Lewis Hamilton managed a second place finish in the 2024 Chinese GP Sprint race.

Lewis Hamilton (via IMAGO)

Lewis Hamilton had a rollercoaster weekend at the Chinese GP. The Briton had a great end to the sprint session after a P2 finish. However, the weekend turned into a nightmare when he was eliminated from the Q1 qualifying session. Hamilton still managed to score a P9 finish with the mediocre W15 chassis. Hence, the seven-time world champion claimed that he got a ‘confidence boost’ from the Sprint race.

Lewis Hamilton had great hopes of potentially winning the Sprint at the Chinese GP after leading multiple laps from turn 1. However, Max Verstappen‘s dominant pace left no stone unturned to help him overtake the Briton in the succeeding laps.

The 39-year-old claimed that such a positive result during the Sprint weekend helped him gain a ‘confidence boost’ in himself. According to Hamilton, this was the ‘way of life’ and hence he expected better results in the coming sessions.

Anytime you have a good result, it is always a confidence boost, that is the way of life.Lewis Hamilton said, as reported by racingnews365.com.

Additionally, the Briton pointed out that such good days lifted his spirits to continue racing in F1. However, Hamilton accepted the fact that rainy conditions in the sprint qualifying made the circumstances ‘special’. Regardless, the 39-year-old had to work hard enough to put in a good lap to score a front-row start to the Chinese GP sprint race.

You have a good day and it lifts your spirits for sure, the circumstances were special with the rain [in sprint qualifying], but obviously I had to do the job and put that lap in.Lewis Hamilton noted.Explore: Helmut Marko deems Max Verstappen ‘UNBEATABLE’ seeing his insanely dominant performances in 2024Lewis Hamilton recalled why he ‘loved racing’ in F1

It has been a very long time since Lewis Hamilton last led some laps while driving around the circuit. Hence, Hamilton reminisced about what it felt like to be on the front row of the grid, fighting for victory. The Briton hadn’t had this feeling for a very long time in the sport. As a result, the entire sprint race helped the former world champion recall why he loved racing in the pinnacle of motorsport.

To be on the front row, I don’t remember having the view for a long time, or it feels like a really long time, I don’t know if we’ve had it in the last couple of years, To be able to fight into Turn 1 for the lead was just reminding me of why I love what I do and what we do.Lewis Hamilton explained.

Lewis Hamilton (Via IMAGO)

Lewis Hamilton did accept that to score such good results, Mercedes needed to work incredibly hard. The Briton didn’t put up a fight with the reigning world champion because of the ‘serious pace’ produced by Max Verstappen’s dominant RB20.

I know we’ve got to work incredibly hard to get back to a more consistent placing like this, but I think you saw… I didn’t even put up a fight against Max because he was coming at a serious pace. I knew that he would get me and I really wanted to make sure I didn’t lose time to the cars further behind so I could retain second.Lewis Hamilton concluded.

Mercedes has showcased some improvements during the Sprint weekend of the Chinese GP. The team will bring in more in-season upgrades to juice out the maximum potential from the challenger. Brackley will aim to score much better finishes in the coming races to close in on the huge gap between the leading rival teams.