Lewis Hamilton secured his first victory for Ferrari in the Sprint Race in Shanghai ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix.
The Briton who started at the pole position dominated the show right from the start till the end. He beat Red Bull’s Max Verstappen who started the sprint race in second and McLaren‘s Oscar Piastri who started third on the grid to clinch the win.
The seven-time Formula 1 world champion took the chequered flag 6.889 seconds clear of Piastri with Verstappen finishing third in the 100km race.
This also marked the first ever Sprint Race victory for the Italian car maker since the format was introduced in 2021.
It was a moment to savor for Hamilton who had a disappointing Ferrari debut at the opening race of the season in Australian Grand Prix last weekend, in which he qualified eighth and finished 10th.
“I woke up feeling great today,” he said. “The first race was difficult and I really do feel a lot of people underestimated the steep climb it is to get into a new team, with communication and understanding and a whole lot of things.
“The amount of people I heard yapping away maybe because they haven’t done it and don’t have the experience.
“I came here and the engineers and mechanics have done a great job to fine-tune the car and it felt great today. There is so much grip on this new tarmac but I think everyone struggled.”
McLaren’s Lando Norris, winner of the season-opener in Melbourne, finished eighth in the race taking just one point. He still tops the standings with 26 points to Verstappen’s 24.
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Chinese Grand Prix 2025- Sprint: Full Result
| Pos | No | Driver | Car | Laps | Time/retired | Pts |
1 |
44 |
Lewis Hamilton |
Ferrari |
19 |
30:39.965 |
8 |
| 2 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren Mercedes | 19 | +6.889s | 7 |
| 3 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT | 19 | +9.804s | 6 |
| 4 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 19 | +11.592s | 5 |
| 5 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 19 | +12.190s | 4 |
| 6 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | Racing Bulls Honda RBPT | 19 | +22.288s | 3 |
| 7 | 12 | Andrea Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | 19 | +23.038s | 2 |
| 8 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren Mercedes | 19 | +23.471s | 1 |
| 9 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes | 19 | +24.916s | 0 |
| 10 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes | 19 | +38.218s | 0 |
| 11 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams Mercedes | 19 | +39.292s | 0 |
| 12 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine Renault | 19 | +39.649s | 0 |
| 13 | 6 | Isack Hadjar | Racing Bulls Honda RBPT | 19 | +42.400s | 0 |
| 14 | 30 | Liam Lawson | Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT | 19 | +44.904s | 0 |
| 15 | 87 | Oliver Bearman | Haas Ferrari | 19 | +45.649s | 0 |
| 16 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Haas Ferrari | 19 | +46.182s | 0 |
| 17 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | Williams Mercedes | 19 | +51.376s | 0 |
| 18 | 5 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Kick Sauber Ferrari | 19 | +53.940s | 0 |
| 19 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Kick Sauber Ferrari | 19 | +56.682s | 0 |
| 20 | 7 | Jack Doohan | Alpine Renault | 19 | +60.212s | 0 |
