Piastri cannot improve his time and Norris has gone to the pit.

In the space after SQ2, intriguing radio messages were exchanged between the Ferrari pit wall and Leclerc – the Monegasque driver being asked to swap positions with Hamilton as the phase was coming to an end.

It’s an emotional Lewis, struggling to come to terms with his performance, who appeared before the journalists.

« I am stunned, I am a little surprised by what just happened. I didn’t know when we would reach this position. After last weekend, it has been a very difficult week. I arrived here in China with the desire to be aggressive, I wanted to approach the weekend in the best way and put the car in an excellent position. I immediately had a better feeling, good sensations in the car. I can’t believe it… to believe that we are at the front, especially ahead of the McLarens who have been so fast since the winter tests.

He made sure to thank all the spectators: « The crowd has always been incredible here for me. I’ve had so much support every year since I’ve been coming to China, and I’ve been coming here for so many years, that I am truly, truly very grateful to be able to see them from the moment I land until I leave. They are with me every weekend, they go through all the emotions with me throughout the year and some travel for many races. »

Lewis, as he speaks, gradually realizes that he is on pole and interrupts his sentences with « Wow, wow my first… », referring to his first pole position in red. « It’s not the main pole, but it really gives me the drive and inspiration to aim for more performance tomorrow and see if we can be even more competitive. »

It’s no secret. Hamilton loves the Shanghai circuit. While some other drivers have struggled to negotiate and find the technique for certain corners, the Briton, however, delivered a very smooth and controlled qualifying performance.

« On this track, everything has always gone well. I would say it’s thanks to the Chinese fans. (laughs). But obviously, the weather is great. It’s certainly not easy with the tires. But we managed. »

Fred Vasseur calms things down

Fred Vasseur also reacted just after the arrival of his new driver but prefers to stay calm and not claim victory too quickly: « It’s much better than last week, but it’s still complicated to have a good reading and understanding. But let’s analyze the data and I think we still have a lot of work to do. Nevertheless, it’s certainly a good feeling […] It brings positive energy to the team and Lewis, that’s good, but I still see the negative side (laughs). We can score a lot of points with the sprint, and the fact that Lewis was leading in Q1 and Q3 is proof of consistency. Now, let’s see what happens tomorrow. »

The curious journalist then asked him what the code “Santiago” meant, heard on the radio when Lewis Hamilton’s ranking was signaled by his engineer. Fred Vasseur burst into laughter before walking away with a “ciao ciao!”

Lewis also had a record of victories, he has always been very fast on this track. This could put even more pressure on McLaren, who are keeping an eye on the red cars more than on Red Bull.