Lewis Hamilton: First Ferrari victory in the Chinese GP Sprint ‘significant’ and shows why he was signed, says Karun Chandhok | F1 news

Lewis Hamilton’s first victory as a Ferrari driver in Shanghai Sprint is an “significant” early moment in the new cassinet of F1, so Sky Sports F1’s Karun Chandhok.

The sprint format of F1, which takes place on six racing weekends through the 24-race campaign and offers the top-night finisher additional points, has its own qualification session and a short 100 km race.

Hamilton’s Light-to-Flag victory in the 19-round sprint in China on Saturday does not extend its record of 105 racing winners.

But Sky Sports F1 According to expert and former driver Chandhok, the sprint triumph itself has a lot of importance for Just Hamilton’s second weekend for Ferrari, in which he first exceeded the new teammate Charles Lecler in all important sessions.

“It is an important day. Ferrari plays it as” It’s just a sprint, it’s just a day “, but it’s important,” said Chandhok to Sky Sports News.

“That was Lewis Hamilton in a dry race in a dry qualifying, where they were all on the same route on the same tire, put it on the pole and won the race.

“When it barks like a dog and smells of a dog, it is a dog – that was a race and he won it.

“It was not a Grand Prix, it was a third of the distance, but he looked at the control. It was the Lewis Hamilton, which we all missed in the past three years. Due to the occasion, it rose, broke the DRS, metronomically from these rounds and won the sprint.”

“That is what Ferrari signed for”

After he had celebrated his impressive sprint – his first in 19 attempts in the Saturday race since his introduction in 2021 – said Hamilton that critics of his disappointing debut weekend with Ferrari in Australia “Yapping” critic “Yapping” when he took 10th place in the rain, “uneducated guesses” about why the Albert Park races turned out to be difficult.

Chandhok said about what happened in Melbourne: “We thought about it after the weekend and I just thought it was a chaotic race. Despite the fact that he is Lewis Hamilton and is probably the greatest of all time, he will take a few days to bed.

“I thought there were a few interesting things that came from the Ferrari camp (on Saturday) from Lewis himself, and said that in Melbourne he was appropriate in Melbourne, how Ferrari did things because it was the first weekend and that he was not really in the arms to change the way they did.

“But when he comes this weekend this weekend, he didn’t swirl his arms, but he’s gone.

“He talked about meeting his racing engineer Ricciardo Adami and so that the week prepared and wanted the car on a sweet spot for the only training session, and they did it.”

And in the early Impact Hamilton, Chandhok already has the most famous team of F1, added Ferrari by bringing Lewis on the table.

“You bought this experience and brought over 100 Grand Prix victories and over 100 bars to give you just a little handlebar, not to reinvent the wheel, and he is there to deliver the goods on the right track.”

Hamilton: We cannot be ahead

After his sprint victory and before the main qualification, Hamilton said: “We just came out of a race where we took the 10th place, so there are so many factors that we really have to take into account.

“We simply cannot be ahead of this one result that we just had.

“The car felt good today and yes, it managed to end in front of a McLaren and a Red Bull. But that doesn’t necessarily mean … You know, look at the qualifying (sprint), it is very, very tight.

“So it will be the key. But I think we seem to be there this weekend or so this weekend, which is really good.

“I hope that goes on. But from the trail to track we have to wait and see. We saw last week that we didn’t.

“I hope that there are many knowledge from the past week that we have already applied for this week and the car was in a much better place. I hope that we can keep it there. And if we can, it makes me happy.”

Sky Sports F1 Live Chinese GP time plan of the Chinese GP

Sunday, March 23rd

• 2.40 a.m.: F1 Academy Race 2
• 5.30 a.m.: Chinese GP structure: Grand Prix Sunday*
• 7 a.m.: The Chinese Grand Prix*
• 9 a.m.: Chinese GP reaction: checkered flag*
• 10 a.m.: Teds notebook*

*Also on Sky Sports Main Event

Formula 1 is in Shanghai for the first sprint weekend of the season in the Chinese GP, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with now – no contract, cancel at any time