Mercedes driver George Russell took victory in the F1 sprint race at the Chinese Grand Prix after an intense early battle with Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton.
According to reports, Russell and Hamilton swapped positions five times in the first five laps before Russell managed to take over the race.
The Mercedes driver pulled away from the field to claim a comfortable victory in the sprint event.
Hamilton initially held second place, but later lost the position to Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc three laps after Russell passed him for the lead.
The Ferrari drivers finished second and third respectively.
The race later saw even more drama when a safety car brought the field closer together and briefly rearranged the starting order.
During the restart period, Hamilton ended up behind McLaren driver Lando Norris. However, the seven-time world champion regained the place by overtaking on the outside of turn one on the following lap.
Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli finished fifth despite a difficult race and dropped from fourth to eighth after a slow start. He was subsequently given a 10-second time penalty for causing a collision with Red Bull driver Isack Hadjar on the opening lap.
