Lewis Hamilton, despite securing a sprint race win, was unable to make much impact in the Chinese GP on Sunday, finishing P6—a place lower than where he began.
It was a challenging outing for the seven-time world champion. At the start, he was hit by teammate Charles Leclerc, which damaged the Monegasque’s car. Still, Leclerc proved to be the faster driver throughout the race.
Hamilton also struggled because he was behind Mercedes’ George Russell for a significant portion of the Grand Prix. Despite his best efforts, he couldn’t overtake him, which was not ideal for Leclerc, who insisted over the team radio that he was quicker.
In such a situation, team orders are inevitable. Hamilton himself volunteered to let Leclerc pass in hopes of chasing Russell down. Just two laps later, the Maranello-based outfit flawlessly executed the swap.
“I think I’m going to let Charles go because I’m struggling,” the 40-year-old said.
WHATTTTTT
| Lewis : I think im going to let Charles go because im struggling
— sim (@simsgazette) March 23, 2025
Although he would have loved to be the lead driver on the day—considering he looked quicker in qualifying and the sprint—Hamilton understood that he had to play the team game. That meant prioritizing the faster Ferrari driver to have a shot at their first-ever podium.
Sadly, in the end, it didn’t matter. Leclerc looked uncomfortable with the car for most of the weekend—except for today’s race—and simply didn’t have the pace to push further. Although his lap times didn’t reflect it, he was also losing 20 to 25 points of downforce due to his damaged front wing, which Ferrari opted not to change to save time.
Unfortunately, Leclerc was not fast enough to catch Russell. And to make matters worse, Max Verstappen found pace late on and passed him rather comfortably.
Lap 53/56: Ahhh, VER passes Charles for P4. Charles fights back but stays P5
— Scuderia Ferrari HP (@ScuderiaFerrari) March 23, 2025
Leclerc finished P5 behind Verstappen in P4, and Russell ended up finishing P3 behind the McLaren duo of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, proving that the W16 was faster than the SF25 on the day. The same was the case in Australia last weekend, and Ferrari will be hoping to change that if they want to catch up to McLaren in their bid for the crown.
