Oscar Piastri did not make a single mistake as he drove from pole position to victory at the Chinese Grand Prix, keeping a steady advantage ahead of Lando Norris throughout the race.

The teammates secured a 1-2 finish for McLaren in the race, with Norris increasing his championship lead to eight points. Meanwhile, George Russell joined the McLaren duo on the podium.

Chinese Grand Prix: Oscar Piastri emerges victorious in Shanghai

Only 19 racers were ready on the Shanghai starting line for the 56-lap Chinese Grand Prix.
Liam Lawson in the paddock
after setup changes.

Pole-sitter Oscar Piastri didn’t match George Russell’s start, allowing Russell to move ahead and leaving an opportunity for Lando Norris to overtake the Mercedes driver for second place. This resulted in a McLaren 1-2 finish.

Lewis Hamilton finished fourth before Charles Leclerc, with Max Verstappen mentioning that he had a “damaged front wing.”
interaction between the two Ferrari racers
Leclerc was informed that he had “20 to 30 points lost” and was queried whether he could make it till the first pit stop. He responded affirmatively.

Kimi Antonelli, Yuki Tsunoda, Isack Hadjar, and Esteban Ocon secured the top positions in the top ten. Meanwhile, Gabriel Bortoleto spun off course, and Fernando Alonso experienced the race’s first retirement due to a fiery issue with his right-rear brake. “No brakes, I can’t apply them,” he informed Aston Martin.

Aston Martin confirmed: “The team was addressing a problem with the rear brake temperatures, so they had to make a preventive pit stop and withdraw from the race.”

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The revised Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championship rankings

As
Piastri
escaped from DRS reach of Norris; subsequently, Norris mentioned that he was “beginning to face some difficulties with the left-front tire.” Russell maintained his position at third place, staying ahead of the Ferraris driven by Leclerc who was closely following Hamilton’s car, reducing Verstappen’s lead to just four seconds behind them.

Even though Hamilton mentioned facing “grain issues,” Leclerc was instructed, “For now, let’s maintain our position; you’re still very much in contention.”

Meanwhile, Alex Albon was in P11 riding in a DRS train that began with Tsunoda starting from eighth position. He expressed frustration to Williams: “I’m doing well, really well. In fact, I’m better than everyone else out here. Let’s ease up; I feel quite at ease.”

The pit stops for the two-stop strategy commenced on Lap 11, with Pierre Gasly being the first among them to come into the pits, whereas Tsunoda was the initial driver within the top ten positions to make his stop. During this sequence, he managed to position himself ahead of Antonelli after exiting the pits.

Keeping an eye on the undercut, Hamilton and Verstappen stopped on lap 14. Russell told Mercedes he believed the race would be a one-stopper. Piastri also made his pit stop from the lead position with Russell following suit. On lap 15, Norris moved up to first place.

Albon, celebrating his birthday, took to the track again followed by Norris and Leclerc. They rejoined behind Albon who led over Piastri; Russell and Norris trailed close after. Norris had encountered trouble when Lance Stroll cut him off exiting the pit lane. In this order came: Stroll holding fifth place just ahead of Sainz, then Hamilton, Leclerc, Bearman, and finally Verstappen at the rear.

Piastri took the lead from Albon, returning to P1, while Norris went past Russell – “A good move, I must say,” stated the Mercedes driver. Meanwhile, Hamilton faced pressure from Leclerc as both of them got ahead of Stroll.

Hamilton was instructed to “trade” positions with Leclerc at Turn 14 but maintained his lead over his teammate. “I’ll inform you when we can switch,” Hamilton responded to the Ferrari crew before allowing Leclerc past at Turn 1.

By lap 28 of the 56-lap race, Piastri led with a four-second advantage over Norris, followed by Russell, Leclerc, Hamilton, and Verstappen. Before his stop, Stroll was battling Bearman for seventh place. Meanwhile, Tsunodo, Ocon, and Antonelli were contending for points-scoring positions.

Regarding Lawson, he was in 16th position without making notable progress. He dropped to 17th when Bearman from the Haas passed him.

Although Piastri was instructed to increase his speed to assist Norris in building a lead over Russell if Mercedes executed an undercut strategy, Leclerc expressed amazement at the performance of the Mercedes car. He referred to it as a “dragster” exiting Turn 12 and remarked, “Incredible. Their acceleration coming out of there is astonishing.”

McLaren alerted their drivers about possible “class one” rain during the last three laps. Hadjar became the initial driver within the top ten to stop again for another pit stop. Verstappen received encouragement with the message “good pace” as he started closing the gap on Hamilton for fifth place. On lap 37, Stroll made his pit stop. Shortly after, Hamilton also went into the pits.

Piastri and Norris led in first and second for most of the last part of the race. After his pitstop placed him at sixth, Hamilton recorded the quickest lap of the event. Bearman secured a spot in the points zone by overtaking Pierre Gasly. Meanwhile, Lawson found himself mired in 17th position, with the Sauber drivers rounding off the field right behind him.

On Lap 47, Tsunoda’s race came to a halt when the Racing Bulls driver encountered a fractured front wing shortly after his teammate went off course battling against Jack Doohan. The Alpine racer pushed both drivers wider during their encounter. As a result of this incident, Doohan received a 10-second time penalty.
“Front wing damage from what?” questioned Tsunoda as he made a pit stop for a replacement nose cone, then returned to the circuit in 19th position.

Meanwhile, Norris mentioned that his brake pedal felt “spongier.” When informed that McLaren had taken notice of this issue, he responded, “It’s not just spongy; it feels much more so!” He was advised that the problem would likely worsen, though he shouldn’t fret excessively—just remain “careful without taking chances.” Finally, he was instructed to aim for second place instead of potentially finishing outside the points altogether.

As four laps remained, Verstappen closed right in on Leclerc’s Ferrari coming into Turn 2. He maneuvered past and claimed the fourth position. Soon after, he surpassed the Ferrari driver.

Piastri sped towards the win in a McLaren 1-2, finishing nearly 10 seconds ahead of his teammate. Russell came in third, followed by Verstappen, Leclerc, and Hamilton.

Ocon, Antonelli, Albon, and Bearman scored points.

Hulkenberg, Bortoleto, Tsunoda, and Albon will face scrutiny following the Grand Prix due to alleged infringements during the formation lap.

Chinese Grand Prix Classification

1 Oscar Piastri McLaren 1:30:55.026 covering 56 laps

2 Lando Norris McLaren +9.748

3 George Russell Mercedes +11.097 seconds

4 Max Verstappen from Red Bull Racing +16.656

5 Charles Leclerc Ferrari +23.211.SECONDS

6 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari +25.381

7 Esteban Ocon with Haas F1 Team +49.969

8 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes +53.748

9 Alexander Albon Williams +56.321

10 Oliver Bearman with Haas F1 Team +61.303

11 Pierre Gasly Alpine +67.195

12 Lance Stroll Aston Martin +70.204.SECONDS

13 Carlos Sainz from Williams was 76.387 seconds behind.

14 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls +78.875

15 Liam Lawson Red Bull Racing +81.147

16 Jack Doohan Alpine +88.401

17 Gabriel Bortoleto Sauber +1 Lap

18 Nico Hulkenberg Sauber +1 Lap

19 Yuki Tsunoda Racing Bulls completed with an additional lap

Chinese Grand Prix Retirement

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