Lewis Hamilton revealed the reason that ended up taking away his chance to win the Formula 1 Chinese GP Sprint. The Briton stated that he ended up “destroying” the front left tire during the intense battle for the lead with George Russell in the opening laps.
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The seven-time champion started in third position on the starting grid in Shanghai, but quickly put himself in direct contention for the victory. After a strong start, the driver overtook Lando Norris at the first corner and took second place in the race.
Shortly after, Hamilton went on the attack against Russell and managed to take the lead. The overtake happened at turn 9, in a bold maneuver that surprised the Mercedes driver.
The two former teammates engaged in an intense battle in the opening laps of the Sprint, swapping positions several times. However, the aggressive pace of the duel ended up taking its toll on the Ferrari driver.
Hamilton explained that the wear on the front left tire compromised his performance and prevented him from continuing to fight for the win. “It was a very close battle at the start. I think I managed to put up a good fight, but I ended up destroying the front left tire and couldn’t hold the position,” he stated.
With his performance compromised, the Briton began to lose positions throughout the race. Charles Leclerc managed to overtake his teammate, while Lando Norris also passed Hamilton, who dropped to fourth position.
The situation changed during a safety car period, when Hamilton took the opportunity to make his pit stop. After returning to the track, the driver managed to regain a position by overtaking Norris again.
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Even so, third place ended up being the best possible result until the end of the Sprint. Russell remained in the lead after the restart and managed the gap until receiving the checkered flag.
Despite not taking the victory, Hamilton evaluated the performance throughout the short race in Shanghai positively. The Briton highlighted that the fact of competing for the lead with Mercedes already represented a good sign for Ferrari.
“It was incredible to be in this position, fighting with Mercedes at the front. The team did a fantastic job to put us in this battle,” said the driver.
Hamilton also highlighted that the Ferrari cars have proven to be competitive with the new Formula 1 technical regulations. According to him, the project developed by the team has adapted well to his driving style.
“It’s a much better car, which we helped develop and of which I was part of the process. I’m much more comfortable with it,” he stated.
Even after finishing third, the driver highlighted that he had led the race and believes that performance can improve in the next activities of the weekend. “Of course, leading and finishing third is not the ideal result, but we will try again tomorrow,” Hamilton concluded.
