F1: Lewis Hamilton vs Max Verstappen, China’s Sprint menu

The English was the fastest in the Shootout and will start from the Pole in the short race of Shanghai, with the tetracampeón completing the front row with its Red Bull. Lando Norris failed and picar sixth.

It is just a sprint, just a third of a long race. It is only the second date of 24. But there are no doubt that The menu that is served for the short competition of the China GP is more than tempting. Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen long in the first row. How much happened from that career of Abu Dhabi 2021 that decided the title for the Dutch, with an endless controversy for the security car? So much mess was armed, that FIA eject Michael Masi from his career director. Since then, the Red Bull driver was a winning machine, while English lived a Calvary with his Mercedes from the arrival of the soil effect to the technical regulations of Formula 1. But the day arrived, already with the British dressed in Red Ferrari, the team with which he always dreamed of running.

Let’s go with the menu. From the outset, 11 titles of the world will be served in the first row! There are seven Lewis and four from Max… Precisely in that Emirati race, the Dutch achieved his first crown. As a main course, two pilots who look sideways, super competitive and, since that season 2021 there is a huge tension. It is worth remembering the accidents of Silverstone and Monza, for example. And for dessert? Ferrari and Red Bull. Undoubtedly, a delicacy to enjoy on the sprint.

High! All very nice with the Lewis vs Max duel. But: And McLaren? The Woking team has cars to beat. They showed him amplitudely in Australia, although the rain mixed the deck and gave chances of being close. They gave another demonstration of power in Shanghai’s training, with Norris above all. But when the classification for the Sprint arrived, the weakest point appeared the Team that Zak Brown commands: the pilots. Because Lando Norris was again Lando Norris. All the temperance he showed in Melbourne seemed to bury forever that weakness that he showed in the hot moments of 2024 and that sentenced his chances of fighting for the crown. However, in the Chinese sprint qualy again the errors appeared. They were two and expensive. In both laps thrown from SQ3, English is the command. He passed in a braking in the first round, but he had another attempt. And it came with a phenomenal record in the first partial, but … it passed in the 14th variant and was barely located sixth! Its MCL39 is much superior to Ferrari and Red Bull, but …

But Hamilton and Verstappen are not wrong. New asphalt, a lot of grip, a little wind, conditions that could generate some slip, as happened with Norris, as also happened with Oscar Piastri in his first attempt, although he was able to round the second to occupy the third drawer (he also came from beating in Australia with the rain). But those boys who gather 11 formula 1 titles do not fail. For something they have that amount of crowns.

English is living a dream when running in Ferrari. But that period of falling in love in the new couples had cut off in Australia, with its SF-25 that did not walk at all. The engineers of the Scuderia recognized a set-up error that was born in the simulator. After the first day, they noticed that the chassis were too low and that they could suffer a capital wear in the background and, with that, be excluded. For the second day of Melbourne they had to enlarge the take -off of the floor and the cars did not walk. Hepacampeón was erased suddenly each of being in Disney, he left very angry. But the anger lasted a week, Ferrari managed to reduch the course.

“I didn’t expect this result. The last race was a disaster. We made big changes and the team did a great job to improve the car. I can’t believe I have the pole for the sprint. Likewise, the McLaren are very fast and Max, too,” said Hamiltonwho never achieved a triumph in a Sprint race. The antithesis is precisely Verstappen, who beat 11 of the 18 disputed in the history of F1. In favor of Hamilton is his history in Shanghai: he won six times, against just one of Verstappen.

It is just a sprint, a short race that will deliver eight points to the winner. McLaren is the car to beat and the great candidates for Sunday’s race. And, why not, for Saturday too, with Piestri nearby. But nothing will take Hamilton the joy of starting forward with Ferrari, with the aggregate, important without a doubt, that he also beat his partner Charles Leclerc (fourth). And Verstappen is always. When it seems that he is totally defeated, he always takes something out of his inexhaustible source of talent. He already did it in Australia and, at least in the classification of China Sprint, he did again. Now, to prepare that the menu is ready.