F1 News: Lewis Hamilton Cautious for Chinese GP Despite Sprint Race P2

Despite securing a second-place finish in the Chinese GP Sprint Race, Lewis Hamilton remains cautious about his potential in the upcoming qualifying.

Nov 18, 2023; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport driver Lewis Hamilton of / Lucas Peltier-USA TODAY Sports

Lewis Hamilton managed a second-place finish in the Sprint Race at the Chinese Grand Prix but tempered expectations for the upcoming qualifying session. Despite a strong showing, Hamilton remains realistic about the competitive pace of the Mercedes relative to its rivals.

The Chinese Grand Prix Sprint Race began dramatically when Hamilton, starting from second on the grid, overtook pole-sitter Lando Norris, only to watch Norris slide off track and drop to seventh where he stayed until the checkered flag waved.

Hamilton's drive was commendable, especially given the steering issues he reported early in the race which seemed to affect his pace in slow-speed corners. Nonetheless, he maintained his lead until Lap 9, when Max Verstappen, demonstrating the formidable speed of his Red Bull RB20, passed him for the lead. From there, Verstappen controlled the race, stretching his lead to over ten seconds by the race's close. The final standings saw Verstappen clinch victory with Hamilton and Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez rounding out the podium places.

Hamilton, reflecting on his performance and the car's capabilities, shared his insights and expectations in his post-race interview with Jessica Hawkins:

"That's the best result I've had in a long time, I'm super happy. We couldn't fight the Red Bulls today of course, but this is a huge step. We'd have struggled further back but I found out a lot about the car in this short stint. I'm excited for tomorrow."

Further, he elaborated on Mercedes' current standing among the competition: 

"We're not as quick on a single lap as the Ferrari and Red Bull. McLaren are ahead, and we're close to Aston Martin. I don't think we'll be fighting for the front row. We can make changes and hopefully I can improve the car and have a better qualifying session."

Despite the optimistic undertones from Hamilton about improvements, his pragmatism shines through, grounding expectations firmly.