Pole position in the sprint qualifying for Lewis Hamilton, in his second weekend with Ferrari, followed by an acrobatic Max Verstappen.
It will be these two, once again, sharing the front row of a Grand Prix. It’s just a sprint race, that’s true, but Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen, if there was still any doubt, have once again delivered a lesson in driving to their competitors, silencing the detractors and the focus on the individual car’s abilities. The driver beyond the car, as it used to be in the past, and as we still see moments like this today.
His second weekend with Ferrari, after the disappointing tenth place in his debut race in Melbourne and the first rumors of a possible vacation from the Maranello team for Lewis. The Brit, like a true Sir, responded on track by doing what he does best. Like a flash, like a red streak that dazzled with an iridescent light through the first two corners of the Shanghai circuit, where Lewis built his small advantage over the McLarens of Norris and Piastri, who were too arrogant today.
The pole in the Sprint Qualifying, on Ayrton Senna’s birthday, and a thread that never seems to break. It rewinds, unravels, and always returns to the same place, where the car with number 44 shines in the gloomy afternoon of Shanghai. And a celebration almost caught in his throat, almost unbelievable, but at 04:00 Italian time, Lewis Hamilton will start in pole position for the sprint race.
And alongside him? A McLaren, right? But no, because Max Verstappen performed another magic, surpassing the limits of a car that, at the moment, couldn’t even compete for a spot in Q2, as demonstrated by the solitary last-place finish of Liam Lawson. The Dutchman did it again: another miracle from a four-time world champion who can perform miracles and magic, driving as if the Red Bull were on rails while his teammate struggles.
Never underestimate the heart of a champion, indeed. Never underestimate the hearts of champions like Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen: from the pole position of the seven-time world champion to the eighteen-thousandths that separate him from the four-time world champion. And tomorrow they will line up side by side again, no one in front of them, just the first corner they’ve painted as if it were a Michelangelo painting.
Once again, it’s them, always them. Separated by twelve years and, for a qualifying session, by eighteen thousandths of a second, which perhaps aren’t even measurable. A matter of centimeters, or rather, millimeters, on a track that waits to know its winner, and we probably wouldn’t be surprised if it were one of either Lewis Hamilton or Max Verstappen.
Photo: X Scuderia Ferrari e Oracle Red Bull