Lewis Hamilton gave his all in a bid to win back-to-back Shanghai Sprint races and took an early lead over former team-mate George Russell. But the Mercedes driver fought back to maintain his perfect start to the new Formula 1 season so far, while Hamilton had to settle for third after infuriating his current partner Charles Leclerc.
Ferrari again enjoyed a mighty launch off the line and that propelled Hamilton, who started fourth, into an immediate fight for the lead into the first corner. Russell initially held him off but the seven-time world champion eventually wrestled the lead off him later on the opening lap.
They duelled ferociously but fairly for several more until lap five, when Russell made the move that stuck with the help of his powerful Mercedes engine along the long back straight. And Hamilton, who had used so much energy and tyre rubber to try to get the better of Russell, soon slipped back to third behind Leclerc in the other Ferrari.
But as they fought for position, the Monegasque was left unimpressed by the amound of room he was given, particularly through the tight and twisty first couple of corners on the Shanghai International Circuit. “Does he know how wide these cars are?” Leclerc asked grumpily over the radio.
A late safety car, caused by Nico Hulkenberg having to stop on track, prompted the unusual sight of many cars pitting during a Sprint race. It also gave Russell, who had built up a healthy lead, work to do in the final stages with team-mate Kimi Antonelli, who had worked his way back up to second after a poor start, back out of the picture when he served a 10-second time penalty for barging into Isack Hadjar at the first corner.
But Russell held on to deny Leclerc by less than a second, while Hamilton worked his way back up to third after slipping behind Lando Norris in the pit lane. Max Verstappen ended the day pointless after a horrible start from eighth on the grid, dropping as low as 20th on the opening lap and only able to fight back to ninth.