Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari lost out to his former team Mercedes at the season-opening Australian GP. The Silver Arrows scored 27 points, leaving them joint-top with McLaren, while Ferrari managed just five.
George Russell established himself as a title contender, in the eyes of Ted Kravitz, by finishing on the podium. Meanwhile, a strategy gamble backfired for Ferrari as Hamilton finished 10th on debut and Charles Leclerc could only manage eighth.
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said Ferrari hadn’t shown their true pace in Australia, and they immediately proved him right at the Chinese Grand Prix. Hamilton took a surprise pole position for the Sprint ahead of Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri.
Russell will be content with fifth place, ahead of pole favourite Lando Norris, who made two mistakes during SQ3. Hamilton’s replacement Kimi Antonelli was seventh, a welcome improvement after his Q1 exit at Albert Park.
George Russell congratulates Lewis Hamilton both in person and online at Chinese Grand Prix
A few hours after qualifying, Ferrari shared a video of Hamilton’s celebrations on Twitter. There are only eight points on offer to the victor in the Sprint, but this result carried a greater symbolic significance.
Hamilton triumphantly waved his fist as he stood on top of his car in parc ferme. After climbing down, he was congratulated by third-place man Piastri and old teammate Russell.
Russell shook his hand, offered him a hug and patted him on the back, suggesting he was genuinely happy for the seven-time world champion. He echoed these sentiments on social media.
Hamilton shared an Instagram post to mark his achievement, writing ‘andiamo’ (or ‘let’s go’ in English). In the comments, Russell wrote ‘great lap bro’, while Alpine reserve driver Franco Colapinto said ‘mega mega’.
What Charles Leclerc said on the radio after losing out to Lewis Hamilton
F1 fans were furious with a broadcast issue they experienced during Hamilton’s landmark session. There were issues with the timing tower on the left side of the screen during SQ2 and SQ3.
This meant the running order wasn’t entirely clear for large parts of the session. Thankfully, it was fixed in time for Hamilton to cross the line and jump up to top spot.
Teammate Charles Leclerc was fourth, with Helmut Marko surprised by Hamilton’s advantage. Speaking over the radio, the Monegasque hinted at the reason for the gap.
Leclerc said his tyres were ‘completely destroyed’ after just one corner at the Shanghai International Circuit. He may study Hamilton’s technique overnight ahead of the main qualifying session on Saturday.
