A thrilling qualifying session for tomorrow’s F1 Chinese GP saw fortunes rise and fall across the grid.
Qualifying threw several surprises on the drivers. From tailwinds to extremely delicate tyres forcing drivers to drive with the same care as carrying an egg on a spoon, teams and drivers had to think on their feet in Shanghai.
In less than a week, some of those who endured a nightmare down under enjoyed the first fruits of redemption.
For others, however, the F1 Chinese GP proved a continuation of a challenging start to the 2025 season. Here are the winners of losers of qualifying.
Winners
Oscar Piastri
Piastri is the driver that has seen one of the biggest upturns in fortune at the F1 Chinese GP. Famously calm and collected, he took an emphatic pole position in Shanghai.
Vanquishing all thoughts of his Australian nightmare to take the top spot on the grid required a perfect lap, and he nailed it.
As Norris said after qualifying, the MCL39 can be an unpredictable and tricky car to drive. Taming it on a track as complex as Shanghai with the wind and tyre degradation seen puts Piastri in the best possible mindset to get his first major points of 2025 on the board.
Isack Hadjar
What better way to recover from a formation lap crash that incurred the wrath of Dr. Helmet Marko than to qualify in seventh at the next race?
This performance was a statement of intent from Hadjar, as he looks to make amends for his Australian misdemeanour.
Fast in Q1 and Q2, Hadjar’s radio revealed an overjoyed and relieved driver. We all knew he had the pace, but seeing the French-Algerian out-qualify experienced team-mate Yuki Tsunoda will turn eyes across the grid.
To outperform the second Red Bull of Liam Lawson by this margin is impressive. His race tomorrow will be watched with great interest.
George Russell
Russell’s performance in qualifying showcased his transformation into Mercedes team leader. Calling out his team for the stress caused by their run plan during the early stages, he delivered when it counted.
Suffering from tyre warm up issues and extracting the most of out of his Pirelli rubber, his first effort kept him away from the front of the grid.
He opted to try a different warm up strategy for his second run. Playing into his nickname “Mr Saturday”, Russell narrowly missed out on pole position. A podium looks a possibility for tomorrow, the race win may be more challenging.
But make no mistake, Mercedes could not have asked for more of their new lead driver.
Esteban Ocon
What a difference a week makes. From starting on the back row at Albert Park, Ocon has the real possibility of scoring points in Sunday’s race.
The Frenchman has looked at one with his VF-25 since practice, and has clearly perfected his setup after the sprint.
Points are awarded on a Sunday, but Ocon’s performance will go a long way in raising morale at Haas after Australia.
Sharing the fifth row with Alex Albon, he will be aggressive into turn 1. Keeping out of trouble will be critical in converting his qualifying performance into a decent race result.
Losers
Liam Lawson
The situation is serious when a driver enters the media pen after qualifying elimination and admits they are running out of time to improve. Lawson looked dejected after his latest below-par performance but did not make excuses.
The New-Zealander had a worse performance than Australia in Shanghai. A deleted lap time and a mistake on both Q1 runs sealed his fate. The RB21 is extremely unpredictable, a trait favoured by Verstappen. Lawson clearly cannot gel with this.
His prospects tomorrow are bleak. Both Racing Bulls are ahead of him by a considerable amount. With Yuki Tsunoda again performing reliably, Lawson must show improvement in Sunday’s race. Failure to do so will be akin to a medieval executioner signing their own death warrant.
Ferrari
Hopes were high for Ferrari after their sprint race at the F1 Chinese GP. Proof that the lack of pace in Australia did not represent the true pace of the SF-25.
However, in stark contrast to earlier in the day, the car simply could not keep up with the pace of McLaren, Mercedes and Red Bull.
Charles Leclerc has struggled to match Hamilton all weekend so far, continuing in qualifying. Q3 was the closest he managed but he still ended the session four tenths behind pole-sitter Piastri.
Hamilton will hope for a stronger race car so that he can climb through the field and claim a shock win. Regardless, the Scuderia must find more pace on Saturdays to challenge on Sundays.
Jack Doohan
Doohan’s F1 career is rapidly disintegrating after just two rounds. The difference between Doohan and Lawson is the latter does not have a Franco Colapinto shaped target on his back.
Qualifying for Doohan once again failed to impress. Alpine may not have a fast car, but a track limits violation is hardly the way to reassure Flavio Briatore he belongs in the seat.
A clean race tomorrow past the first lap will give Alpine the belief he can perform. At present, one cannot help but think we are watching the Captain of the Titanic rearrange deck chairs.
Carlos Sainz
A Q2 elimination while team-mate Alex Albon progressed into Q3 will hurt. While not a disastrous result, it will put the Spainard on the backfoot tomorrow.
Sainz never looked happy with his FW47, the tailwinds and excessive tyre warm up issues catching him out.
Points are available tomorrow for Sainz if he can understand his car issues. He must finish inside the top ten tomorrow to amend for his Australian mishap.
