Mystery solved for Hamilton and Mercedes? 'Found out a lot'

Lewis Hamilton led a sprint race for the first time in his career, but a mistake allowed Max Verstappen to close the gap and overtake. The Red Bull driver proved he had a far superior car by finishing around 13 seconds ahead, but the seven-time World Champion was pleased he could return to the podium places.

Mercedes and Hamilton have often said they don't fully understand their car. Their questions might not be fully answered, but the British driver believes he has learned a lot in the 19 laps around the Shanghai International Circuit.

"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," Hamilton said in his first reaction.

Can Hamilton challenge for the front row in qualifying?

Hamilton admitted yesterday's wet SQ3 allowed him to take a front-row position on the grid for the sprint race. The seven-time World Champion isn't expecting a repeat in qualifying for the Chinese Grand Prix later on Saturday but is optimistic about improving the car.

"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," Hamilton said.