Lewis Hamilton blamed Ferrari's power unit deficit for the team's struggle against Mercedes after qualifying fourth for the Chinese Grand Prix sprint. The seven-time champion was over 0.6 seconds slower than Mercedes' George Russell, who secured pole position ahead of teammate Kimi Antonelli and McLaren's Lando Norris.

Hamilton acknowledged Ferrari's car performs well in corners but loses significant time on straights due to power limitations. He suggested Mercedes had an early development advantage, having started work on their power unit before Ferrari. Charles Leclerc reported losing 0.5 seconds on the long straight between Turns 13 and 14 due to suspected battery deployment issues.

Despite running its innovative 'Macarena' rear wing in practice, Ferrari opted for a conventional design in qualifying. Hamilton noted the team rushed the wing to China before it was originally scheduled for later races. Leclerc remains hopeful Ferrari will be stronger in Saturday's sprint race, where the team has historically been closer to Mercedes' pace than in qualifying.