CNN
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Lewis Hamilton claimed his first-ever win for Ferrari as he cruised to a dominant victory in the sprint race at the Chinese Grand Prix on Saturday.
Hamilton started the 19-lap race on pole, held off his longtime rival Max Verstappen on the opening corners, and then simply cruised away from the rest of the field to complete the win.
The seven-time world champion was making just his second appearance for the iconic Italian outfit whom he joined at the start of the season. Later on Saturday, Hamilton qualified in fifth place for Sunday’s grand prix while McLaren’s Oscar Piastri took pole position for the first time in his career.
Such results marked a turnaround for Hamilton whose debut for Ferrari at the Australian Grand Prix last weekend had been somewhat of a disappointment as he finished in 10th place.
After winning the sprint race, he lambasted those who had criticized his debut performance.
“I really do feel a lot of people underestimated the steep climb it is to get into a new team, to become acclimatised within the team – understanding and communication, all sorts of things,” the 40-year-old said in his post-race interview.
“The amount of critics and people I heard, yapping along the way, clearly not understanding. Maybe because they never had the experience or were just unaware.
“And so it felt great to come here and feel more comfortable in the car because in Melbourne I really didn’t feel comfortable. From lap one here this weekend I was really feeling on it.”
To win a record-extending seventh grand prix in Shanghai on Sunday, Hamilton will have to produce another flawless performance to overtake Verstappen, Lando Norris, his old Mercedes teammate George Russell and Piastri who all start ahead of him on the grid.