F1 Today | Hamilton gets sprint pole, Aston Martin reveal touching tribute
F1 News
The Chinese Grand Prix weekend is here, and on Friday, FP1 and sprint qualifying took place at the Shanghai International Circuit. McLaren's Lando Norris topped the FP1 timesheets, and Lewis Hamilton secured the sprint race pole for Ferrari later in the day. In just a few hours, at 03:00 GMT, the sprint race begins. But for now, GPblog can bring you some more stories from the Formula 1 paddock at the second race of 2025 in China.
Hamilton secures sprint pole in China
Lewis Hamilton has put in a record-breaking lap to take P1 for the start of the Sprint race tomorrow. After the session, the new Ferrari driver reacted to his first success at Ferrari. The lap of the 105-time Grand Prix winner was the fastest ever around the Shanghai International Circuit. Behind him lines up Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri.
"I think, obviously, the last race was a disaster for us. And clearly, we knew that there was more performance in the car, but we just weren't able to extract it. So to come here to a track that I love, Shanghai, beautiful place, and the weather's been amazing, and the car really came alive from lap one," Hamilton said after the session. "It's just amazing to see the number one as you stop and be in the red car. It's pretty incredible." See Hamilton's full reaction to the sprint pole here.
Pressure mounts on Lawson after a tough Friday
After a difficult debut in Australia the previous weekend, Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has responded to the criticism Liam Lawson received. The top advisor is yet to write off the driver from New Zealand. "Please don't write him off yet. Let's wait for the first three races. Those are at different circuits, after that, a clearer picture will emerge," he told OE24.
Lawson had another disappointing result in Sprint qualifying. The youngster finished in P20 after struggling with the tyres. However, tomorrow afternoon, he will have another shot at full qualifying after the sprint race.
Aston Martin's touching tribute to Eddie Jordan
Aston Martin will drive at the Chinese Grand Prix with a tribute to the late Eddie Jordan, with the Irishman's name and his logo appearing on the Aston Martin car.
Aston Martin coming up with such a tribute is not surprising, of course. The current Aston Martin is an offspring of the team founded by Jordan. The Irishman first sold his own team to Midland, before continuing under the name Force India in 2008. That team was eventually bought up by Lawrence Stroll and consorts, transforming it from Racing Point to Aston Martin. However, it is still the same team from Silverstone.
On Thursday morning, it was revealed that Eddie Jordan had died at the age of 76 from cancer. The Irishman revealed in December that he was suffering from an aggressive form of prostate and bladder cancer. On Thursday morning, the news came out via a statement from his family. See the tribute pictures by clicking here.
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