Chinese Grand Prix – Sprint Race: Lewis Hamilton wins for the first time with Ferrari

Lewis Hamilton had to wait for his second Grand Prix in red to secure his first (small) victory with Scuderia Ferrari. He didn’t win the Grand Prix, but rather the sprint race. The seven-time world champion expertly managed the degradation of his medium tires to lead the 19 laps of the race. At one point threatened by Max Verstappen benefiting from slipstream and DRS, a battle between the two seemed possible, but the Red Bull degraded its front tires too quickly. Ultimately, Oscar Piastri took advantage by overtaking the Red Bull for P2.

A trouble-free departure

The first long right of the Shanghai circuit is very tricky. Its snail shape is difficult to tackle with cold tires and a horde of drivers alongside, yet the start went very well. The only collateral victim was Lando Norris, slightly forced to bite the grass while braking, he lost a few positions, getting stuck in traffic for the rest of the race.

A battle with tires

The 20 drivers on the grid have chosen to start this race of just over 100 kms, or 19 laps, with medium tires. The goal is obviously to avoid pitting while extracting as much performance from the tires as possible. The hard tires were deemed too underperforming in comparison, but nevertheless, many drivers began to complain of ‘graining’ and significant tire degradation as early as the 6th lap.

In this game, being in close contact with a single-seater in front of you doesn’t help. Keeping your tires within the temperature operating window is difficult, but if the exhaust from the car in front heats up your tires and causes you to lose downforce, making the tires work even harder, then the degradation multiplies.

This is the reason that led Max Verstappen to ease off against the Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton, whom he followed closely for just a few laps before experiencing too much degradation. Conversely, the McLaren seems to be more comfortable resisting this degradation and was able to close in on Max Verstappen for several laps, getting close enough to make an overtaking move.

At the back of the pack, Lando Norris asked for help on the radio as he noticed his tires overheating. However, it was Carlos Sainz who suffered the most from his tire usage. The Williams driver even had to pit to change tires midway through the race. He’s the only one in this situation.

The rookies in battle

Most of the rookies, apart from Kimi Antonelli, started at the back of the grid. They engaged in interesting battles during the last 5 laps with several overtakes including some forceful moves by Liam Lawson with the Red Bull, who started last on the grid and gradually climbed up to 14th place.

Note the beautiful and realistic sprint race by Isack Hadjar who finishes ahead of Liam Lawson and just behind Gasly, with whom he battled for a good part of the race.

Ultimately, the only fault lies with Jack Doohan, in the final lap of the race, as he spun Gabriel Bortoleto and returned to the garage in last position.

The result of the sprint race of the 2025 Chinese Grand Prix