Live coverage as Lewis Hamilton chases his first win in Ferrari red
Lewis Hamilton’s first race weekend as a Ferrari driver ended on a down note, as he finished tenth in the Australian Grand Prix.
His second is off to a much better start, as he starts in pole position at the F1 Sprint Race at the Shanghai Grand Prix.
Hamilton admitted to being “gobsmacked” at securing P1 on Friday, as he nipped Max Verstappen to pole position along with his teammate Charles Leclerc, and a pair of very “fast” McLarens. But now Hamilton has picked up his first trophy as a Ferrari driver — a special Pirelli sprint trophy that will mark the tire supplier’s 500th Grand Prix which comes later in the season — and is in line for his second.
However, he’ll need to hold off not just Verstappen, but a host of drivers over a 19-lap dash to the checkered flag to do so.
Here is how the grid will line up for the F1 Sprint race:
We’ll be covering the first F1 Sprint race of the 2025 Formula 1 season for you live here at SB Nation, so check back when lights go out at 11:00 p.m. Eastern on Friday night for full coverage.
All updates are in Eastern time or by lap number.
Chinese Grand Prix F1 Sprint
11:03: Here is the layout at Shanghai International Circuit:
There are two DRS zones, and as you can see the long run to those first four turns means things off the start might not be settled until the end of Sector 1. Should be fun.
11:00: The formation lap is underway.
10:58: All 20 drivers are starting on the medium compound, as expected. Remember, no pit stops are required in an F1 Sprint race, so teams are expecting the medium compound to last at least 19 laps, even with the tire degradation issues we have seen this week.
10:54: “This weekend is all about managing the front tires,” says Alex Brundle on the F1TV pre-race show. The resurfaced track has been chewing up tires so far this week, and the driver that manages the tires best over these 19 laps might reach the top step of the podium.
10:44: “We’re out of position, in a good way,” says Max Verstappen to Lawrence Barretto ahead of the start.
10:32: Williams has been fined €50,000. — with €40,000 of that suspended — for their failure to “provide the video files recorded by the wireless forward and rearward cameras in the specified timescale.”
This is part of the FIA’s clampdown on “flex wings,” dating back to last season. The FIA has instructed teams to install cameras on their front and rear wings to allow for further oversight on those components. However, Williams did not provide the video files from those cameras after FP1, due to a miscommunication.
Race officials stated in Document 41 here that “[f]or avoidance of doubt, there was no suggestion that the wings were not in The Stewards compliance with the bodywork flexibility requirements under the Technical Regulations.”
10:24: We are live, and Nico Hülkenberg is headed for a pit lane start. Sauber changed the suspension on his car under parc ferme conditions, leading to the penalty. Hülkenberg was set to start the F1 Sprint race from P19.