Lewis Hamilton Victorious in Chinese GP Sprint

Lewis Hamilton achieved his first victory for Ferrari by winning the Chinese Grand Prix Sprint.

After a surprising pole position on Friday, Hamilton successfully defended his lead against Max Verstappen at the start and in the initial laps. He then expertly managed his tires to comfortably secure the win.

This victory marks the first Sprint win for both Hamilton and Ferrari. It represents a remarkable turnaround after a disappointing debut for the Italian team at the Australian Grand Prix the previous weekend.

Oscar Piastri of McLaren overtook Verstappen for second place towards the end of the race. However, Piastri had used his tires too much to challenge Hamilton, who won with a lead of almost seven seconds.

Later on Saturday, Piastri achieved his first grand prix pole position, while Hamilton qualified fifth for Sunday`s main race.

In the Sprint, Lando Norris, the winner in Melbourne, maintained his lead in the Drivers` Championship despite scoring only one point for finishing eighth. He dropped three positions from his sixth starting place due to an error on the first lap.

George Russell finished fourth for Mercedes, holding off Hamilton`s Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc, whom he had overtaken on the first lap.

Yuki Tsunoda delivered an excellent performance for Racing Bulls, finishing sixth and resisting pressure from Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Hamilton`s replacement at Mercedes.

Hamilton Silences Critics with Impressive Victory

Despite the positive momentum from Hamilton`s Friday performance, doubts lingered about whether he could convert pole position into a win at the Shanghai International Circuit, given his and Ferrari`s underwhelming performance in Australia.

He faced not only Verstappen alongside him but also the threat of Piastri from third, in a McLaren car that many predicted would dominate the weekend.

The 40-year-old demonstrated his enduring sharp reflexes, making a clean start and cutting off Verstappen to secure the lead into the first corner.

Hamilton quickly extended his lead over Verstappen to just over a second, keeping the Red Bull driver outside DRS range. However, this changed when the gap suddenly closed on lap seven.

The seven-time world champion used his experience to prevent Verstappen from having a clear overtaking opportunity. Subsequently, Verstappen dropped back a couple of laps later as his tires struggled in the turbulent air behind the Ferrari.

As Hamilton pulled away, Verstappen then faced pressure from Piastri, holding him off until lap 15, by which time Ferrari was almost three seconds ahead.

It soon became apparent that Piastri had limited tire life remaining, and Hamilton pulled away to a dominant victory.

Hamilton commented, “I really feel many people underestimated the challenge of joining a new team, getting comfortable, understanding, and communicating – all aspects of it.”

“I heard many critics and commentators along the way, clearly not understanding, perhaps because they lacked the experience or awareness.”

“It felt fantastic to come here and feel more comfortable in the car because I didn`t feel great in Melbourne. From the first lap this weekend, we`ve been competitive. The engineers and mechanics have done a fantastic job fine-tuning the car, and it felt great.”

Norris and McLaren`s Performance

After Norris began his championship campaign with an impressive victory in Australia, a major topic in the Shanghai paddock on Thursday was McLaren`s potential dominance. Russell even suggested the MCL38 might have a greater advantage than Red Bull`s historically dominant 2023 car.

A questionable strategy in Sprint qualifying and a mistake by Norris placed him sixth on the grid, with Piastri only managing to salvage third.

Norris`s race became immediately more challenging when he went off track at Turn 6 on the first lap while attempting to pass Russell on the outside, losing three positions as a result.

However, perhaps the biggest surprise of the weekend so far was Norris`s struggle to overtake Lance Stroll`s Aston Martin for most of the race, eventually breaking through to eighth place with two laps remaining.

“I just had a bad first lap,” Norris told Sky Sports F1. “After that, it was difficult to achieve much. Qualifying wasn`t ideal, but I also wasn`t very good today.”

“In the race, I felt dreadful, so there`s a lot of work to do.”

While running in clean air was clearly a significant advantage for Hamilton, McLaren`s lack of exceptional pace was a major surprise, raising hopes for a competitive main race on Sunday, live on Sky Sports F1 at 7 am.

Upcoming Chinese GP Schedule

Sunday March 23

• 2.40am: F1 Academy Race 2
• 5.30am: Chinese GP build-up: Grand Prix Sunday*
• 7am: THE CHINESE GRAND PRIX*
• 9am: Chinese GP reaction: Chequered flag*
• 10am: Ted`s Notebook*

*Also on Sky Sports Main Event

Formula 1 is in Shanghai this week for the first Sprint weekend of the season at the Chinese GP. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – No contract, cancel anytime