Having finished strong in the sprint, the Mercedes driver moved up to ninth place in the race after starting from 18th.
It was the first time Lewis Hamilton has led any laps in the format, and he said he had a “confidence boost” after commanding the Chinese Grand Prix sprint.
With three seventh-place finishes and one DNF in the first five races of his farewell Mercedes season, Hamilton’s start has not been good.
He started the Chinese grid in 18th place and finished ninth, although his record of only one podium in the last nine races is the worst of his career.
He did, however, manage to earn seven points and a second-place finish in the China sprint, which was his best result in the format since the 2021 inaugural race at Silverstone.
Despite the challenges at Mercedes, he was energized by the momentum he gained from dominating the race until Max Verstappen passed him.
“It’s just the way of life—when you do well, it gives you more confidence,” Hamilton said to reporters, including RacingNews365.
“You have a good day and it lifts your spirits for sure, the circumstances were special with the rain [in sprint qualifying], but obviously I had to do the job and put that lap in.”
An extended period of time
Before leading the sprint laps in China, Hamilton had only led 13 laps in the 2023 season, while Verstappen had led 1,003 laps. Hamilton had not led in any format since six laps in the US.
With just one pole position since the beginning of 2022—during the Hungarian Grand Prix last year—he acknowledged that he missed the adrenaline of competing at the front.
“To be on the front row, I don’t remember having the view for a long time, or it feels like a really long time, I don’t know if we’ve had it in the last couple of years,” he said.
“Being able to take the lead going into Turn 1 served as a reminder of why I enjoy what I do and what we do.
“I know it will take a ton of work to get back to this level of consistency, but I believe you witnessed… Max was moving at such a fast speed that I didn’t even try to resist him.
“I knew that he would get me and I really wanted to make sure I didn’t lose time to the cars further behind so I could retain second.”
