Hamilton dominates Shanghai F1 Sprint for first Ferrari win

Lewis Hamilton took his first Formula 1 win for Ferrari with a flawless victory in Saturday's Sprint at the Shanghai International Circuit, as championship leader Lando Norris could only manage eighth.

After 12 years with Mercedes, Hamilton had a challenging debut weekend for Ferrari last weekend in Australia, finishing only 10th, but raised eyebrows in Shanghai by claiming pole position in Friday's Sprint Qualifying session - an achievement the Briton admitted he was "gobsmacked" at.

Better was to come on Saturday, as Hamilton held off an early threat from Red Bull's Max Verstappen and was never headed as he cruised to victory in the 19-lap race, with his Ferrari seemingly managing its tyres better than other teams in the Shanghai sun.

"I woke up feeling great today. The first race [in Australia] was difficult. I really do feel a lot of people underestimated the steep climb it is to get into a new team, become acclimatized within the team, understanding and communication - all sorts of things," said Hamilton afterwards.

"It felt great to come here and be more comfortable in the car, because in Melbourne I didn't feel great. From Lap 1 this weekend we have been on it.

"The engineers and mechanics have done a great job to fine-tune the car and it felt great.

"It's hard to look after the tyres, but everyone was struggling."

Hamilton's consummate performance stood in stark contrast to compatriot Norris, who had won the Melbourne season opener from pole.

Starting only sixth in Shanghai after having aborted his final qualifying run, the McLaren driver slipped to ninth after running wide on the opening lap.

Having set the fastest time in Friday's practice session, Norris might have been expected to rise through the field, but he seemed mysteriously short of pace and was unable to make much headway on the cars ahead of him.

The Briton seemed to lose heart as the race went on, taking to team radio more than once to bemoan his tyre wear and lack of competitiveness.

Behind Hamilton, Norris' teammate Oscar Piastri overtook Verstappen on lap 15 to take second place, but the Australian had no answer to Hamilton, who crossed the line over 6.8 seconds ahead of the McLaren.

Having harried Hamilton in the early stages of the race, Verstappen's challenge faded along with his Red Bull's tyres, and the Dutchman was powerless to stop Piastri from bumping him down to third place by the chequered flag.

George Russell took fourth in his Mercedes, holding off a late challenge from Hamilton's teammate Charles Leclerc, who also looked to take advantage of his Ferrari's superior tyre management.

Yuki Tsunoda took an encouraging sixth for Racing Bulls' first points of the season, with Russell's teammate Kimi Antonelli finishing seventh, and Norris ultimately overtaking Lance Stroll to take the final point for eighth.

Next up in Shanghai is Saturday afternoon's Qualifying session to set the grid for Sunday's Chinese Grand Prix.