Lewis Hamilton admitted it was a shock to claim pole position, his first for Ferrari, in qualifying for the sprint race at the Chinese Grand Prix. After being off the pace at the season’s opening round in Australia, Hamilton delivered an immense lap for the Scuderia in Shanghai to see off Red Bull’s Max Verstappen by just two-hundredths of a second.Hamilton could manage only 10th in Melbourne in changeable conditions and as he adjusted to working with his new team. However, in under a week, he and Ferrari unlocked the pace they insisted was still fundamental to the car, with a stunning lap for the first sprint race of the season.“The last race was a disaster for us and we knew there was more performance in the car but wasn’t able to extract it,” he said.“We made some great changes, the team did a fantastic job in the break to get the car ready. I’m a bit in shock. I can’t believe we get a pole for the sprint race. It puts us in good stead for the race.”McLaren, who had a one-two in qualifying in Australia with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, had been expected to dominate in China, and Norris was indeed quickest in first practice and both drivers showed strong pace in the first two sessions of qualifying.However for the final runs Norris, who had been going quicker, made errors in the final sector on both his hot laps. He was on for pole on his final run before going wide at the hairpin and aborting the lap. He finished in sixth with Piastri in third, eight-hundredths behind Hamilton.Norris reiterated his belief that while their car is quick it remains a handful to drive when on the limit.“I made a mistake, locked up in the last corner,” he said. “We struggled a lot with the car. Not quick enough. The difficulties we have been struggling with showed a lot more today. Too many mistakes, too difficult to drive.”skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionLando Norris had a disappointing session in sprint qualifying. Photograph: Andy Wong/APHamilton was unab