George Russell 'caught off guard' in fierce Lewis Hamilton China fight

George Russell was "caught off guard" in Lewis Hamilton's early attack during the Chinese GP Sprint race.

From fourth, Hamilton roared into second place off the line and then attacked Russell for the lead, with the former team-mates swapping the lead multiple times in the early laps, with Russell passing at Turn 14 before Hamilton would sweep around the outside of Turn 1 on the next lap. 

Ultimately, Russell pulled clear and navigated the safety car restart after Nico Hulkenberg stopped to record his first Sprint win since the 2022 Sao Paulo GP.

Reflecting on the duel with Hamilton, Russell explained how Hamilton had taken him by surprise. 

"It was pretty fun in the end, so there was a lot of strategy at play, and how you do the overtaking is not easy," Russell explained.

"I hope it was a fun race to watch. Usually, the Sprint races are pretty boring, but I got everything under control with the safety car and was happy to get the win.

"It was really windy, and it was not easy because the first corner is so long, and it only takes one lap of pushing too much, and you can destroy your front-left tyre.

"So it was about managing, and especially when we were battling.

"Lewis did an amazing job in the early laps. He caught me off guard, but he has 20 years of experience.

"I hope we can bring more, and Ferrari seemed to be off in qualifying, but really close to us in race pace, so ultimately we need to find a bit of an improvement for the race."