Michael Andretti's son Marco drops 4-word verdict on Lewis Hamilton silencing critics with dominant Chinese GP Sprint win

IndyCar legend Michael Andretti's son, Marco Andretti, reacted to Lewis Hamilton's iconic first victory with Ferrari at the Chinese Grand Prix Sprint race on Saturday. The seven-time champion took a lights-to-flag victory in the 19-lap sprint at the Shanghai International Circuit.

Hamilton took a surprise pole position in the Sprint qualifying on Friday, upsetting the supposed favorites McLaren, Max Verstappen, and his qualifying-specialist teammate Charles Leclerc. The Briton couldn't believe it when his race engineer Riccardo Adami conveyed the session result to him on the team radio. He let out a giggle of relief.

Lewis Hamilton got off to a decent start off the line, covering Verstappen's threat. He managed the tires to perfection to finish 6.88 seconds ahead of Piastri, who overtook Verstappen on lap 15 of 19. After the exhilarating win, the 40-year-old called out his critics for "yapping" about his Australian GP failure.

Marco, whose father Michael Andretti, and grandfather Mario Andretti, raced in F1, with the latter winning the 1978 championship, reacted to Hamilton's picture-perfect Sprint outing on social media platform X.

"This is pretty awesome. @LewisHamilton @ScuderiaFerrari 🐎 " the IndyCar star wrote, encapsulating his reaction in four words.

Hamilton's performance in the main qualifying session that decided Sunday's race grid wasn't as impressive. The former Mercedes driver's lap time of 1:30.927 was nearly three-tenths short of pole-winner Oscar Piastri, putting him in P5, one position ahead of Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc.

Marco Andretti created F1 history in December 2006, becoming the first third-generation driver to pilot an F1 car. He tested Honda's car at the Jerez race circuit in Spain. The 37-year-old will return with Andretti Global for his 20th Indy 500 attempt on May 25.

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Lewis Hamilton had nothing but support for Michael Andretti's F1 entry

Michael Andretti F1 Grand Prix of Miami - Sprint - Source: Getty

Michael Andretti attempted to enter F1 for nearly half a decade before calling it quits in September 2024. His initial attempts to enter the pinnacle of motorsport by acquiring Sauber fell through at the last minute in 2021. This failed bid led him to push his racing organization, Andretti Global, as F1's 11th team.

In partnership with General Motors, the team was branded as the Cadillac F1 team. However, a "personal" conflict between him and Formula One Management got the bid rejected in January 2024. Sensing the tension, he stepped down from chairman and CEO of Andretti Global in September 2024, after which F1 took a U-turn on its decision and green-lit Cadillac's 2026 entry.

Lewis Hamilton had been in support of Michael Andretti's F1 entry way before that. In October 2023, when Motorsport asked the then-Mercedes driver about it, he said:

"I think it's great. I think in F1 I've always felt that there weren't enough cars on the grid. There will definitely be people that won't be happy for me to be so supportive of it! But I think it's great. It's an opportunity for more jobs. There's another two seats available for a potential female driver to come through. It opens up more possibilities, and I think it'll be more exciting for the race."

F1 officially approved Cadillac as the 11th team for 2026 and beyond in March this year, a week before the season-opening Australian GP. Though Michael Andretti has no role in the team operations now, his father, Mario, is the director of the team.