China - Sprint

For the first time this season, we get to experience a true sprint Saturday. Before Sunday's main race comes, we get to see a little preview of what's to come, thanks to the 19 laps of pure racing joy. With Lewis Hamilton on pole and Max Verstappen starting right behind him, there is guaranteed excitement ahead. 

There were barely any changes made to the grid between the sprint qualifying and the sprint, with the only one being Hulkenberg starting from the pit lane due to setup changes. As the race began, all three top cars quickly tried to put their best foot forward, but the order stayed the same throughout the first lap. There was a change right behind them as, on turn 14, Russell managed to find a way past the Ferrari of Leclerc, pushing the Monegasque to P5. The start also wasn't perfect for Norris. As he fought to move up the field, he barely avoided going off-track and ended up falling out of the points and down to 9th. Further down the field, Lawson and Doohan touched, but neither of them sustained severe damage. 

By lap 7 Hamilton, Verstappen, and Piastri were all aggressively chasing each other. For some time they exchanged battles. First, it was the McLaren who fell away from the Red Bull, only to get closer to him again once Verstappen moved away from the Ferrari in the lead. As they focused on each other, the sprint saw its one and only pit stop after Sainz was called to box. 

The true fight for 2nd place started on lap 14. At that point, Verstappen had used up his tires quite significantly, trying to take on the 7-time world champion, so it wasn't easy for him to defend against the young Australian. They swapped places on lap 16 and stayed in their new positions until the checkered flag fell. Behind them, Leclerc, who had managed his tires quite well throughout the sprint, began closing in on Russell. He chased him until the very end of the last lap and would have gone past him, if it wasn't for issues he reported in turn 13. 

Before the race ended, Norris had managed to overtake Stroll for the last scoring position, while Doohan and Bortoleto plummeted down the order after making contact and blocking off the track for a few seconds. But the eyes of everyone were turned to the front. No one wanted to miss Hamilton's first-ever win in the red. As he crossed the finish line with no cars in front of him, all the Tifosi prayed that it would be only one of many times. 

Order of the grid:

1. Lewis Hamilton

2. Oscar Piastri

3. Max Verstappen

4. George Russell

5. Charles Leclerc

6. Yuki Tsunoda

7. Kimi Antonelli

8. Lando Norris

9. Lance Stroll

10. Fernando Alonso

11. Alex Albon

12. Pierre Gasly

13. Isac Hadjar

14. Liam Lawson

15. Oliver Bearman

16. Esteban Ocon

17. Carlos Sainz

18. Gabriel Bortoleto

19. Nico Hulkenberg

20. Jack Doohan