Piastri qualified fastest, just 0.082s faster than George Russell who will join him on the front row.
The result marked the first Australian F1 pole since Daniel Ricciardo secured top spot at the 2018 Mexican Grand Prix.
It was also Piastri’s first pole position for a main race, having twice started first for Sprint races.
“My first lap was honestly better than my second lap, but just that hairpin at the end of the straight I lost a bit of time,” said the two-time grand prix winner.
“Then, the second lap, I was about two-tenths down on myself, so I just went ‘why not send it into the hairpin?’
“I gained those two tenths back and then found a little bit more in the last corner.
“Without that hairpin, I was tempted to box before that, so I’m pretty happy now I didn’t.”
Piastri joins an elite club of fellow Aussies who’ve claimed a grand prix pole that includes Sir Jack Brabham, Alan Jones, Mark Webber, and Ricciardo.
“It’s always nice to go out there and represent my country,” Piastri said.
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“I can’t say I think about it that much when I’m out on track, but it’s always an honour to race for Australia.
“I’m a race driver, so I’m selfish, so it’s nice to do it for myself, but it’s also nice to do it for Australia as well.”
Piastri’s pole lap followed a promising performance in the Sprint earlier in the day, where he started third but rose to second, passing Max Verstappen in the closing stages.
However, by the time he’d cleared the Red Bull, Lewis Hamilton had cleared off out front to win by six seconds.
“Obviously finishing second is always a great result,” Piastri said after the Sprint.
“I really learned a lot in that one.
“As much as the result is a nice thing, the way I got the result is an encouraging thing.
“We didn’t quite have enough pace for Lewis out front, but I think we’ve got some good ideas for this afternoon and tomorrow and see if we can go one spot better.”
Though Hamilton won the Sprint for Ferrari, McLaren has proved the car to beat in China.
However, its foibles have been far more obvious in Shanghai than they were in Melbourne last weekend with the car balanced on a knife-edge.
It makes extracting a lap difficult, though it has looked better on its tyres than all its rivals.
Starting at the head of the pack and with good race pace in his pocket, Piastri is confident after ticking off another career milestone.
“I’ve had a couple of Sprint poles, but to have the first grand prix pole means a bit more,” Piastri admitted.
“Pretty pumped, to be honest. I’ve worked hard for it and I feel like the start of the season has been strong.
“Obviously the result in Melbourne was a shame, but I feel like I’ve been doing a good job otherwise.
“Just happy to have ended up on pole.”
Piastri will head the pack away when the lights go out on the Chinese Grand Prix at 18:00 AEDT tomorrow.
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