“We’re going to rebuild this team, not just for us and for Ferrari, but for Italy and all the fans.”

Anthony Hamilton vowed that he and his son Lewis are ready to “rebuild” Ferrari into a title-winning team following a disappointing Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix.

Father and son have a gladiator mind-set and he and the qualifying for the Sprint in Shanghai, second race of the 2025 FIA F1 Season proves it.

A tricky adaptation to Ferrari in mixed conditions at the Albert Park Circuit, coupled with strategy miscues resigned Hamilton to a lowly 10th-place finish on his debut with the Scuderia, fueled hi motivation and Friday of the Chinese GP sees him beating Max Verstappen by 0,018 for Sprint Pole.

“It was mega! Really happy with the result. We knew there was more in the car after Australia, and here, it just came alive from lap one. The team’s done a great job since Melbourne.Pole for the Sprint Race is a great place to be, but there’s still work to do. I’ve not done a proper race run in the dry yet, so tomorrow will be a real test. The other teams will be quick, but we’re in the fight and will keep pushing”, said Lewis.

Hamilton had been hooked up for the whole day and, having taken six grand prix poles and six victories in Shanghai, will once again start from P1, having set a new track record of 1m30.849s.

The seven-time world champion struggled on his Ferrari debut in Australia but has looked much more at home in China and will be hoping to convert pole to sprint victory on Saturday.

Verstappen, who finished second in Melbourne, starts on the front row following his own fine lap, while Charles Leclerc is fourth for Ferrari.

The Mercedes pair of George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli will be disappointed to only be fifth and seventh, respectively, while Yuki Tsunoda, Alex Albon and Lance Stroll rounded out the top 10.

It had appeared the McLarens were vying with one another to take pole but Piastri’s best effort was ultimately beaten by both Hamilton and Verstappen while two small mistakes cost Norris a shot at being further up the field.

The second Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso will start the sprint race 11th, with Oliver Bearman impressing for Haas by taking 12th ahead of Carlos Sainz, Gabriel Bortoleto and Isack Hadjar.

While Norris ran wide on his first SQ1 run, Piastri took half a second out of the Ferraris who had been sitting at the top of the timesheets.

However, it was another tough session for the second Red Bull of Liam Lawson, who was plum last and over a second and a half off SQ1 pacesetter Hamilton, having had a lap time deleted.

Both Alpines were also eliminated in SQ1, Jack Doohan beating Pierre Gasly for 16th, while Esteban Ocon and Nico Hulkenberg were slower than their respective rookie team-mates down in 18th and 19th.

Photo: Ferrari