CHINESE GP – Lewis Hamilton takes debut win for Ferrari beating Oscar Piastri by six seconds in the sprint
Lewis Hamilton took his first win for Ferrari beating Oscar Piastri by six seconds in the sprint at the Chinese Grand Prix. The seven-time champion pulled away at the start allowing him into clean air which proved key in allowing him to manage his tyres and take his seventh win in any format in Shanghai.
It’s capped off a brilliant turnaround from the difficult debut Hamilton and Ferrari had in Melbourne last weekend. Hamilton won the start and soon pulled away creating a seven-second lead after the nineteen lap sprint ahead of the McLaren and the Red Bull of Max Verstappen by almost three seconds.
Despite the positive vibes that came from Hamilton’s performance on Friday, his and Ferrari’s underwhelming effort in Australia meant there was plenty of doubt as to whether he would be able to convert pole to victory at the Shanghai International Circuit. There will be questions about McLaren’s lack of pace, and what that means for the championship.
Hamilton savoured the cheers from the packed grandstands after climbing out of his car on the pit straight at the end. He said, “I woke up feeling great today. 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, with communication and understanding and a whole lot of things.”
He was praised on the cooldown lap after his victory by his engineer Riccardo Adami for a “masterclass in tyre management” on a day when every other driver struggled to make their rubber last.
Not only did he have Verstappen alongside him, but there was also the looming threat of Piastri from third, in a McLaren that many had believed would be completely dominant this weekend. This weekend has proved the forty-year-old is back as strong as ever despite the difficult race in Melbourne and end to his time at Mercedes last year.
Hamilton is now the first driver in over thirty years to win any kind of F1 race after his fortieth birthday.
On the way to the first corner after getting away cleanly he cut off Verstappen into the opening snaking corners to retain the lead. from then on he was able to extend his lead by just over a second as Verstappen struggled with tyre wear allowing Piastri to close in and take second with four laps to go pulling out nearly three seconds on the Dutchman.
The Australian bided his time for a few laps, inching closer to the back of the Red Bull, before pulling off a clinical pass into Turn Fourteen on lap fourteen.
Piastri said: “It was a really productive sprint. Finishing second is always a great result and I learnt a lot. As much as the result, the way I got the result was the encouraging thing. We didn’t quite have the pace for Lewis out front but we have some ideas and see if we can go better.”
George Russell finished fourth finishing six tenths ahead of Charles Leclerc as the two fought it out hard during the closing stages of the sprint. Leclerc was ahead of Yuki Tsunoda and the second Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli.
It was a difficult morning for the championship leader Lando Norris, he missed judged his braking at Turn Nine on the opening lap dropping being Russell as well as losing three places. The McLaren driver then complained for the rest of the race that he had no grip and could not go any faster.
That meant Norris had to fend off Lance Stroll, however when the Canadian tried to pass the McLaren he was unable to find away past before dropping a second behind. Stroll finished comfortably ahead of his Aston Martin teammate Fernando Alonso by thirteen seconds as he completed the top ten.
Alex Albon was eleventh the Williams driver missed out on the top ten by a second as he finished three and a half tenths ahead of Pierre Gasly. Isack Hadjar was fourteenth two and a half seconds ahead of Liam Lawson, with both Haas’ fifteenth and sixteenth with Ollie Bearman seven-tenths behind the Red Bull and ahead of teammate Esteban Ocon by half a second.
Carlos Sainz was seventeenth ahead of Gabriel Bortoleto who made contact with Jack Doohan, who dropped to last behind Nico Hulkenberg after a ten-second penalty for causing a collision.
Related
- Chinese GP – Sprint Qualifying Result
- · CHINESE GP – Lewis Hamilton beats Max Verstappen by two hundredths to take first Ferrari pole in sprint qualifying
- CHINESE GP – Lando Norris fastest by half a second from Charles Leclerc in practice
- Welcome to the Chinese Grand Prix
- PRIXVIEW – Chinese Grand Prix