Last night, Lewis Hamilton snagged his first-ever pole position for Ferrari, making a minor moment in history for the sport. Arguably the world’s most famous Formula 1 driver and a seven-time world champion, the Brit will start at the front of the grid for tonight’s Sprint race. Sure, many would argue a Sprint isn’t a proper Grand Prix, but the fact remains that Hamilton had to beat the same competitors and same number of cars as he would’ve had to during Qualifying for tomorrow’s race.
So far, McLaren has looked like the team to beat early in the 2025 F1 season. Lando Norris won the first race of the season last week in Australia, and he looked primed to snag the sprint pole this week during practice. However, Norris struggled a bit toward the end of qualifying and Hamilton found his Ferrari to be significantly faster than last week, so much so that it left him “gobsmacked,” according to the BBC.
“I started out straight away with a better feeling in the car and I can’t believe we are at the front,” said Hamilton after Sprting quali.
The rest of the weekend doesn’t even have to get better for Hamilton—this should still be appreciated as a historic moment. Admittedly, if he wins the sprint race tonight, or Sunday’s grand prix, yesterday’s sprint pole won’t be remembered as much. But the most prolific F1 driver of our time just scoring his first pole with the most storied team in the sport’s history on just their second race together is a big deal.
We have no idea what Hamilton’s career holds with Ferrari. He could go on to win two more championships or fizzle out toward the back of the pack. But this moment points to an exciting future for F1 fans. With each others’ help, Hamilton has the chance to bounce back from a few disappointing seasons with Mercedes and Ferrari has the chance to win another constructors’ championship.
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