Lewis Hamilton won for Ferrari for the first time with an impressive showing in the Chinese Grand Prix sprint race, a stunning rebound from his miserable debut in Australia, MySportDab Reports.
The seven-time world champion held off an early challenge from Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and then cruised home, ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Verstappen.
Starting from the front, Hamilton faced immediate pressure from Verstappen on the run to Turn 1 but defended well, before gapping the field slowly but surely.
Meanwhile, Verstappen had no answer to the Ferrari and soon found himself hunting by Piastri. The young Australian crept closer before diving past at Turn 14 on lap 14 to take second.
“It was a very productive sprint. “To finish second is always a great result, but the way I had the result was the encouraging thing,” Piastri said. “We didn’t have quite the pace for Lewis today, but we have some ideas heading into the main race.”
Verstappen, who battled tire degradation admitted it was about survival in the closing stages. “For the last eight laps, we just didn’t have the pace. I was pushing harder, and that killed the tires more,” he said.
Read More: Hamilton SMASHES Shanghai Lap Record To Take Sprint Pole At Chinese GP
Lando Norris, meanwhile, salvaged a point for McLaren on a day when the team struggled. The winner from Melbourne had a costly slip at Turn 6 on the first lap, falling from sixth to ninth.
He complained of poor grip all race but did manage to pass Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll toward the end to finish eighth, at least as his championship lead was trimmed to just two points from Verstappen.
Further down the order, Mercedes’ George Russell moved past Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc early on to claim fourth place, fending off a late charge from the Monegasque. Racing Bulls’ Yuki Tsunoda had an impressive day, finishing sixth, having battled Antonelli for most of the race.
Hamilton’s engineer Riccardo Adami described the victory as a “masterclass in tyre management.” Reflecting on the victory, Hamilton said: “It’s a steep learning curve coming to a new team, but today the car was great. The team has done a fantastic job and I’m super happy with this result.”
