Lewis Hamilton’s first win as a Ferrari driver is difficult to classify. It won’t officially count towards his record tally of 105 F1 victories.
This was Hamilton’s first-ever triumph in a Sprint – a remarkable statistic given that the format was introduced four years ago. It’s also the first time Ferrari have prevailed over the shorter distance.
Martin Brundle expects Hamilton to win multiple races this year, and a victory in a Grand Prix would immediately overshadow his Shanghai success. But this was still a small piece of history.
It was the first time he’d qualified first in Ferrari colours, and the first he’d time he’d taken the chequered flag. Fred Vasseur saw a glimpse of the seven-time world champion at his best, which was somewhat reassuring given his struggles in 2024.
Ted Kravitz unhappy that Lewis Hamilton was ‘muted’ after Chinese Grand Prix Sprint win
Speaking on Sky Sports’ ‘F1 Show’ podcast, Ted Kravitz called Hamilton’s Sprint win ‘critical’. But he was unhappy that the teams, including Ferrari, played it down.
Mathematically, the Sprint is about one-third as important as the main Grand Prix. There are eight points on offer for the winner in the six Saturday events, but 25 on a Sunday.
Thus, the latter dictates the mood. Indeed, there are some suggestions that Ferrari are in crisis after a double disqualification that left them with 17 points from two rounds.
Still, Kravitz doesn’t understand why Hamilton was ‘muted’ after the Sprint. Speaking over the radio, he congratulated the team on a ‘great job’, but he kept his emotions very much in check.
“I thought it was a critical moment,” Kravitz said. “I thought it was a breakthrough, I really did. I thought it was a very significant moment.
“In a way, I don’t like all of this, even from Ferrari and all the other teams – ‘it’s only a Sprint race’. His celebrations were a bit muted, weren’t they?
“He was like, ‘woo, well done everybody’, come on! Just a Sprint race? Buy into it. It’s important.”
The uncomfortable throwback to Lewis Hamilton’s dark days during the Chinese GP
Hamilton still looks uncomfortable with the SF-25 on a full tank of fuel. This is likely a legacy of pre-season testing, where he didn’t complete a race simulation due to a mechanical issue.
Even though teammate Charles Leclerc had wing damage on Sunday – having hit his teammate at the start – he was clearly the faster driver. This led to a surprising exchange over the radio.
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Hamilton offered to let Leclerc past, a message that didn’t make it to the world feed. Soon after, he moved aside at turn one to release the Monegasque.
It sounded exactly like Hamilton’s radio to Mercedes at the Japanese Grand Prix last year, when he suggested letting George Russell go. The 40-year-old is trying to banish those memories, but hasn’t fully done so just yet.
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