Lewis Hamilton has won a Formula 1 race for the first time ever without a Mercedes engine. All of his victories since 2012 had come in the colours of the Silver Arrows.
Hamilton triumphed in the Sprint race at the Chinese Grand Prix on Saturday, leading home Oscar Piastri after expertly handling some early pressure from Max Verstappen. His seven-second winning margin was impressive.
Individually, it’s Hamilton’s first-ever win in a Sprint, immediately after his first pole for the Saturday race since its inaugural running at the 2021 British GP. Ferrari had never previously won in the shorter format.
The 40-year-old will now target his maiden Grand Prix victory in their colours. He starts fifth in China, so may have to wait longer than driver Sebastian Vettel, who broke his duck for the Scuderia at the second attempt a decade ago.
Lewis Hamilton hints that Ferrari wins mean more than Mercedes triumphs
Speaking to Sky Sports after the Sprint, Hamilton suggested there were two reasons for his victory. The first was the team’s lasting focus after a disappointing debut in Australia where he finished 10th.
And the second was the set-up direction he pursued in Shanghai. The SF-25 is now in a more comfortable window for the seven-time world champion.
Reflecting on the achievement, Hamilton admitted that it ‘hits different’ to win as a Ferrari driver. One could argue that Mercedes staff should be offended.
The Briton won a record 84 races during his time at Brackley. But he seems to value success at Ferrari more given the team’s iconic status.
| RANK | DRIVER | TEAM | PTS |
| 1 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | 8 |
| 2 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 7 |
| 3 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 6 |
| 4 | George Russell | Mercedes | 5 |
| 5 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 4 |
| 6 | Yuki Tsunoda | Racing Bulls | 3 |
| 7 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | 2 |
| 8 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 1 |
“It feels amazing,” he said. “What’s important for me and everyone in the team is not to read the headlines, not to be distracted, just continue to stay on course and do what we do.
“Everyone’s just kept working and we made some changes coming into this weekend. I pushed the car a little bit more in the direction that I know I wanted it.
“This is a good track for me. I do love it here. To cross the line in red, to start on pole red, it’s… wow. It hits different for sure.”
Why Lewis Hamilton was angry in the media pen before Chinese Grand Prix
Mercedes aren’t ‘overly impressed’ with Hamilton, Martin Brundle says, because he looks ‘so happy to be somewhere else’. His stint at Toto Wolff’s delivered unprecedented success, but things perhaps grew stale by the end.
Hamilton was thrashed by teammate George Russell over a single lap last year, losing 19-5 in the head-to-head. He didn’t do the qualifying double (Sprint + Grand Prix) over his teammate at all in 2024, but he’s already managed it against Charles Leclerc.
His Mercedes exit brought his working relationship with race engineer Peter Bonnington to an end after 12 years. Bonnington mistakenly called replacement driver Kimi Antonelli ‘Lewis’ during qualifying.
New engineer Riccardo Adami clashed with Ferrari’s winter signing in Australia as he tried to impart plenty of information. Hamilton was ‘annoyed’ with the coverage of his radio messages, says Ted Kravitz, and he channelled that into motivation for this weekend.
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