The first Formula 1 sprint race of the season saw Lewis Hamilton convert his first Ferrari pole into a maiden victory with his new team, ahead of Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen
Lewis Hamilton has won for the first time in Formula 1 as a Ferrari driver. The Brit took victory in the Sprint race at the Chinese Grand Prix on Saturday, marking his maiden victory in any format in just his second race with the team.
Hamilton had qualified on pole for the sprint, which he admitted himself was a surprise result. Only last Sunday, in his first Ferrari race at the Australian Grand Prix, he had struggled for pace and ended up finishing a lowly 10th.
But in the Shanghai sunshine both he and his car came alive and, once he had successfully held off Max Verstappen at the start, there was no looking back. Hamilton managed his tyres superbly on the abrasive surface to secure a very popular win among the locals.
Verstappen had to settle for third place in the end, despite qualifying second and spending most of the sprint in that position. Oscar Piastri completed a daring move on the Dutchman late on, but Hamilton was nearly seven seconds further up the road.
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He beamed with delight as he climbed out of his Ferrari and waved to the fans who greeted him with a roar of approval in return. Afterwards, he had a clear message for his critics who had been quick to write off the 40-year-old after his difficult Melbourne debut.
He said: “The first race was difficult and I really do feel a lot of people underestimated the steep climb it is to get into a new team, to become acclimatise within the team, understanding, communication, all sorts of things.
“The amount of critics and people I’ve heard yapping along the way just clearly not understanding maybe because they’ve never had the experience, or just unaware. So it felt great to come here and feel more comfortable in the car because in Melbourne I really didn’’ feel comfortable in the car.
“From lap one here this weekend, I really felt on it. The engineers have done a great job, the mechanics have done a great job to fine-tune the car, and it felt great. I got a good start and there’s so much grip on this new tarmac. It’s really hard to look after these new tyres, but I think everyone was struggling the same.”
A victory so early in his Ferrari career will undoubtedly raise hopes and expectations of more success from Hamilton in the coming months. But the Brit was also quick to urge “calm” and make it clear there is still a lot of progress to be made.
He added: “I don’t feel the pressure. I know the Tifosi, I know the fans, I know the team want to win, and it means everything to them. But I said the other day, Rome wasn’t built in one day, one step at a time and we’re not going to get ahead of ourselves. We cannot.
“We’re going to continue to push, be diligent, just remain focused, stay calm – most importantly stay calm – because these moments get us all excited. But we’ll be back at our desks after this, focused on qualifying. It’s a long, long way. It’s a marathon, not a sprint, so we’ve just got to take our time.”
Championship leader Lando Norris scored just a single point by finishing eighth in the sprint. He had started sixth but dropped three places on the opening lap and recovered just one of them by the end.
Chinese Grand Prix sprint points-scorers
- Lewis Hamilton – Ferrari – 8 points
- Oscar Piastri – McLaren – 7
- Max Verstappen – Red Bull – 6
- George Russell – Mercedes – 5
- Charles Leclerc – Ferrari – 4
- Yuki Tsunoda – Racing Bulls – 3
- Kimi Antonelli – Mercedes – 2
- Lando Norris – McLaren – 1
