Lewis Hamilton celebrated his first victory with Ferrari. © ANSA / ALEX PLAVEVSKI

Exclamation mark from Ferrari: Hamilton wins China sprint

Record world champion Lewis Hamilton won the sprint in China and celebrated his first triumph for Ferrari in Formula 1.

March 22, 2025

From: apa/sn

The 40-year-old Briton drove to a commanding lights-to-flag victory in the short race in Shanghai on Saturday, ahead of McLaren driver Oscar Piastri and world champion Max Verstappen in the Red Bull. World Championship leader Lando Norris (McLaren) could not get beyond eighth place in the first sprint race of the season and received a World Championship point for it.

"I felt great getting up this morning. We've done a good job here from the first lap," said Hamilton after the first sprint victory of his career – and the first for Ferrari in the new format introduced in 2021. "We have to stay calm now, there's still a long way to go. Rome wasn't built in a day. It's a marathon, not a sprint," emphasized the seven-time champion. At the season opener in Australia, Hamilton finished a disappointing tenth. "A lot of people underestimate how difficult it is to come to a new team. I feel really comfortable in the car, unlike in Melbourne," said the long-time Mercedes star after his second race for the Scuderia.

Another mistake from Norris

Hamilton surprisingly secured pole position for the first of six sprints on Friday. Hamilton easily defended his lead ahead of Verstappen in the long first corner. Australian winner Norris started the short race from sixth after a mistake in qualifying and dropped three places after another mistake on the first of 19 laps.

Lando Norris had some problems. © APA/afp / HECTOR RETAMAL

There were hardly any overtaking maneuvers on the newly paved Shanghai International Circuit, and even the two McLaren drivers, who had been so dominant in Melbourne, were initially no faster than the opposition. Norris, who complained about a rapidly degrading left front tire despite driving slowly, was unable to overtake Lance Stroll's Aston Martin for a long time. "I wasn't really good today. I just felt terrible in the race. We still have a lot of work to do," said Norris.

Verstappen reduced the gap to Norris

A three-way battle developed at the front between Hamilton, Verstappen, and Piastri, who overtook the defending champion four laps before the end of the race but was unable to put Hamilton under pressure. In the World Championship standings, Verstappen reduced the gap to Norris to two points. Qualifying for Sunday's Grand Prix (8.00:8.00 a.m.) will take place on Saturday (XNUMX:XNUMX a.m.).