Mercedes’ George Russell secured victory in the sprint race at the Chinese Grand Prix. The race was marked by intense battles, particularly in the early laps.
Early Laps See Hamilton and Russell Trade Places
Russell and Lewis Hamilton engaged in a thrilling exchange of positions. They swapped places five times within the first five laps. Eventually, Russell, who also won the season opening Australian GP, pulled away to a comfortable victory.
Hamilton initially moved up from fourth on the grid, overtaking Lando Norris around the inside of Turn One. He then executed a move down the inside of Turn Nine to take the lead.
Russell quickly responded, passing him back down the straight to the hairpin of Turn 14. Hamilton then attacked, passing him around the outside of Turn One at the start of the second lap. Russell passed the Ferrari back on the straight on lap three, before Hamilton took back the lead into Turn One on lap four, only for the Mercedes to claim the place for good a lap later.
Ferrari Challenge and Safety Car Disruption
Hamilton then faced a challenge from Charles Leclerc. The two Ferraris battled for three laps before Leclerc took the place into Turn One on lap eight. Hamilton fought back to challenge Leclerc into Turn One at the start of the following lap and Leclerc had to defend all the way to Turn Six before consolidating his position.
A safety car period in the second half of the race compressed the field. This briefly dropped Hamilton behind McLaren’s Lando Norris. The safety car was brought out due to Nico Hulkenberg’s retirement with a technical failure.
The safety car triggered pit stops for fresh, soft tyres for the leading cars. Hamilton and Piastri lost out a little as they had to s
Antonelli’s Race of Ups and Downs
Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli finished fifth. He had dropped to eighth after a slow start. He then served a 10-second penalty for causing a collision with Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar on the opening lap.
Antonelli then passed Hamilton into the hairpin on lap 11. Antonelli made a mistake and ran wide at the final corner as the race was restarted and Piastri took the place. McLaren chose to ask him to let the Mercedes back past rather than argue his case with the stewards because he had overtaken before the start line.
- Russell won the sprint race after battling Hamilton
- Leclerc finished second, ahead of Hamilton
- Antonelli finished fifth after a penalty and an overtake that he then had to give back
The real smiles, however, appear to be being saved for the full grand prix on Sunday.