Chinese F1 GP: Hamilton hails ‘mega’ first Ferrari win

Lewis Hamilton, who qualified fifth for Sunday’s Chinese Grand Prix, claims that his first Ferrari Sprint race victory feels “mega” and that he longs for more.

The seven-time world champion ran the sprint race for Ferrari from beginning to end on Saturday, only his second appearance for the marquee, a stunning response to criticism after his subpar 10th place finish in the Melbourne season opener last weekend.

The 40-year-old Briton won the 100km (62-mile) race flawlessly and finished ahead of Oscar Piastri, who will start Sunday’s Grand Prix from pole, and Max Verstappen from Red Bull.

Ferrari and Hamilton, who left Mercedes in January, have won a sprint race for the first time since 2021 when the shortened format was introduced.

Man, starting from pole, starting from first in a Ferrari, and winning in one is next level. The six-time Chinese Grand Prix winner declared, “It’s mega.”

And I didn’t anticipate having it at the second race in particular.

Ferrari and Hamilton will start the Grand Prix from fifth place on Sunday, according to Hamilton, who said: “I know the tifosi fans want to win, and it means everything, but Rome wasn’t built in a day.

The Briton believed he could have been tenths clearer if his main event qualifying lap had been more thorough.

“Tonight, I’ll just come up with a master plan for the victory,” I said. And then, he said, “I’m going to try to execute it.” That’s how I think right now.

Charles Leclerc, Hamilton’s teammate, said he had set up his car slightly differently from the 105-time champion on the other side of the garage when he finished fifth.

Lewis is doing a great job, the Monegasque said, “I wouldn’t really blame the car.”

There’s no exception this weekend for me because I’ve always had a historically difficult time with this track. However, I need to react, and qualifying will be a good way to start things off.

The difference in how the teams performed was attributable to how they managed the tires, according to team boss Fred Vasseur, who noted that it is simpler to do so from the front than the pack, where Leclerc was battling to get back past George Russell’s Mercedes.