<a href="/f1" class="sdc-site-localnav__header-title" data-role="nav-header" aria-controls="sdc-site-localnav-body" aria-expanded="false"> <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewbox="0 0 34 34" class="sdc-site-localnav__icon"> <path d="M6.02 12.67c.01.194.087.362.247.525l.188.192L16.52 23.45c.188.19.44.294.706.294s.518-.104.707-.293l10.135-10.134.123-.126c.162-.163.24-.332.248-.53.006-.173-.155-.438-.442-.725-.187-.187-.386-.368-.59-.537-.05-.04-.096-.078-.138-.11l-.496.495-9.193 9.193-.355.354-.354-.354-9.197-9.198-.484-.484c-.043.033-.09.07-.14.112-.204.168-.402.348-.59.536-.285.288-.446.553-.44.727z" /> </svg>F1 </a> <br>Ferrari's new star signing ignited his new career on his second outing for the team with dominant win in Saturday Sprint in China; Hamilton went on to qualify fifth for main Grand Prix; <strong>watch the Chinese GP live on Sky Sports F1 at 7am on Sunday</strong><br>Saturday 22 March 2025 16:04, UK<br>Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player<br><br>Lewis Hamilton's first victory as a Ferrari driver in the Shanghai Sprint is a "significant" early moment in F1's box-office new relationship, according to <em>Sky Sports F1's</em> Karun Chandhok.<br>F1's Sprint format - which takes place at six race weekends through the 24-race campaign and offers additional points to the top-eight finishers - features its own qualifying session and short-form 100km race, effectively standing apart from the main Grand Prix which carries the biggest points and historical prestige.<br>Hamilton's lights-to-flag win in the 19-lap Sprint in China on Saturday does not though extend his record of 105 race wins, with the prospect of him doing so on Sunday a longer shot after he went on to qualify for that main 56-lap Grand Prix in fifth place after a less eye-catching showing from Ferrari.<br>But <em>Sky Sports F1</em> pundit and former driver Chandhok says the Sprint triumph carries plenty of importance in itself on just Hamilton's second weekend driving for Ferrari, which has seen him outpace new team-mate Charles Leclerc for the first time in all the key sessions.<br>"It is a significant day. Ferrari are playing it down as 'it's only a Sprint, it's only one day', but it is significant," Chandhok told <em>Sky Sports News</em>.<br>Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player<br><br>"That was Lewis Hamilton in a dry race in a dry qualifying, where they were all on the same track at the same time on the same tyres, putting it on pole and winning the race.<br>"If it barks like a dog and smells like a dog, it is a dog - that was a race, and he won it.<br> Explained: F1's Sprint format <br> Stream every F1 race with NOW <br> When to watch Chinese GP on Sky <br> Get Sky Sports on WhatsApp <br>"It wasn't a Grand Prix, it was a third of the distance, but he looked in control. It was the Lewis Hamilton that we've all missed for the last three years. Rising to the occasion, getting out in front, breaking the DRS, metronomically rattling off those laps and winning the Sprint."<br>After celebrating his impressive Sprint win - his first in 19 attempts in the Saturday race since its introduction in 2021 - <a href="https://www.skysports.com/f1/news/12433/13333544/lewis-hamilton-hits-out-at-critics-for-making-uneducated-guesses-after-claiming-first-ferrari-win-in-china-sprint">Hamilton said that "yapping" critics of his disappointing debut weekend with Ferrari </a>in Australia, when he finished 10th in the rain, had made "uneducated guesses" about why that Albert Park race had proved difficult.<br>Chandhok said on what happened in Melbourne: "We reflected on it after the weekend and I just thought it was a messy race. Despite the fact he is Lewis Hamilton and arguably the greatest of all time, he is going to take a couple of days to bed in.<br>Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player<br><br>"I thought there were a couple of interesting things that came out of the Ferrari camp [on Saturday]. One from Lewis himself, saying that in Melbourne he went along with the way Ferrari did things because it was the first weekend and he didn't really want to go in there waving his arms about in terms of changing the way they did things.<br>"But coming into this weekend, he's not waved his arms about but he's gone 'I'd like to just change a few things we do with the car, some of the direction we go with the set-up, and try to find a sweet spot'.<br>"He talked about catching up with his race engineer, Ricciardo Adami, as early as Monday spending the week getting themselves prepared, getting the car in a sweet spot for where they wanted for the just one practice session, and they did that."<br>Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player<br><br>And on the early impact Hamilton is already having on F1's most-famous team, Chandhok added: "This is what Ferrari have done by bringing Lewis to the table.<br>"They have bought that experience and brought in over 100 grand prix wins and over 100 poles to just give them a little bit of a steer, not reinvent the wheel, and he's there to deliver the goods on track."<br>Speaking after his Sprint victory and before main qualifying, Hamilton had said: "We've just come from a race where we finished 10th, so there are so many factors to really take into account.<br>"We just can't get ahead of ourselves off that one result that we just had.<br>"The car felt good today, and yes, managed to finish ahead of a McLaren and a Red Bull. But that doesn't necessarily mean... you know, look at [Sprint] qualifying, it's very, very close.<br>"So not making the mistakes is going to be key. But I think we seem to be there or thereabouts this weekend, which is really good.<br>"I hope that that continues. But again, from track to track, we'll have to wait and see. We saw last week we didn't have that.<br>"I'm hoping that there's a lot of learnings from last week that we applied already to this week and the car has been in a much better place, so I hope that we can keep it there. And if we can, then yes, that makes me happy."<br><strong>Sunday March 23</strong><br><em>*Also on Sky Sports Main Event</em><br><strong>Formula 1 is in Shanghai this week for the first Sprint weekend of the season at the Chinese GP, live on Sky Sports F1. <a href="https://www.nowtv.com/watch-sky-sports-online?DCMP=ilc_skysports_nc_articlelink">Stream Sky Sports with NOW - No contract, cancel anytime</a></strong><br> <a href="/" class="svg-logo site-footer__site-logo"> <img class="svg-logo__image" alt="Sky Sports" src="https://e0.365dm.com/tvlogos/channels/Sky-Sports-Logo.svg" onerror="this.onerror=null;this.src='https://e0.365dm.com/tvlogos/channels/Sky-Sports-Logo.png'"> </a> © 2025 Sky UK <br><br><a href="https://news.google.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?oc=5">source</a>
