Lewis Hamilton claimed Ferrari’s first victory by controlling the Shanghai Sprint Race from Paul.
Hamilton got the perfect vacation to avoid a challenge to the first turn of a long turn.
Max Verstappen chased after Hamilton, but behind him Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclair were brawling in third place. Leclerc found himself inside turn 3, but gained a poor exit, allowing the Australians to hold their place with better traction.
However, while McLaren’s actions were not Piastry, teammate Rand Norris came in sixth and started scrapping fifth with George Russell. He found himself first from a short turn 3, but was forced to return to the line, and his attempt to go around outside Mercedes at turn 6 ended with a disaster. It freed Russell and targeted Charles Leclair.
Early positioning was important. Pirelli had raised minimum tire pressure overnight to deal with the new grippy truck surfaces burned to nearly 100 degrees Fahrenheit for the sprint.
The gap between the top three waxes and the decline was addressing the necessary management. By lap 10, Piastri was clearly a driver with a skilled touch. He began to put pressure on Verstappen, forcing the Dutch to look at a mirror filled with papaya rather than a scar-colored Ferrari.
The first Parry came at the beginning of lap 14. That’s when Verstappen pushed Piastri into an impossible attempt around his outside on the first turn. But it was a costly operation for the Dutch.
“Both my front tires are dead,” he lamented as Piastri lined him up for a second attempt.
The Australians never missed their second attempt at 19 rap 15. I had a great run from turn 13 and used Drs to draw alongside Red Bull Racing Car, pitting outside the turn and taking second place.
It was music for Hamilton’s ears. Benefiting from Clear Air, Briton opened the lead using the fight for second place. By the time Piastri moved to the second, he was already down the road in 2.7 seconds.
Hamilton cruised to the checkered flag with a comfortable 6.8-second margin and claimed his first victory with his and Ferrari’s first sprint victory.
“I felt better today,” he said. “I’ve been really sick since Rap 1 this weekend.
“We did an amazing job. The engineers did an amazing job. The mechanics did an amazing job really tweaking the car. I felt great today.”
Piastri was pleased to claim second and verify the strong tire management of his car.
“I think it was a really productive sprint,” he said. “I think I’ve learned a lot from it.
“The results were great and the way we got them was encouraging. We didn’t have enough pace before Lewis, but I think we have a good idea this afternoon and tomorrow.
Verstappen described his race as a fight for survival, saying he was lucky enough to hold the third after the tires began to fall apart.
“Unfortunately, I don’t think the last eight laps were the pace of the others. I was just trying to survive there, so I’ll definitely take that P3,” he said. “Even the car behind me was catching up a lot.
“In general, I think we lack the overall pace a bit. You’re pushing a bit harder and killing the tire a little more, making it difficult.”
Russell spent the last two laps strictly defending Leclair to keep him fourth over the Ferrari. Monegasque complained that his car was “ambitious” throughout the important turn 13. This was a long right-handed man who continued straight down his back and couldn’t capitalize the best overtaking spot on the track at the hairpin.
The Zonodas jumped two places on their first lap. One from the line, the other thanks to the false Norris – did spectacularly to hold its place ahead of Andrea Kimi Antoneri’s much faster Mercedes.
Norris spent most of the sprint outside the point, complaining that the tires had been cooked while running mid-round, but Lance had taken a walk in front of him and was about to fall into McLaren’s clutch on the final lap. This was ultimately a clinical pass for the Championship Leader, putting DRS in the hairpin to score the final point in the race.
He finished 9th in the walk ahead of his teammates Fernando Alonso, Alex Albon, Pierre Guthrie and Isaac Hager.
Liam Lawson recovered on the grid from the 19th to the 14th, overtaking the elbow on the hairpin, contacting Jack Doohan and Gabriel Boltreto, resulting in losing his bodywork.
Haas’ teammates Oliver Bearman and Esteban Ocon followed before Carlos Sign, the only driver on the field that made a pit stop.
Boltret finished 18th ahead of Sauber teammates Nico Halkenberg and alpine rookie Jacques Douhan.
Doohan’s race ended with a hairpin pointing in the wrong direction after tagging the bolt rate in a clumsy attempt.
