In China, Oscar Piastri overtook George Russell to secure his first Grand Prix pole of his Formula 1 career.

In difficult windy conditions at the Shanghai International Circuit, Piastri, who has won Sprint qualifying sessions twice before, emerged victorious, giving McLaren two poles from two to begin the season.

After the pole contenders failed to improve on their second runs in Q3, it appeared that the defending constructors' champions would lock out the front row, but Russell surprised everyone by pushing Lando Norris to third.

Lewis Hamilton finished fifth, one spot ahead of his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc, after the seven-time world champion's first Ferrari victory in the Sprint earlier on Saturday. Red Bull's Max Verstappen came in fourth place.

Racing Bulls' Isack Hadjar outperformed fellow rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli's Mercedes to take seventh place.

Liam Lawson, whose terrible start to his Red Bull career continued when he qualified last, was under even more strain as Yuki Tsunoda finished ninth in the other Racing Bull. Carlos Sainz struggled to keep up with his teammate's performance and only qualified 15th following a Q2 withdrawal, while Alex Albon finished in the top 10 for Williams.