Lewis Hamilton’s first victory as a Ferrari driver in Shanghai Sprint is an “important” early moment in F1’s new Box-Office relationship, according to Sky Sports F1’s Karun Chandhok.
The F1 Sprint Form-which takes place in six weekends through the 24-game campaign and offers additional points to the top eight finals-has its own qualifying meeting and the short-term 100km race, standing in addition to the main Grand Prix.
Hamilton’s victory over the 19-Lap Sprint lights in China on Saturday does not expand his record for 105 race wins, with the prospect of making a longer shot Sunday after he went to qualify for this main 56-lap Grand Prix in the fifth of the fifth.
But Sky Sports F1 Pundit and former driver Chandhok report that the Sprint Triumph is very important to Hamilton’s weekend driving for Ferrari, who saw him surpass the new Charles Leclerc teammate for the first time in all the basic sessions.
“It’s an important day. Ferrari is playing down, saying it’s just a sprint, it’s just a day, but it’s important,” Chandhok said Sky Sports news.
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Main points of the sprint race from the Chinese Grand Prix
“It was Lewis Hamilton in a dry race after a dry qualifying qualifying when everyone was on the same piece on the same tires, placing it in a pole and winning.
“If bark like a dog and smell like a dog, it’s a dog – he was a race and won it.
“It wasn’t a Grand Prix. It was one -third of the distance, but it looked at control. It was Lewis Hamilton we all lost in the last three years.
“This is what Ferrari signed him”
After celebrating his impressive victory – his first in 19 attempts at Saturday’s match from his introduction in 2021 – Hamilton said “Yapping” critics of frustrating debut weekend with Ferrari In Australia, when it ended the 10th in the rain, it had made “uneducated speculations” about why Albert Park’s fight had proven to be difficult.
Chandhok added: “I thought it was a dirty race. Although it is Lewis Hamilton and undoubtedly the greatest of all time, it will take a few days to bed.
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Hamilton was excited after winning his first match with Ferrari in Sprint around the International Circuit of Shanghai
“I thought there were some interesting things that came out of Ferrari’s camp (Saturday). One of Lewis himself, saying that in Melbourne he went with the way Ferrari did things because it was the first weekend and did not want to go there.
“But they come to this weekend. He’s not stealing his hands, but he said ‘I want to change some of the things we do with the car, some of the direction we go with set-up and try to find a sweet spot’.
“He talked about attracting his race engineer, Ricciardo Adami, already on Monday, spending the week to prepare, take the car to a sweet spot they wanted for a practical meeting and did so.”
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Hamilton drove from start to finish
And with the early impact Hamilton already has the F1’s most famous team, Chandhok added: “This is what Ferrari did by bringing Lewis to the table.
“They have bought this experience and brought over 100 he is winning the Grand Prix and over 100 poles to give them a little step, not to discover the wheel and are there to deliver the goods on a good way.”
Sky Sports F1 Live Chinese GP
Sunday 23 March
- 2.40 am: F1 Academy Race 2
- 5.30 am: Chinese accumulation GP: Grand Prix Sunday*
- 7am: The Chinese Grand Prix*
- 9am: Chinese reaction GP: checkery flag*
- 10am: Ted’s notebook*
*Also in Sky Sports Main Event
Formula 1 is in Shanghai this week for the first weekend Sprint of the season at Chinese GP, Live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with now – no contract, cancel at any time
