Hamilton untouchable in first Ferrari Sprint victory in China

Taking his first-ever victory in red, Lewis Hamilton put on a tyre-management masterclass during the eventful Sprint Race at the Chinese Grand Prix.

Launching off the line, the seven-time world champion was untouchable from the get-go, clearing Max Verstappen and leaving Dutchman in the clutches of a hungry Oscar Piastri. 

Lurking in the shadows for the first five laps, the Australian soon found himself running within DRS range of Verstappen, and just a few laps later, it was time for Piastri to strike.

At the halfway mark of the Sprint, an error in the middle sector cost Piastri precious tenths to the Red Bull driver in second, prolonging his time in the final podium position before Verstappen started showing his own signs of weakness.

Running wide at Turn 6, Verstappen allowed Piastri to come within four-tenths of his Red Bull, a moment that lead to the Australian’s first genuine attack through the first sweeping turn. 

One lap later, the inevitable overtake finally arrived when Piastri cleared Verstappen through the Turn 14 hairpin, sealing second place as he sped off down the road, however, unable to catch the flying Ferrari driver in the lead. 

Further back, Lando Norris had a nightmare start and lost three places off the line, never recovering by the time the 19-lap Sprint concluded. 

One driver able to recover minor positions was Liam Lawson, with the Kiwi starting from the last row of the grid and ending in P14 behind Isack Hadjar.

It wasn’t a clean race for the Red Bull driver, however, with Lawson making contact on two seperate occasions at Turn 14, including a run-in with Jack Doohan that resulted in debris from the RB21 flying off on the start-finish straight.

That wasn’t the only incident Doohan was involved in, with his disappointing run down in P18 being amplified by a last-lap spin when he locked up at Turn 14, taking out Gabriel Bortoleto in the process. 

Ending with a positive or negative outcome, the Sprint will soon become irrelevant when the drivers’ focus shifts to Qualifying this evening, with the all-important session setting the grid for Sunday’s Chinese Grand Prix.

The hour shootout will kick off at 18:00 AEDT.

Image: Formula 1

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