F1 Chinese GP: Hamilton delivers first Ferrari win in sprint race

Tyre trouble was the main takeaway from the 19-lap sprint race in Shanghai as Lewis Hamilton eased to his first win for Ferrari

Lewis Hamilton dominated the sprint race at the Chinese Grand Prix, winning from pole to take his first Formula 1 victory for Ferrari.

In a 19-lap race where tyre wear became talk of the town, Hamilton benefitted from driving in clear air to convert sprint pole into a win to add to his six grand prix successes in Shanghai.

Oscar Piastri was a distant second, almost seven seconds further down the road while Max Verstappen rounded out the top three.

Championship leader Lando Norris endured a tough race, having qualified out of position down in sixth and spent almost the entire race trying to get into the points following another mistake on the first lap.

The leading pack all started well and ran in order, other than Norris who ran wide at Turn 6 and lost three places as a result.

George Russell edged past Charles Leclerc by the end of the first lap to go up to fourth as Norris failed to make any headway in regaining places, with Lance Stroll able to keep the Australian Grand Prix winner behind him.

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari

Photo by: Greg Baker - AFP - Getty Images

Liam Lawson, trying to recover having started last in the second Red Bull, banged wheels with fellow rookie Jack Doohan to pass the Alpine but was cleared following a stewards’ investigation.

Out front, Hamilton was complaining of graining on the troublesome front-left tyre, with Norris also unhappy with the state of his rubber.

Tyre management took centre stage as Verstappen had a couple of laps putting pressure on Hamilton before dropping off.

That put him into the clutches of Piastri, who was able to mount a longer offence and eventually got through into second at the end of lap 15.

Hamilton, though, had built up a gap while Verstappen and Piastri squabbled and was almost five seconds clear heading into the final two laps.

The 40-year-old soaked in the adulation of the Chinese crowd after taking the chequered flag, with Ferrari team-mate Leclerc unable to fight back ahead of Russell, who finished fourth for Mercedes.

Yuki Tsunoda put in a strong showing to take sixth for Racing Bulls, fending off Andrea Kimi Antonelli as Norris found a way past Stroll to take eighth place and the final sprint race point.

F1 Chinese GP - Sprint race results

1 - 2
Cla	Driver	#	Laps	Time	Interval	km/h	Pits	Points	Retirement	Chassis	Engine
1	L. Hamilton Ferrari	44	19	-				8		Ferrari	Ferrari
2	O. Piastri McLaren	81	19	+6.889 6.889	6.889			7		McLaren	Mercedes
3	M. Verstappen Red Bull Racing	1	19	+9.804 9.804	2.915			6		Red Bull	Red Bull
4	G. Russell Mercedes	63	19	+11.592 11.592	1.788			5		Mercedes	Mercedes
5	C. Leclerc Ferrari	16	19	+12.190 12.190	0.598			4		Ferrari	Ferrari
6	Y. Tsunoda Racing Bulls	22	19	+22.288 22.288	10.098			3		RB	Honda
7	A. Kimi Antonelli Mercedes	12	19	+23.038 23.038	0.750			2		Mercedes	Mercedes
8	L. Norris McLaren	4	19	+23.471 23.471	0.433			1		McLaren	Mercedes
9	L. Stroll Aston Martin Racing	18	19	+24.916 24.916	1.445					Aston Martin	Mercedes
10	F. Alonso Aston Martin Racing	14	19	+38.218 38.218	13.302					Aston Martin	Mercedes
11	A. Albon Williams	23	19	+39.292 39.292	1.074					Williams	Mercedes
12	P. Gasly Alpine	10	19	+39.649 39.649	0.357					Alpine	Renault
13	I. Hadjar Racing Bulls	6	19	+42.400 42.400	2.751					RB	Honda
14	L. Lawson Red Bull Racing	30	19	+44.904 44.904	2.504					Red Bull	Red Bull
15	O. Bearman Haas F1 Team	87	19	+45.649 45.649	0.745					Haas	Ferrari
16	E. Ocon Haas F1 Team	31	19	+46.182 46.182	0.533					Haas	Ferrari
17	C. Sainz Williams	55	19	+51.376 51.376	5.194		1			Williams	Mercedes
18	G. Bortoleto Sauber	5	19	+53.940 53.940	2.564					Sauber	Ferrari
19	N. Hulkenberg Sauber	27	19	+56.682 56.682	2.742					Sauber	Ferrari
20	J. Doohan Alpine	7	19	+1'00.212 1'00.212	3.530					Alpine	Renault
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