Mercedes’ George Russell won a dramatic Chinese GP sprint, beating both Ferraris after a fierce early fight with teammate Lewis Hamilton.

SHANGHAI: George Russell extended his championship lead with victory in a thrilling Formula 1 sprint race at the Chinese Grand Prix. The Mercedes driver held off both Ferraris after a fierce early battle with teammate Lewis Hamilton.

Russell described the 19-lap contest as “a pretty fun” race with “lots of strategy at play”. He enjoyed a spectacular opening duel with the seven-time world champion, with the pair swapping the lead multiple times in the first five laps.

A late safety car on lap 13 forced the entire field to pit for fresh tyres. Russell retained his lead after the stops and managed the restart to secure the win.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc finished second, just ahead of Hamilton in third. “It’s good to see our race pace is more similar to the Mercedes than our qualifying pace,” said Leclerc.

Hamilton, who won the Shanghai sprint last year, praised the close battle but noted Ferrari’s straight-line speed advantage. “I put up a good fight but killed my front tyre,” he explained.

The result marks another difficult session for Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. The reigning world champion started eighth but slumped to a ninth-place finish, stating “everything that could go wrong went wrong”.

Russell now leads the standings with 33 points. His Mercedes teammate, Kimi Antonelli, finished fifth despite serving a 10-second penalty for causing a collision.

McLaren’s Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri took fourth and sixth respectively. The final points went to RB’s Liam Lawson and Haas driver Oliver Bearman.

Qualifying for Sunday’s Chinese Grand Prix takes place later on Saturday.

 The Sun Malaysia