Seven-time Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton has silenced critics doubting his Ferrari move after securing the Chinese Grand Prix sprint race victory. Hamilton started on pole after breaking the lap record at the Shanghai International Circuit on Friday. He crossed the finish line nearly seven seconds ahead of runner-up Oscar Piastri.
Hamilton maintained his lead throughout the 19-lap sprint race and defended the position from Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen, who lost the second spot to Piastri after his front tires began to wear out significantly.
Ferrari and McLaren are likely the favorites for the race weekend in China but Red Bull cannot be ruled out from a potential last-minute recovery, as well as Mercedes. Hamilton’s disastrous race in Melbourne last weekend, where he secured tenth place in a tricky race, led many to doubt whether he would perform well at Ferrari. However, addressing the “yapping” critics, the Briton stressed that people underestimated the process of getting familiar with a new F1 team. He said after his sprint victory:
“The first race was difficult and obviously, I think I really do feel a lot of people underestimated the steep climb it is to get into a new team, to become acclimatized within the team and understanding communication and all sorts of things.
“The amount of critics and people I’ve heard yapping along the way just clearly not understanding, maybe they’ve never had the experience or just unaware, so it’s felt great to come here and feel comfortable in the car, because in Melbourne I didn’t feel comfortable in the car.”
Speaking on his first sprint race with Ferrari, he said:
“From Lap 1 here this weekend, I’ve been feeling on it. The engineers have done a great job, the mechanics have done a great job to really fine-tune the car, it felt great today, I got a good start, there’s so much grip on this new tarmac it’s hard to look after these new tires, and I think everyone was struggling out there the same.”
Addressing potential pressure from Ferrari after his sprint win, Hamilton said:
“I don’t feel the pressure. I know the Tifosi, the team wants to win and I know it means everything to them, but as I said the other day that Rome wasn’t built in one day, one step at a time, we are not going to get ahead of ourselves, we cannot.
“We’ve got to continue to push, we’ve got to be diligent, and remain focused, and be calm. Most importantly, stay calm because these moments get us all excited. We’ll be back at our desks after this, focused on qualifying this afternoon. It’s a long long way, it’s a marathon, not a sprint, so we’ve just got to take our time.”
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