Hamilton Silences Criticism With First Victory For Ferrari At China's GP Sprint

Lewis Hamilton silenced his critics by winning the Sprint Race GP China (photo: x @f1)

JAKARTA Lewis Hamilton silenced his critics by winning his first win with Ferrari in the Chinese Grand Prix sprint race, Saturday, March 22. In the 100 km long race, the seven-time world champion appeared dominant from start to finish at the Shanghai International Circuit.

Hamilton, who started the race from pole position surprisingly, showed outstanding tire management and managed to touch the finish line with a 6.889 second advantage over McLaren racer Oscar Piastri. Meanwhile, Red Bull's Max Verstappen had to settle for finishing in third.

This victory will be the first for Hamilton and Ferrari in a sprint format since its introduction in 2021. This is also the answer to many's doubts about Hamilton's adaptation after his move from Mercedes to Ferrari in January 2025.

"I woke up with great feelings today," Hamilton said. "The first race in Melbourne is very difficult. Many people underestimate how hard it is to adapt to the new team, understand communication, and many other things."

Hamilton, who debuted with Ferrari only finished 10th at the Australian GP, admitted that he was more comfortable with his car in Shanghai. "In Melbourne I don't feel comfortable in the car. But since the first lap this weekend, I feel really good at controlling it. Engineers and mechanics have done great work," he added.

Hamilton immediately shot well from the starting position, while Verstappen, who is also the defending champion of last year's sprint race, took second place before being overtaken by Piastri in the final laps.

"We're not fast enough to catch Lewis up ahead, but we have some ideas for this afternoon's race and tomorrow to make it better," Piastri said. "Ferrari looks really fast this weekend."

Meanwhile, Verstappen admits his team had problems managing tires. "Unfortunately, the last eight laps we lost speed compared to other riders, so I'm just trying to stay out there," Verstappen said. "In general, we're getting less speed, so we have to force ourselves harder and that makes the tires run out faster."

Hamilton's teammate at Ferrari, Charles Leclerc, finished fifth behind George Russell of Mercedes. Lando Norris, who previously won the opening series in Australia, was only able to finish eighth but still lead the standings with 26 points, two points ahead of Verstappen.

Yuki Tsunoda impressed by finishing sixth for Racing Bulls, while 18-year-old Italian teenager Andrea Kimi Antonelli, secured seventh place for Mercedes, retaining her perfect record of scoring points in every race so far.

Aston Martin failed to score points after Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso were only able to finish in ninth and tenth positions. Isack Hadjar of Racing Bulls, who had an accident before starting in Australia, managed to finish in 13th place, in front of his teammate Liam Lawson.

Meanwhile, Alpine's Jack Doohan is the last racer to finish the race and has to face calls from the stewards for an incident with Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto.

With these sprints, competition at the Chinese Grand Prix is even more interesting ahead of Sunday's main race, where Verstappen remains a major threat even though Ferrari and McLaren seem to have promising speeds.