Lewis Hamilton admitted he was “gobsmacked” after securing his first pole position for Ferrari in the sprint race at the Chinese Grand Prix.

The seven-time world champion out-qualified Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, with Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc finishing fourth and McLaren’s Lando Norris taking sixth.

Hamilton, who qualified eighth and finished ninth on his Ferrari debut in Australia last weekend, expressed his surprise at the turnaround in form.

“I’m a bit taken aback by it,” Hamilton said. “I didn’t know when we would reach this position and, after last weekend, it was a difficult start to the week. I came here with aggression, determined to get the car into a great place.

“I felt a much better connection with the car straight away, and I can’t believe we’re at the front. I’m just a bit gobsmacked.”

Hamilton outpaced Leclerc by 0.208 seconds and finished 0.544 seconds ahead of Norris. His result secures him the prime starting position for Saturday’s sprint race at 03:00 GMT, after which teams will have the opportunity to adjust their car setups ahead of the main Grand Prix qualifying session at 07:00.

While acknowledging that the sprint pole was not the ultimate prize, Hamilton saw it as a source of motivation.

“Even though it’s not the main pole, it gives me real inspiration to go into tomorrow and try to find more performance to see if we can compete again. There’s definitely a little more to extract, for sure.”

Leclerc, meanwhile, admitted he had struggled throughout the session.

“I struggled on my side of the garage,” Leclerc said. “From the beginning, I felt I was a step behind Lewis—he was just faster.

“I had a tough time in Turns One, Two, and Three, which is similar to last year. Other than that, it was quite tight. It’s a shame to start P4, but Lewis is on pole, and hopefully, we can have a strong race.”

Behind Verstappen in second, McLaren’s Oscar Piastri secured third place, followed by Leclerc, Mercedes’ George Russell, and Norris.

Ferrari team principal Frédéric Vasseur believes the result highlights the competitive balance among the top four teams and the challenges of optimising car setups and tyre performance.

“The day was difficult to read,” Vasseur said. “McLaren were quickest this morning, then we were ahead in Q1, they dominated Q2, and we were back on top in Q3.

“I think it’s all about tyre management. If you’re not in the right window, you struggle a lot—but it’s a positive sign for the team.

“We had a tough weekend in Melbourne, but Friday was strong. It’s a similar pattern this weekend—very up and down.

“It mirrors what we saw last year. In the last four races, three or four teams have been capable of winning by 30 seconds depending on track conditions and tyre performance.”