‘What crisis?’ – Lewis Hamilton doubles down on ‘yapping’ critics after career-first in Ferrari win
Lewis Hamilton romped home to secure his first win as a Ferrari driver after a dominant victory in the Chinese Grand Prix Sprint. The seven-time world champion took the chequered flag for the first time in Formula One’s sprint format since it was introduced in 2021. Hamilton claimed his first win for Ferrari in the sprint raceAFP He finished over 6 seconds clear of Piastri and VerstappenGetty It came at the 17th time of asking for the Brit superstar but came in his debut in the unique F1 format with the Scuderia on just his second race weekend in red. Hamilton held off the challenge of former title rival Max Verstappen, and Oscar Piastri to claim a lights-to-flag victory in the sprint. After the celebrations, Hamilton took another opportunity to double down on his response to his vocal critics from Australia a week ago – with a particular focus on his radio communication struggles with new race engineer Riccardo Adami. He said afterwards: “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.” He added: “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.” The Ferrari driver had started on pole after setting a new track record for the Shanghai International Circuit on Friday. Hamilton held off 2021 nemesis Verstappen from Lights Out into Turn 1 and then for the first 10 laps of the shortened race. The 40-year-old had then built enough of a gap to coast to the line after McLaren‘s Piastri had passed the Dutchman with four laps to go. An understandably overjoyed Hamilton came out swinging at his critics afterwardsSky Sports Hamilton never managed to win a Sprint during his time at Mercedes Former F1 world champion Damon Hill was among the fansInstagram He ultimately ended the 19-lap Sprint 6.8 seconds of the Australian to provide renewed hope for a championship battle with his old team. Hamilton finished tenth in the 2025 opener in Australia last weekend having only qualified two spots higher to earn just a solitary point. His eight points for winning the Chinese Grand Prix Sprint rocked him up the standings, but he quickly moved to call for patience from fans. “I know the Tifosi, the fans, the team want to win, and it means everything to them,” said Hamilton. “But I said the other day, Rome wasn’t built in one day, one step at a time and we’re not going to get ahead of ourselves. “We’re going to continue to push, be diligent, remain focused, stay calm – most importantly stay calm – because these moments get everyone excited. “But we’ll be back at our desks after this, focused on qualifying. It’s a long, long way. It’s a marathon, not a sprint so we’ve just got to take our time.”
Lewis Hamilton romped home to secure his first win as a Ferrari driver after a dominant victory in the Chinese Grand Prix Sprint.
The seven-time world champion took the chequered flag for the first time in Formula One’s sprint format since it was introduced in 2021.
It came at the 17th time of asking for the Brit superstar but came in his debut in the unique F1 format with the Scuderia on just his second race weekend in red.
Hamilton held off the challenge of former title rival Max Verstappen, and Oscar Piastri to claim a lights-to-flag victory in the sprint.
After the celebrations, Hamilton took another opportunity to double down on his response to his vocal critics from Australia a week ago – with a particular focus on his radio communication struggles with new race engineer Riccardo Adami.
He said afterwards: “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.”
He added: “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.”
The Ferrari driver had started on pole after setting a new track record for the Shanghai International Circuit on Friday.
Hamilton held off 2021 nemesis Verstappen from Lights Out into Turn 1 and then for the first 10 laps of the shortened race.
The 40-year-old had then built enough of a gap to coast to the line after McLaren‘s Piastri had passed the Dutchman with four laps to go.
He ultimately ended the 19-lap Sprint 6.8 seconds of the Australian to provide renewed hope for a championship battle with his old team.
Hamilton finished tenth in the 2025 opener in Australia last weekend having only qualified two spots higher to earn just a solitary point.
His eight points for winning the Chinese Grand Prix Sprint rocked him up the standings, but he quickly moved to call for patience from fans.
“I know the Tifosi, the fans, the team want to win, and it means everything to them,” said Hamilton. “But I said the other day, Rome wasn’t built in one day, one step at a time and we’re not going to get ahead of ourselves.
“We’re going to continue to push, be diligent, remain focused, stay calm – most importantly stay calm – because these moments get everyone excited.
“But we’ll be back at our desks after this, focused on qualifying. It’s a long, long way. It’s a marathon, not a sprint so we’ve just got to take our time.”
