Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton claimed his first victory in only his second race with the team, dominating the sprint at the 2025 Chinese Grand Prix. The seven-time world champion held off Red Bull’s Max Verstappen into the first corner and maintained control for the remainder of the race.
Verstappen, unable to keep pace, eventually came under pressure from McLaren’s Oscar Piastri. The Australian overtook Verstappen with five laps to go, securing second place.
Lando Norris, Piastri’s teammate, managed to grab a single point after a tough race. He passed Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin with just two laps remaining.
Hamilton’s performance marked a strong comeback following a disappointing Ferrari debut in Australia, where he finished 10th after starting eighth. His engineer, Riccardo Adami, commended him for his exceptional tyre management during the slowing-down lap.
Hamilton celebrated with fans in the packed grandstands after exiting his car on the pit straight.
“I woke up feeling great today,” Hamilton told the BBC. “The first race was tough. People underestimate how challenging it is to adapt to a new team, with all the communication and adjustments involved.
The engineers and mechanics fine-tuned the car, and it felt amazing today. The new tarmac offered a lot of grip, but everyone struggled to manage it.”
Verstappen showed early promise but began to lose ground to Hamilton after eight laps. He eventually found himself defending against Piastri, who executed a clean move at Turn 14 on lap 14 to take second.
“It was a productive sprint,” Piastri said. “Finishing second is great, but the way I got there is what I’m most proud of. We didn’t have the pace to match Lewis, but we’ve got ideas to improve.”
Verstappen admitted he struggled in the final laps. “I gave it my best, but we just didn’t have the pace at the end. I was hanging on out there and happy to take P3. Managing the tyres was tough, and overall, we lacked speed, which made it hard to keep the tyres alive.”
Norris, who won the season opener in Melbourne, made an error on the first lap, dropping from sixth to ninth after running wide at Turn Six. He spent the race battling front tyre issues but capitalized when Stroll encountered problems late in the race.
“My mistake at Turn Six cost me,” Norris said. “I struggled with pace and had a lot of front graining. It’s the kind of condition I hate most.”
The result narrowed Norris’ championship lead to just two points over Verstappen.
Meanwhile, George Russell of Mercedes finished fourth by overtaking Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc on the first lap. Although Leclerc challenged him late in the race, Russell held on to his position.
Yuki Tsunoda had an impressive race, placing sixth for Racing Bulls after fending off Mercedes’ Andrea Kimi Antonelli throughout.
