The Mercedes driver won the Sprint in China
“I was managing the tires in the first lap and Lewis caught me by surprise”. This is how George Russell explained what happened during the first lap in which, in the mixed section, the Ferrari driver took the lead of the race after the excellent start that saw him move up to second position already at the first corner.
Hamilton challenged Russell for a long time, then once the overtake was definitively completed, Russell was able to pull away before the Safety Car bunched up the field. The Mercedes driver managed the restart well and didn’t even have to from Charles Leclerc in the last two laps.
Read more The Sprint shows Ferrari and Mercedes closer in the race
Russell however underlined that Ferrari is very dangerous on race pace: “We need to improve in the long run because in qualifying we have the advantage, but in the race Ferrari is very close. Usually the Sprint is boring, but today it felt like a go-kart race with 3-4 drivers fighting for the victory. I hope it was good to watch, I had fun in the car and in overtaking you really need to be sharp in terms of strategy”.
Read more Antonelli: “At the start the turbo was missing, I compromised my race”
