Hamilton's first win in Red

Sir Lewis Hamilton - Photo by Ferrari S.p.A

SIR Lewis Hamilton claimed his first win with Ferrari in only his second race for the Scuderia, mastering tyre management and race craft to take victory in the Sprint Race at the 2025 Chinese Grand Prix. Oscar Piastri finished second for McLaren, with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen completing the podium.

“Great job guys,” Hamilton said over team radio as he crossed the line, receiving immediate praise from his engineer for what was described as a “masterclass in tyre management.”

For those unfamiliar with the format, it’s worth understanding how the Sprint fits into the modern Formula 1 weekend.

The Sprint format is a relatively new addition to Formula 1, introduced at select race weekends to add more action and strategic complexity. Instead of the traditional two-day build-up to the Grand Prix, the weekend begins with a single practice session followed by a Sprint Qualifying session on Friday, which sets the grid for Saturday’s Sprint Race. The Sprint itself is a shorter race, approximately 100km in length, and awards points to the top eight finishers. Later on Saturday, a separate qualifying session determines the starting order for Sunday’s main Grand Prix. The format offers a high-intensity alternative to the usual weekend structure, creating more opportunities for drama and reshuffling the competitive order before the main event.

As the lights went out to start the Sprint Race, Hamilton got away cleanly from pole, while championship leader McLaren's Lando Norris, starting sixth, dropped to ninth by the end of the opening lap. As the race progressed, Verstappen began to apply pressure, closing the gap to Hamilton to within one second by the halfway mark and triggering DRS. But Hamilton, ever the tactician, was clearly taking crucial corners in a way that prioritized exit speed and tyre longevity — slowly breaking Verstappen’s hold and regaining breathing space.

With six laps to go, Hamilton led by 1.7 seconds. By Lap 15, Oscar Piastri made his move on Verstappen to snatch second place. Hamilton, meanwhile, had upped his pace and extended his lead to over four seconds by Lap 17.

Starting the final lap, Hamilton was six seconds ahead of the field and cruised to a confident win.

After the race, Hamilton reflected on the work happening behind the scenes since joining Ferrari.

“I feel a lot of people underestimated the steep climb it is to get into another team, to become acclimatized within the team – understanding, communication, all kinds of things.”

The 40-year-old became the latest driver in his forties to win a Formula 1 race, joining Nigel Mansell, who achieved the feat back in 1994.

“It felt great to come here and feel more comfortable in the car. In Melbourne I really didn’t feel comfortable in the car. From lap one here this weekend, I really felt on it. The engineers did a great job, the mechanics did a great job to really fine-tune the car and it felt great today.”

Still, Hamilton urged calm.

“I know the Tifosi, I know the team wants to win and I know it means everything to them. But I said the other day — Rome wasn’t built in a day. One step at a time. We're not going to get ahead of ourselves. We can’t. We will continue to push, be diligent, stay focused, and most importantly, stay calm. These moments get us excited, but we’ll be back at our desks after this and focused on qualifying this afternoon. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.”

Behind the top three, George Russell drove a clean race to secure fourth for Mercedes, fending off a spirited challenge from Charles Leclerc, who brought home fifth for Ferrari. Yuki Tsunoda continued his strong run of form, finishing sixth for Racing Bulls and collecting valuable points. Andrea Kimi Antonelli impressed once again, taking seventh in only his second Sprint Race. Lando Norris salvaged eighth, claiming the final point after a difficult race that saw him fall back early.

Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso rounded out the top ten for Aston Martin, finishing ninth and tenth respectively — just outside the points-paying positions.

Oscar Piastri, who crossed the line in second, was encouraged by the result:

“It was a really productive sprint. Finishing second is always a great result. I think we learned a lot. It’s encouraging. We’ve got some good ideas for this afternoon and tomorrow — we’ll see if we can get one spot better.”

Verstappen, who held off Russell for third place, admitted tyre degradation hurt his pace in the closing stages:

“In the last eight laps we just didn’t have the pace of the others. I was just trying to survive out there, so I’ll definitely take that P3. It was tough to manage the tyres, but it’s okay — we’ll try to do better tomorrow.”

Championship leader Lando Norris, who could only manage eighth, was visibly disappointed:

“After that first lap, I really didn’t have any pace. I just struggled a lot in these conditions — the front graining is like my worst nightmare. So I have a lot of work to do. I was struggling a lot out there.”

With the Sprint concluded, teams will now turn their attention to Grand Prix qualifying later today, which will determine the grid for Sunday’s race.

Full Sprint Race Results – 2025 Chinese Grand Prix:

Lewis Hamilton – Ferrari

Oscar Piastri – McLaren

Max Verstappen – Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT

George Russell – Mercedes

Charles Leclerc – Ferrari

Yuki Tsunoda – Racing Bulls Honda RBPT

Andrea Kimi Antonelli – Mercedes

Lando Norris – McLaren

Lance Stroll – Aston Martin

Fernando Alonso – Aston Martin

Alexander Albon – Williams

Pierre Gasly – Alpine

Isack Hadjar – Racing Bulls Honda RBPT

Liam Lawson – Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT

Oliver Bearman – Haas

Esteban Ocon – Haas

Carlos Sainz – Williams

Gabriel Bortoleto – Kick Sauber

Nico Hülkenberg – Kick Sauber

Jack Doohan – Alpine

Hamilton's first win in Red by Damian Hall