From Shanghai
Same result, but a different scenario. The China Sprint once again crowns George Russell and Mercedes, this time showing a significantly smaller advantage over the Ferraris compared to qualifying. Energy management is part of the explanation, while Lewis Hamilton believes his former team is using a kind of Party Mode on the flying lap. Keep an eye on Antonelli’s pace as well, who once again pays for mistakes at the start.
Read more Antonelli: “At the start the turbo was missing, I compromised my race”
The race
In the Shanghai Sprint, teams and drivers begin to put the lessons from Melbourne into practice, starting with the formation lap driven at a calmer pace than in Australia to avoid draining the battery even before the lights go out. The start, on the other hand, features an excellent launch by both Ferraris, for whom it will be important to improve their qualifying positions to capitalize on opportunities at the start of Sunday’s race. Finding himself behind Russell, Hamilton even has the opportunity to attack Russell on the run to Turn 11, taking advantage of the different electric power delivery strategy that catches the Mercedes driver off guard.
A duel follows between the two that highlights strategic differences, with repeated position swaps that, however, remain far from the concept of overtaking. After five laps Russell gets the upper hand, although his and Hamilton’s tires are strained by the initial fight, which facilitates Leclerc’s return. Graining on the front left will be an important theme ahead of Sunday’s race, with the obligation to manage it in the long initial corkscrew and in the large curve leading onto the back straight.
Precisely in terms of tire management, Antonelli’s sensitivity stands out. Already in Australia, the Italian driver had shown he takes care of the tires and, despite the obstacle of the comeback, even in the Shanghai Sprint he shows flashes of a better pace than his teammate. The priority for him on Sunday will be not to make mistakes at the start again, particularly in the standing start.
Read more Hadjar: “Antonelli ruined my Sprint, I don’t know why he’s so overexcited, he has a rocket”
Mercedes and Ferrari closer
Net of the result, the most important clue from the first Sprint of the season is the closer gap in the race between Ferrari and Mercedes, also observed in Australia. Russell can afford to manage the pace slightly, but the W17 still doesn’t express the same dominance seen on the flying lap. Asked about the subject in the press conference, Leclerc responds that it is not a matter of tire management, in which the SF-26 would not have an advantage over its silver rival. According to the Monegasque, part of the gap on the flying lap depends on the lack of optimization of energy strategies, while admitting he cannot fully explain the reduction of the gap in the race.
Hamilton, on the other hand, is of a different opinion, believing that Mercedes has a more aggressive power unit mapping starting from Q2, similar to the Party Mode he himself was used to exploiting during his years at Brackley. By regulation, the internal combustion engine mapping must be the same for qualifying and the race, but the rule does not apply to the electrical part, a more aggressive use of which would also require careful temperature management. It will certainly be a theme to watch in the second qualifying of the weekend, where Mercedes and Russell have everything it takes to aim for a third consecutive pole.
Read more Verstappen is furious: “Tyre degradation, various problems, we are unprepared! I have no words”
