Courtesy: F1/X
On Saturday, March 22, Lewis Hamilton registered his first win for Ferrari, taking the chequered flag in the sprint race at the Chinese Grand Prix after starting from pole position. At the Shanghai International Circuit, the 40-year-old had to fend off the early challenge from Max Verstappen of Red Bull before making it to the first corner, and from that point onwards, he was in control in the sprint race.
Max Verstappen was involved in a battle with Oscar Piastri of McLaren after failing to overhaul Lewis Hamilton, and ultimately, he was left behind by the Aussie with five laps remaining in the sprint race. George Russell of Mercedes, Charles Leclerc of Ferrari, Yuki Tsunoda of Racing Bulls, and Andrea Kimi Antonelli of Mercedes found themselves in the points ahead of Lando Norris of McLaren, who salvaged a point from the sprint race after passing Lance Stroll of Aston Martin with two laps to go.
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I woke up feeling great today: Lewis Hamilton after sprint race win
It was just last weekend when Lewis Hamilton had a disappointing Ferrari debut in Australia, finishing in 10th place after qualifying in eighth place in the main race, but now, a win in the sprint race in China will give him the confidence to carry the momentum into the main race. Qualifying at the Chinese Grand Prix will be held later today, and it is going to decide the grid positioning for tomorrow’s showdown.
Moreover, after Lewis Hamilton took the chequered flag at the China sprint race, his engineer Riccardo Adami remarked that his performance was a “masterclass in tyre management”. In his post-race comments, the Briton was quoted as saying, as per BBC Sport, “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.”
“The amount of people I heard yapping away maybe because they haven't done it and don't have the experience,” he added.
