Lewis Hamilton overcame intense pressure from Max Verstappen to clinch his first victory as a Ferrari driver, P1 in the Chinese GP Sprint.

Oscar Piastri finished second after overtaking Verstappen on lap 15 while further back the sport’s rookies provided much of the Sprint’s excitement as they got their elbows out.

Lewis Hamilton is a Ferrari Sprint winner

For the first time in F1 2025, but probably not the last, Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen lined up 1-2 on a grid, the 2021 title protagonists the fastest two drivers in Sprint Qualifying for the Chinese GP.

On a warm sunny morning in Shanghai, Hamilton held off Verstappen into Turn 1 with the Red Bull driver harassing him for the lead. Oscar Piastri lost momentum as he tried to pass Verstappen and instead found himself having to defend against Charles Leclerc while his team-mate Lando Norris lost positions, down from sixth to ninth after putting tyres on the dirt.

George Russell took fourth off Leclerc with Yuki Tsunoda was up to sixth ahead of Kimi Antonelli, Lance Stroll and Norris.

Further back Oliver Bearman was the next-best rookie in 12th place while his fellow newcomers from Gabriel Bortoleto to Liam Lawson lined up 15th to 19th with Esteban Ocon in the mix.

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Hamilton put in a fastest lap to break out of DRS range of Verstappen only for the Dutchman to bring the gap back down to 0.9s. And so the back-and-forth began, the two running just over a second ahead of Piastri.

Lawson banged wheels with Jack Doohan to make his way into P18, the incident noted by the stewards who ruled no further action. Lawson’s next overtook was on Ocon. Bortoleto and Isack Hadjar also got their elbows out as the battle of the rookies played out.

Norris, unable to pass Stroll, told McLaren his front tyres were “****ed”. Hamilton was also beginning to struggle, his tyres notably grained.

10 laps into the 19-lap Sprint, the Ferrari driver was leading ahead of Verstappen and Piastri, the trio separated by 2.5s. A moment from Verstappen at the hairpin gave Hamilton a bit of breathing room and Piastri a nibble.

The intense scrap at the back continued with Carlos Sainz in 14th chased by Hadjar, Lawson, Bortoleto, Ocon and Doohan – all running wing to wing. Hadjar and Lawson both overtook Sainz who was told to “box, box” for new tyres.

Hamilton’s advantage was up to two seconds with six to go, but for Verstappen the pressure was on as he had Piastri all over his rear wing. Piastri made his move into the hairpin on lap 15, taking the inside line to blast past the Red Bull driver. Hamilton was 2.6s ahead.

The Ferrari driver upped his pace to put more distance between himself and Piastri, the Aussie dropping Verstappen. Russell came under threat from Leclerc while Antonelli hunted down Tsunoda for sixth place.

Hamilton took the chequered flag seven seconds ahead of Piastri with Verstappen holding onto third place ahead of Russell and Leclerc.

Tsunoda, Antonelli and Norris completed the points, the McLaren driver making a late pass on Stroll to score a point.

Doohan and Bortoleto made contact on the final lap, the Alpine driver trying to dive up the inside of the Sauber but instead pitching him into a spin. Meanwhile, Pierre Gasly will be investigated after the Sprint for not adhering to the maximum delta time on his way to the grid.

Chinese GP Sprint Result

1 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari
2 Oscar Piastri McLaren +6.889
3 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing +9.804
4 George Russell Mercedes +11.592
5 Charles Leclerc Ferrari +12.190
6 Yuki Tsunoda Racing Bulls +22.288
7 Andrea Kimi Antonelli Mercedes +23.038
8 Lando Norris McLaren +23.471
9 Lance Stroll Aston Martin +24.916
10 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin +38.218
11 Alexander Albon Williams +39.292
12 Pierre Gasly Alpine +39.649
13 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls +42.400
14 Liam Lawson Red Bull Racing +44.904
15 Oliver Bearman Haas F1 Team +45.649
16 Esteban Ocon Haas F1 Team +46.182
17 Carlos Sainz Williams +51.376
18 Gabriel Bortoleto Kick Sauber +53.940
19 Nico Hulkenberg Kick Sauber +56.682
20 Jack Doohan Alpine +60.048

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