The first Sprint race for the 2025 F1 season kicked off in Shanghai. A thrilling Sprint Qualifying yesterday saw Lewis Hamilton take his first sprint pole for Ferrari. Here’s how everything unfolded for the veteran and the rest of the field.
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Pit Lane Start
Before the sprint even began the grid had a shake-up. Kick Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg was forced to start from the pit lane after the team changed the setup of the car during Parc Ferme conditions.
Smooth Sailing in Lap 1
As lights went out for the first sprint of the season, the seven-time world champion headed the field down to turn one. Despite a bit of a tussle for position further down the field, everyone gets through the first turn smoothly. However, a few corners later, after a dip into the dirt, Lando Norris is forced to correct himself to keep himself on track. Unfortunately, this incident causes him to drop three positions.
At the last turn of lap one George Russell took advantage of the slipstream behind Charles Leclerc and took 4th place from the Ferrari driver.
Rookies Fight for Position
There was a tussle at the back of the grid as the Red Bull team had a brief worry. Liam Lawson got his elbows out and took 18th from Jack Doohan. However, there was no real concern as Race Control let the incident go. Lawson was then able to continue and soon overtook Esteban Ocon.
Tyre Management Stint
With the circuit’s strain on the left tyre due to its many tight right-hand corners, drivers began to complain about graining as they reached the halfway mark of the sprint.
Pit to Lando: So, visually, yours do look slightly worse than people […]
Lando to Pit: But then I need some help, don’t I? Because I’m just **** driving so slow and killing the tyres.
Despite teams asking drivers to manage their tyres during the middle stint of the race, many still fought for position. By lap 10, a four-car battle had emerged further down the grid, with Lawson, Gabriel Bortoleto, Isack Hadjar, and Pierre Gasly fighting for 15th place.
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Box, Box
By lap 11, Carlos Sainz seemed to be struggling with the car as Gasly, Hadjar, and Lawson overtook him within a few corners. Struggling with tyre graining, Sainz suggested pitting to gain positions on fresher tyres, so he came into the pits for a pitstop.
As Max Verstappen’s tyre life began to dwindle, Oscar Piastri closed in to take P2 from Verstappen. However, the four-time world champion held him off for several laps. This gave Lewis some breathing room as a 2.5-second gap grew between P1 and P2, allowing him to manage his tyres.
Finally, on lap 15, Piastri went down the inside of Turn 15 and took P2 from Verstappen.
With one lap to go, Hamilton had a 6-second lead over Oscar Piastri in second. Not far behind, Hamilton’s teammate Leclerc began to close the gap he had to Russell. Ultimately, he was unable to get by the Mercedes and finished in P5.
Photo Credit: Scuderia Ferrari HP
From start to finish, Hamilton held off the rest of the field. In a thrilling sprint, for the first time in the scarlet red livery, Lewis Hamilton wins the Sprint race at the 2025 Chinese Grand Prix.
Formula 1 2025 Chinese Grand Prix featured image courtesy of EverythingF1