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Following his pole at the Chinese GP, Oscar Piastri took to his radio to share his reaction and reflect on the 'hairpin of his life' in Shanghai. The McLaren driver put together a stunning lap to put himself on pole for the upcoming Chinese GP on Sunday, and the exit on the hairpin at Turn 14 helped him to come out on top.
With this, Piastri secured his first-ever pole in Formula 1 in his third year in the sport. The Australian driver defied Mercedes' George Russell and his teammate, Lando Norris, to put himself up front for the main race tomorrow.
Piastri managed a 1:30.641 on the timesheet in Q3 and was 0.082 seconds faster than Russell. With this, he broke Hamilton's record that the Ferrari driver set on Friday. This is the fastest qualifying lap record at the Shanghai International Circuit for now.
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As Piastri found the perfect exit on the hairpin at T-14 of the Shanghai International Circuit, he shared his reactions on the radio. Here's what he said,
"[I] think that was the hairpin of my life. Very nicely done. Thank you. I just had a little scream in my helmet so, I'll not burst your eardrums. Thanks everyone. A bit of a journey to get there, but well done. Very very good."
Reigning champion Max Verstappen qualified in P4, ahead of the Ferrari duo of Hamilton and Charles Leclerc in P5 and P6. Racing Bulls' rookie driver Isack Hadjar had a surprising and at the same time brilliant lap, which put him at P7, ahead of another rookie from Mercedes, Kimi Antonelli.
Hadjar's teammate, Yuki Tsunoda qualified in P9 and Williams' Alex Albon wrapped up the top 10. Red Bull's Liam Lawson shocked everyone after he went out in Q1 and will start the race from P20.
Oscar Piastri cautious about all important race on Sunday
Following the session, Oscar Piastri opened up about his qualifying performance in the post-qualifying interview, where he shared his mantra for a successful race on Sunday. Speaking about this, he said keeping the lead, and therefore saving the tires, would be the key to a successful race.
"I just have to make sure I keep that clean air (to save the tires) but I was pretty happy after the Sprint, so I feel like we learned a lot and looking forward to putting that into use tomorrow," Piastri said.
"Q3 just found a lot of pace, Q1 and Q2 I was genuinely struggling. The car came alive in Q3 and I came alive in Q3. I'm just pumped to be on pole, I'm very happy. I'll take the fastest lap of Shanghai!," he further added.
The tires played a huge role during the Sprint race earlier today as Lewis Hamilton, who finished on top, had a significant advantage with tires in the clean air compared to the drivers behind. Drivers, including Oscar Piastri, faced the turbulent air issue and saw their tires degrade more than the driver up front.
