Hamilton found himself in ‘San Diego’ after sensational sprint pole in Shanghai

F1 Grand Prix, GP Qatar, Losail International Circuit

Ferrari's seven-time F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton took his rivals by surprise at the Chinese Grand Prix, taking pole position for the F1 Shanghai Sprint race.

Lewis Hamilton produced a masterful lap to set the fastest time in Sprint Qualifying at the Chinese Grand Prix. His new team-mate Charles Leclerc will start from the second row of the Shanghai International Circuit grid, having qualified fourth for the 19 lap race.

This is Hamilton’s second Sprint pole, as it is for Scuderia Ferrari HP who last started from the top slot courtesy of Leclerc in Baku in 2021. So the team is hoping for plenty of points to start the Chinese weekend.

Having secured the pole position at Shanghai, an exchange with his new race engineer Riccardo Adami said to the Hamilton on the radio that "That's San Diego", leaving fans baffled to work out the cryptic meaning behind it.

Although there is no official confirmation about the meaning of the phrase, many suggest that the reason behind choosing 'San Diego' is the fact that Hamilton is a fan of references to the movie Anchorman.

Reflecting on his maiden pole position with the Scuderia, Lewis Hamilton said that he felt more comfortable in his SF-25 from the first laps onwards.

"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.

Hamilton continued: “I’m just a bit gobsmacked, honestly,I’m a bit taken aback by it. I didn’t know when we would get to this position. After last weekend, it was a difficult start to the week and I came here with aggression and just wanted to go into the weekend and get the car into a really great place.

"I started out straightaway with a better feeling in the car and I can’t believe that we’re at the front, ahead of a McLaren which has been so fast throughout winter testing, the first race, and even today.”

Assessing his pole position lap, he added: “My first sector was really, really strong, I think that’s where I made most of my improvement on that lap, but just little increments through the whole place.

“There’s still time to find, for sure, which I’ll try and make sure that I apply to the next Qualifying session we go out in. It’s amazing to see the number one as you stop and to be in the red car, it’s pretty incredible.”

"We didn’t put it all together today. Our main challenge was in turns 1 to 3 and apart from that everything was quite tight, so we will see where we stand tomorrow.

"It’s not ideal to start the Sprint Race from P4, but I will give it my all to fight my way to the front. Our main focus around here will be on tyres, and then we will see what’s possible in Qualifying ahead of Sunday’s race.

Commenting on the qualifying session, Ferrari team boss Fred Vasseur was understandably delighted after a very difficult weekend last time out at Melbourne.

"We are clearly happy with this afternoon’s result. After a difficult qualifying last week in Australia, today’s performance is a boost for the whole team and is definitely very positive, also for Lewis who has been quick throughout the whole day, quickest in SQ1 too. Charles was also competitive and with both cars on the front two rows we can aim to bring home plenty of points tomorrow.

"Clearly the McLarens have great pace both on a single lap and over a longer run. We must remain focused and plan how to execute the race down to the smallest detail as tomorrow’s Sprint will provide useful information for Sunday’s Grand Prix."