Lewis Hamilton whacks 'yapping critics' after maiden Ferrari win in Chinese Grand Prix sprint race
Lewis Hamilton has taken a swipe at doubters after claiming victory in the Chinese Grand Prix sprint race – his maiden F1 race win for Ferrari.
A day after claiming a shock maiden pole, Hamilton won the start and survived an early challenge from Max Verstappen, but led every lap to win by nearly seven seconds.
Oscar Piastri finished second for McLaren, having put a lovely move on Verstappen for second with five laps to go.
LIVE UPDATES: NRL round three Saturday
READ MORE: Boxing icon George Foreman dead at 76
READ MORE: Aussie slayer you've never heard of just rocked the US
Lewis Hamilton celebrating his Chinese Grand Prix sprint race win with his Ferreri mechanics. Getty
Hamilton by then had built a three-second lead, which only grew in the closing laps to the finish.
"Today I woke up feeling great ... I feel a lot of people underestimated the steep climb it is to get into a new team," Hamilton said post-race.
"To become acclimatised within the team, understanding, communication, all sorts of things.
"The amount of critics and people I've heard yapping along the way, maybe not understanding because they never had they experience or they're unaware.
Hamilton leading Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri. Getty
"But it felt great to come here and feel comfortable in the car. In Melbourne I didn't feel comfortable. From lap one here this weekend, I've felt on it. The engineers, mechanics have done a great job finetuning the car."
It's the first time Ferrari have ever won a sprint race since they were introduced in the sport in 2021.
Piastri managed his tyres best of the top-three, which allowed him to catch and pass Verstappen down the long back straight.
"We didn't quite have the pace for Lewis, but we've got some good ideas for (qualifying and the race), and hopefully we can go one spot better."
Hamilton won the start and broke out of DRS range of Verstappen at the end of just the second lap.
"That's the Lewis Hamilton we remember," Martin Brundle quipped in commentary for Sky Sport.
The win comes off the back of a difficult start to Hamilton's Ferrari tenure in Melbourne.
The 40-year-old Brit finished 10th after the team made yet another strategic blunder, and there were several tense exchanges between he and his new race engineer, Riccardo Adami.
"In Melbourne, I didn't see one lap that looked like Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari, or Lewis Hamilton in a Ferrari," Brundle said in commentary.
"But they've turned up here and they look like a completely different show."
Jack Doohan was involved in a clumsy last-lap collision with the Sauber of Gabriele Bortoleto at the hairpin.
Doohan lunged down the inside, and the pair made contact on the exit, which resulted in a spin for the Brazilian.
The Chinese Grand Prix weekend continues with grand prix qualifying on Saturday evening AEDT.
