Lewis Hamilton took his first victory as a Ferrari driver in the Sprint race at the Chinese Grand Prix on Saturday. It won’t officially count as a win, but it’s the first major milestone of his career with the Italian giants.
Hamilton took pole for the 19-lap event on Friday, edging Max Verstappen by just two-hundredths of a second. He then produced a vintage performance in the race itself when many expected McLaren to be too strong.
Oscar Piastri started third and passed Max Verstappen for second, but he ultimately finished nearly seven seconds behind Hamilton. The seven-time world champion picked up eight points after a disappointing debut in Australia where he finished 10th.
Hamilton and Ferrari fell back in Grand Prix qualifying, ending up on the third row. Piastri took the first pole of his career, just under three-tenths ahead of the Sprint pacesetter.
Zak Brown admits Lewis Hamilton’s Chinese Grand Prix Sprint win was ‘very cool’
In an interview with Sky Sports F1 after qualifying, Karun Chandhok asked McLaren boss Zak Brown what he thought of Hamilton’s win. Even though his driver lost out, he was pleased for the Ferrari star.
Hamilton retains a bond with McLaren, having started his F1 career with the Woking outfit in 2007. He’s still their most recent drivers’ champion after his 2008 triumph and started 110 races for the team before leaving at the end of 2012.
Brown said the Englishman is his preferred victor if it can’t be one of his own. Speaking during the winter, Piastri said Hamilton winning at Ferrari would be ‘pretty cool’ were he not a competitor.
| 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 was very cool to see Lewis win,” Brown said. “If it’s not one of our guys, [I want it to be] Lewis in a Ferrari – former McLaren guy. He’s always welcome at the McLaren family.
“We love racing Ferrari. To see Lewis win is pretty special. He’s qualified well, so he’s certainly settling in well at Ferrari, which we expected him to.”
While Hamilton will be disappointed to slip to fifth for the main Grand Prix, it was still an achievement to beat Charles Leclerc (sixth) in just his second race.
Lewis Hamilton onboard moment shows he still has the edge over Lando Norris
Brown isn’t the only rival to praise Hamilton this weekend. Red Bull’s Helmut Marko also commended him after he shaded Verstappen.
Marko called Hamilton’s performance ‘incredible’, expressing surprise at his early advantage over Leclerc. The Monegasque is regarded as one of the fastest drivers in F1 over a single lap, if not the fastest, and has been with Ferrari since 2019.
Watching the onboard footage from Sprint qualifying, Karun Chandhok says Hamilton taught Norris a lesson. He deliberately held back at the sector three hairpin to ensure he didn’t make a lap-ruining mistake.
Meanwhile, Norris steamed into the corner too fast and cost himself pole position. This highlighted the advantage of experience.
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