Lewis Hamilton put Ferrari on pole position for the first Formula One sprint race of the season in China in record time on Friday with Red Bull’s reigning champion Max Verstappen joining him on the front row.

Seven times world champion Hamilton lapped with a best time of one minute 30.849 seconds, the fastest ever around the Shanghai International Circuit, with Verstappen just 0.018 slower.

It was the Briton’s first pole position of any sort for the Italian team since the sport’s most successful driver joined from Mercedes in January.

McLaren’s Oscar Piastri qualified third for Saturday’s sprint race with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc fourth, George Russell fifth for Mercedes and McLaren’s championship leader Lando Norris sixth.