Lewis Hamilton took aim at his “yapping” critics making “uneducated guesses” after the seven-time Formula One world champion tasted victory in the Chinese Grand Prix sprint race on Saturday.
Hamilton endured a tough start to his Ferrari career in the season opening Australian GP when the British driver qualified eighth and finished 10th in Melbourne.
He admitted having no confidence in his car and driving it “felt like I was in the deep, deep end” in rain-hit conditions at Albert Park.
But Hamilton enjoyed a remarkable upturn in fortunes in ahead of Sunday's second race which saw him smash the Shanghai International Circuit lap record, securing pole for the sprint race.
“I'm just a bit gobsmacked, taken back by it. I didn't know when we would get to this position,” said the former Mercedes driver.
“I can't believe we are at the front, ahead of a McLaren which has been so fast throughout winter testing, Australia and even today.”
And Hamilton continued to set the pace by securing an impressive sprint-race win before finishing fifth in qualifying later on Saturday, with McLaren's Oscar Piastri securing pole position for the main event.
After that, Hamilton insisted he optimistic of a good performance in Sunday's race, while also took his opportunity for a pop back at unnamed critics for failing to comprehend how difficult it is to succeed straight away at a new team.
“People just love to be negative at any opportunity,” said the 40-year-old. “Even with the smallest things, they'll just be negative about it.
“That's just the difficult time that we're living in.
“I see certain individuals – and again, I don't read the news, but I see bits here and there – see people that I've admired for years just talking out of turn.
“Clearly some of them really just making uneducated guesses of what's going on, just a real lack of appreciation.
“The amount of critics and people I've heard yapping along the way just clearly not understanding. Maybe because they never had the experience or just unaware.”
Piastri will start from the front of the grid after his first ever pole, ahead of Mercedes driver George Russell and teammate Lando Norris, with Red Bull's reigning champion Max Verstappen fourth.
Next up will be Hamilton, alongside teammate Charles Leclerc, who sealed his sprint victory by finishing ahead of Piastri and Verstappen.
“I felt unusually calm in myself,” he added. “I would say definitely more so than usual. I'm generally a relatively calm person, but I think today there was a stillness in me that I haven't felt for a long time.
“I got in the car extra early because I just wanted to be present and enjoy it because I haven't been there for a while. Good start. Challenging race.
“It's hard to put into words what it feels like. Obviously it's a sprint race. It's not the main race. But even just to get that is just a good stepping stone to where I'm working towards.”
While he could not turn sprint victory into a record-extending 105th GP pole position, Hamilton was already plotting a “masterplan” to fight his way up the field.
“We made some changes to improve race performance,” said Hamilton. “It was definitely harder over a single lap.
“The car became quite snappy. The lap wasn't as clean at the end. I probably should have been 0.2 secs further up or maybe 0.1 secs. We're not too far away but not ideal.
“I feel optimistic for tomorrow, would like to get a good start and jump at least one car. And then slowly work my way up. Tonight I will make a masterplan and then I have to try to execute it.”
Leclerc added: “As a team we maximised the potential of the car but the most important thing is we understand where has gone the potential of the car.”
Having qualified first for two sprint events, Piastri was able to claim his maiden pole ahead of Mercedes' George Russell and teammate Lando Norris, who won the Melbourne season opener.
“We've never doubted it's the quickest car,” Norris said. “It can just be a little bit feisty at times.
“It's still tricky to drive. We can easily do good sectors every now and then, but putting a lap together. It seems just tricky to understand how to do it consistently enough.
“Oscar's done a good job and I've not done a perfect job. It's tight, so I just paid the price for not doing well enough.”
Dhadak 2
Director: Shazia Iqbal
Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri
Rating: 1/5
War 2
Director: Ayan Mukerji
Stars: Hrithik Roshan, NTR, Kiara Advani, Ashutosh Rana
Rating: 2/5
The Uefa Awards winners
Uefa Men's Player of the Year: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
Uefa Women's Player of the Year: Lucy Bronze (Lyon)
Best players of the 2018/19 Uefa Champions League
Goalkeeper: Alisson (Liverpool)
Defender: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
Midfielder: Frenkie de Jong (Ajax)
Forward: Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
Uefa President's Award: Eric Cantona
What is a black hole?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
Three ways to boost your credit score
Marwan Lutfi says the core fundamentals that drive better payment behaviour and can improve your credit score are:
1. Make sure you make your payments on time;
2. Limit the number of products you borrow on: the more loans and credit cards you have, the more it will affect your credit score;
3. Don't max out all your debts: how much you maximise those credit facilities will have an impact. If you have five credit cards and utilise 90 per cent of that credit, it will negatively affect your score.
Honeymoonish
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What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
Dr Afridi's warning signs of digital addiction
Spending an excessive amount of time on the phone.
Neglecting personal, social, or academic responsibilities.
Losing interest in other activities or hobbies that were once enjoyed.
Having withdrawal symptoms like feeling anxious, restless, or upset when the technology is not available.
Experiencing sleep disturbances or changes in sleep patterns.
What are the guidelines?
Under 18 months: Avoid screen time altogether, except for video chatting with family.
Aged 18-24 months: If screens are introduced, it should be high-quality content watched with a caregiver to help the child understand what they are seeing.
Aged 2-5 years: Limit to one-hour per day of high-quality programming, with co-viewing whenever possible.
Aged 6-12 years: Set consistent limits on screen time to ensure it does not interfere with sleep, physical activity, or social interactions.
Teenagers: Encourage a balanced approach – screens should not replace sleep, exercise, or face-to-face socialisation.
Source: American Paediatric Association
MATCH INFO
Al Jazira 3 (O Abdulrahman 43', Kenno 82', Mabkhout 90 4')
Al Ain 1 (Laba 39')
Red cards: Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain)
RESULTS
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,200m
Winner: Ferdous, Szczepan Mazur (jockey), Ibrahim Al Hadhrami (trainer)
5.30pm: Arabian Triple Crown Round-3 Group 3 (PA) Dh300,000 2,400m
Winner: Basmah, Fabrice Veron, Eric Lemartinel
6pm: UAE Arabian Derby Prestige (PA) Dh150,000 2,200m
Winner: Ihtesham, Szczepan Mazur, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami
6.30pm: Emirates Championship Group 1 (PA) Dh1,000,000 2,200m
Winner: Somoud, Patrick Cosgrave, Ahmed Al Mehairbi
7pm: Abu Dhabi Championship Group 3 (TB) Dh380,000 2,200m
Winner: GM Hopkins, Patrick Cosgrave, Jaber Ramadhan
7.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Conditions (PA) Dh70,000 1,600m
Winner: AF Al Bairaq, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
