F1 Chinese Grand Prix Sprint Race Highlights: Lewis Hamilton Claims First Win With Ferrari; Oscar Piastri Takes P2 Ahead Of Max Verstappen

1. Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari

2. Max Verstappen, Red Bull

3. Oscar Piastri, McLaren

4. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari

5. George Russell, Mercedes

6. Lando Norris, McLaren

7. Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

8. Yuki Tsunoda, Racing Bulls

9. Alex Albon, Williams

10. Lance Stroll, Aston Martin

Formula One returns to Shanghai for the second round of the 2025 season.

Lewis Hamilton will lead the grid in today바카라�s sprint race, starting from pole position, with Max Verstappen바카라�s Red Bull alongside his Ferrari.

McLaren fell short of a front-row start but remain in the mix with strong race pace. Lando Norris had set the early benchmark, topping Friday바카라�s opening practice by nearly half a second.

Oscar Piastri believes he can challenge from third on the grid in the season바카라�s first Sprint at the Chinese Grand Prix, despite admitting that handling the McLaren on the newly resurfaced track was 바카라�pretty tough바카라� during Friday바카라�s sessions.

McLaren showed early promise in Free Practice 1, with Lando Norris topping the timesheets and Piastri securing third, positioning them as favorites heading into Sprint Qualifying.

However, while the team maintained strong pace, they fell short in SQ3. Piastri secured P3, while Norris settled for P6, as Ferrari바카라�s Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull바카라�s Max Verstappen locked out the front row.

The sprint format, revamped in 2024, remains unchanged for this season.

Qualifying for the 100km sprint race took place yesterday after the weekend바카라�s sole practice session.

Today, the sprint race, lasting 19 laps, opens the track action, followed by qualifying for the main Grand Prix later in the day (afternoon local time in Shanghai).

Points are awarded to the top eight finishers in the sprint, with the winner earning the most.

Lap 1/19

The first sprint race of the season is underway!

Lewis Hamilton gets a strong start, leading into Turn One as Max Verstappen tucks in behind him in second. Oscar Piastri holds third, keeping the front-runners in sight.

Lando Norris tries to muscle past George Russell but is firmly denied by the Mercedes driver. A lock-up proves costly for Norris, dropping him down to ninth.

Yuki Tsunoda gains a spot to move into sixth, while Lance Stroll takes eighth, grabbing the final points position for now.

Russell, looking sharp early on, climbs to fourth as the field settles into the race.

Lap 2/19

Lewis Hamilton바카라�s Ferrari holds a narrow lead of just under a second over longtime rival Max Verstappen in the Red Bull.

Meanwhile, it바카라�s been a nightmare start for Lando Norris. After a tough opening lap, the McLaren driver now faces a fight to recover and rejoin the points battle바카라�his first target, Lance Stroll.

Lap 3/19

Lewis Hamilton has broken DRS range, keeping Max Verstappen at bay as the two multiple world champions go head-to-head. The Ferrari driver now holds a firmer grip on the lead, denying the Red Bull any easy chances to attack.

Further back, George Russell makes a decisive move on Charles Leclerc into the final corner, earning praise from his race engineer over the radio.

Lap 5/19

Liam Lawson, running at the back in the second Red Bull, has made a move on Jack Doohan바카라�s Alpine to climb into 18th place. The New Zealander is slowly working his way forward.

Up front, Oscar Piastri is turning up the pressure on Max Verstappen. The Australian has reeled in the Red Bull and is now within DRS range, eyeing a move for second. Behind them, George Russell holds steady in fourth for Mercedes.

Lap 6/19

Lewis Hamilton continues to control the sprint, extending his gap over Max Verstappen to 1.4 seconds. Meanwhile, Oscar Piastri is inching closer, keeping the pressure on the Red Bull from third place.

Further back, Liam Lawson and Jack Doohan made contact at the hairpin as the Red Bull driver forced his way through. However, race control has reviewed the incident and deemed no further action necessary바카라�it's all fair game, so the racing continues.

Lap 11/19

Max Verstappen is battling front tyre graining, allowing Oscar Piastri to edge ever closer in his McLaren. Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton maintains his lead at the front, now 1.3 seconds clear in the sprint.

Further down the order, Isack Hadjar moves up to 14th, while Liam Lawson follows in 15th. Carlos Sainz, meanwhile, is heading back to the Williams garage, potentially with a problem.

Lap 12/19

Carlos Sainz dives into the pits for a fresh set of medium tyres and rejoins at the back in 20th place.

Meanwhile, Lando Norris remains stuck in ninth, unable to find a way past Lance Stroll바카라�s Aston Martin. When asked if McLaren could do anything to help, the Briton's response is simple, nope.

Lap 14/19

Oscar Piastri continues his pursuit of Max Verstappen, but the Dutchman isn바카라�t giving up his P2 spot without a fight. Despite holding position, the four-time world champion radios his team with a clear message바카라�his tyres are done.

Verstappen: "Both of my front tyres are dead."

Lap 15/19

We saw this coming, didn바카라�t we? Oscar Piastri had been closing in for laps, and now he finally makes his move.

Lewis Hamilton, comfortably leading by 2.4 seconds, watches the battle unfold behind him as Max Verstappen and Piastri engage in a tense game of cat and mouse. The front three charge into Turn 10, but a slight wide moment costs Piastri his first opportunity.

He doesn바카라�t have to wait long, though. A few moments later, the McLaren driver seizes his chance down the long straight, sweeping past the defending champion to snatch second place.

Lewis Hamilton, you beauty! A new era unfolds for the 40-year-old Brit in scarlet red, as he wins the first sprint of the season in Shanghai. It's also his maiden victory with Ferrari, whose engineer Riccardo Adami calls the performance "a masterclass of tyre management".

Oscar Piastri finishes in second place to continue his consistent run in the sprint format. This is the Australian's third consecutive top-three finish in sprint, and he upstages Red Bull's rampaging Max Verstappen.

This is how the points are split at the end of the first sprint of the 2024-25 season:

1. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) - 8 points

2. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) - 7

3. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) - 6

4. George Russell (Mercedes) - 5

5. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) - 4

6. Yuki Tsunoda (Racing Bulls) - 3

7. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) - 2

8. Lando Norris (McLaren) - 1

Having led the sprint from start to finish, seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton rejoices alongwith the Shanghai crowd, which is celebrating the Brit's maiden career sprint triumph effusively. On air for the post-race interview, Hamilton says that after a difficult race in Melbourne, a lot of people underestimated how hard it is to acclimatise to a new team. The critics have been "yapping", he adds.

바카라�The amount of critics and people I바카라�ve heard yapping along the way just clearly don바카라�t understand, maybe because they바카라�ve never had the experience or are unaware. It felt great to come here and feel more comfortable in the car because in Melbourne I didn바카라�t feel comfortable.

바카라�From lap one this weekend I felt really on it, the engineers and mechanics have done a great job to really fine tune the car and it felt great today. I got a good start and there바카라�s so much new grip on this new tarmac, it바카라�s really hard to look after these tyres but I think everyone was struggling the same,바카라� Hamilton elaborates.

The attention now shifts to the qualifying race, which starts at 12:30pm IST.