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Anthony Davidson feels Ferrari ace Charles Leclerc took advantage of teammate Lewis Hamilton damaging his tyres to get P2 in the F1 Sprint at the 2026 Chinese Grand Prix.
The Scuderia duo secured a double podium for the Maranello team in Shanghai on Saturday, as Mercedes racer George Russell converted pole to win the Sprint in China and maintain his 100% start to 2026. But Hamilton did make life hard for his ex-Mercedes teammate early on.
Hamilton got a rapid launch from P4 on the grid and quickly dispatched McLaren rival Lando Norris through Turn 2, before setting his sights on Russell. The seven-time F1 champion took the lead at Turn 9, too, but he could not stop the Mercedes star from later retaking the lead.
Leclerc soon saw on Lap 7 of 19 in the F1 Sprint at the Chinese GP that Hamilton had started to lose pace, tempting the Monegasque to radio in to Ferrari to note that his teammate was “struggling”. And the 28-year-old quickly made his move for P2 with an overtake into Turn 1.
Can Ferrari build on their Sprint double podium in the Chinese Grand Prix
Charles Leclerc took advantage of Lewis Hamilton damaging his tyres fighting George Russell in the 2026 Shanghai Sprint
Hamilton refused to yield to Leclerc, who drifted wide through Turn 2 to cover off his record 105-time Grand Prix winning teammate. Davidson saw no issue with Leclerc running high to avoid Hamilton instantly repassing him, and he agreed that his fellow Briton was struggling.
READ MORE: How to watch the 2026 Chinese GP, with F1 Sprint and Grand Prix start times
Former BAR driver Davidson also felt Leclerc was in a better shape than Hamilton, who had caused too much “damage” to his medium C3 compound Pirelli tyres fighting Russell in the early laps. So, while Hamilton tried to hit back on Lap 9, Leclerc the fight was already done.
Davidson said on Sky Sports F1 (14/3, 03:16): “He did that intentionally. He knew that Lewis was going to try and hang it around the outside.
“So, he just let the car ease out as wide as he possibly could. But that’s because Hamilton must have used a defensive boost down the back straight. Charles would have known that, and then he used his down the main straight.
“But I think Leclerc having the advantage at the start then [to] look at Lewis’ left front tyre. He had the advantage to just hang back, watch the action unfold. And the two drivers in front, George and Lewis fighting it out, I think did extra damage to their front left tyres.”
Lewis Hamilton scores his second podium as a Ferrari driver in the 2026 Shanghai Sprint
Liam Lawson made full use of starting on the hard C2 Pirelli tyres to claim P7 in the Shanghai Sprint
Who has the most work to do to respond in the Chinese Grand Prix?
Hamilton won the F1 Sprint in China in 2025 for what remained his only podium of any kind as a Ferrari driver until the Sprint in Shanghai this Saturday. The record 202-time Grand Prix podium finisher ultimately finished in third place behind Leclerc in P2 after a late safety car.
Race control neutralised the 2026 Shanghai Sprint on Lap 13/19 as Audi’s Nico Hulkenberg had to stop by the side of the circuit and his car needed to be recovered. Ferrari took their chance to pit Leclerc and Hamilton behind the safety car, with Mercedes also opting to pit.
The fresh rubber helped Hamilton to hold onto P3, and the pit stops even helped him to get P3 back. Mercedes gem Andrea Kimi Antonelli overtook Hamilton for P3 on Lap 11 and also Leclerc for P2 on L13 just before the safety car was called for, but he had a 10s time penalty.
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