Written by Ria Ann Sam
Lewis Hamilton wins the first sprint race of the season in a thrilling manner ahead of Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen. He wins the sprint for Ferrari for the first time.
The first sprint race of the 2025 season took place in Shanghai, and after a superb sprint qualifying session yesterday, Lewis Hamilton took pole for his first time with Ferrari. Current World Champion Max Verstappen started second, with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri in third.
The grid for the sprint race was interesting to say the least, with current championship leader Lando Norris starting from sixth after locking up in SQ3, and Liam Lawson starting 18th for Red Bull.
As for the rookies, Kimi Antonelli out qualified the others starting fourth; Oliver Bearman in twelfth (a massive improvement from Australia); Gabriel Bortoleto in 14th, out qualifying his teammate once again; Isack Hadjar in 15th; and Jack Dohhan in 16th, ahead of teammate Gasly.
The race began at 11 a.m. track time. Lewis Hamilton got away very well as soon as lights went out; he would lead the race by almost six seconds. Unfortunately, it wasn’t good for his teammate Charles Leclerc who lost a place to George Russell. Lando Norris also struggled, losing three places on the opening lap.
Liam Lawson made his way past Jack Doohan but made contact with him in the process; he was noted by Race Control but later cleared.
The top three of Hamilton, Verstappen, and Piastri all struggled on their tyres, but Piastri was able to overtake Verstappen on lap 15.
Further down the field, Carlos Sainz was leading a DRS train, however, he was eventually passed by Isack Hadjar and Liam Lawson. He was then told to box where he pitted for new medium tyres.
Liam Lawson was a beast on the track, making his way up from 19th to 14th, but he also made a few enemies after contact with Doohan and others.
Charles Leclerc and George Russell battled very hard on the final couple of laps, and for a minute it seemed as though the Monegasque would overtake the Brit, however, he didn't manage to make it.
Lewis Hamilton won his first sprint race, and claimed Ferrari's first sprint victory as well. He finished six seconds ahead of Oscar Piastri and nine seconds ahead of Verstappen.
But the excitement didn't end there. Going into the final corner, Jack Doohan crashed with Gabriel Bortoleto. The two were able to finish the race, however, this won't help the Aussie's chances of proving to Alpine why he should keep his seat.
Yuki Tsunoda also put on a brilliant performance, making up two places and staying ahead of Kimi Antonelli, earning three points for the team.
After losing places on the opening lap, Norris finished eighth after overtaking the Aston Martin of Lance Stroll.
Qualifying for Sunday's race will begin at 15:00 track time (07:00 GMT); who will put their car on the front row?
Results:
Lewis Hamilton
Oscar Piastri
Max Verstappen
George Russell
Charles Leclerc
Yuki Tsunoda
Kimi Antonelli
Lando Norris
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