F1 Chinese Grand Prix Notebook: Oscar Piastri Rolls to Win as McLaren Extends Lead

Yahoo

23-03-2025

McLaren made it two for two to open the 2025 Formula 1 season, but this time it was Oscar Piastri who rebounded from a painful home grand prix to emphatically underline his title credentials with a controlled display at the Chinese Grand Prix.
Autoweek rounds up the main talking points from the Shanghai event.
It was not a hugely memorable Chinese Grand Prix, as drivers executed a slow race of tire management, extending the life of the rubber to make a one-stop strategy work. That mattered little to Oscar Piastri, who was perfect up front from his maiden pole position to control the race, collecting the third victory of his career.
It was a much-needed result for Piastri, clawing back crucial points in the championship after he was a victim of the rain on home soil in Melbourne seven days beforehand.
'It's been an incredible weekend from start to finish,' Piastri said. 'The car's been pretty mega the whole time. I think today was a bit of a surprise with how the tyres behaved but just super proud of the whole weekend. This is what I feel like I deserved from last week, so, extremely happy.'
Lando Norris fended off early pressure from George Russell, and overcame a critical and worsening brake issue in the closing stages, to make it a McLaren 1-2. He consequently holds an eight-point advantage in the standings, over reigning champion Max Verstappen, with Russell and Piastri also close behind.
'I was losing two, three, four seconds the last couple of laps, so I was a bit scared,' Norris said of the worsening brake problem. 'I survived and made it to the end. I would have loved to have given it a little try and put Oscar under a little bit of pressure but not today. We're satisfied, great result. We'll go again next time.'
Amid the pace of the McLaren MCL39 up front, two of the standout drivers so far in 2025 have been unsurprisingly Max Verstappen, and, perhaps a little more under-the-radar, George Russell.
Verstappen was marooned in sixth place for much of the race in Shanghai but Ferrari's decision to pit Lewis Hamilton a second time gifted Verstappen fifth, while he eventually hounded down Charles Leclerc and grabbed fourth from the other Ferrari.
It means Verstappen is the closest challenger to Norris in the standings despite Red Bull's tricky handling so far in 2025.
'The beginning of the race was not easy,' Verstappen said. 'I tried to drive to the pace we set out to do, but that's not at the level of the car ahead, but in the second half of the race we seemed more competitive, it was more promising, that was more enjoyable. I think we'll take that as a positive – that there is pace in the car at some point, we just need to understand why it didn't happen at the beginning.'
Russell is another driver who has extracted the maximum from the opening pair of events.
After his podium in Melbourne Russell was a solid fourth in Saturday's Sprint Race and then briefly threatened Norris on Sunday before maturely settling into a rhythm to pick up another trophy.
Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff was impressed.
'I don't often give 10 out of 10s as I think there is always room to improve but George was faultless today,' Wolff said. 'He extracted the maximum from the car and for me, that was a 10 out of 10 drive. He has started this season incredibly well and is performing exactly as we knew he would as the senior driver.'
Russell's teammate Kimi Antonelli was bizarrely voted Driver of the Day—an accolade that bemused the 18-year-old—as he finished a low-key eighth after picking up floor damage early on, believed to have come from hitting on-track debris.
There were good vibes at Ferrari after Lewis Hamilton's controlled and emphatic Sprint Race victory on Saturday but the performance of the SF-25 fell away across the remainder of a weekend, before it ended in a rare double disqualification.
Hamilton and Leclerc started fifth and sixth respectively, made minor contact on the first lap, and classified in those positions at the flag, albeit with Leclerc ahead after a mid-race swap instigated by a struggling Hamilton. The SF-25s lacked the pace to contend at the front and Hamilton pointed to set-up changes made post-Sprint in taking away the sweet spot and upsetting the balance.
But post-race both of their cars failed the usual technical checks, with Leclerc's car found to be a kilo underweight the minimum limit of 800 kg, and Hamilton's car discovered to have suffered excessive wear to the skid plank. The thickness was found to be 8.6 mm on the left-hand-side and centre, and 8.5 mm on the right-hand-side, which is below the minimum thickness of 9 mm.
The stewards outlined that 'there was no challenge to the FIA's measurement' by Ferrari and 'the team confirmed that it was a genuine error by them,' when it came to Leclerc's car.
On Hamilton's car Ferrari confirmed that the measurements were correct, all required procedures were performed correctly, and that again it was a genuine error.
It compounded a difficult race for Ferrari and crucially strips them of vital points in both championships.
It is early days but Hamilton and Leclerc are now already 35 and 36 points respectively behind Norris, while Ferrari is 61 behind McLaren in the Constructors' Championship, a chasm considering just 14 split the teams at the end of 2024. Titles aren't won at the start of seasons but they certainly can be lost.
There was a grim mood at Haas in Melbourne after a weekend-long absence of performance, particularly in high-speed turns, and boss Ayao Komatsu feared would take time to resolve.
Fast-forward seven days and an outstanding Esteban Ocon put Haas at the front of the midfield pack, while Ollie Bearman provided much of the entertainment with a sequence of passes on the alternative strategy. Ocon started from 11th place but was inch-perfect as he rose to seventh, the highlight a move on Kimi Antonelli in which he dipped a tire onto the grass at high-speed, with Haas also nailing the timing of its one-stop strategy. Bearman started only 17th but ran a lengthy first stint on the harder tires, taking the punishment early on, before thriving on fresher and softer tires in the second stint. Bearman cleanly carved his way through the pack to classify in 10th place.
Those results became even better post-race following the exclusion of the Ferrari drivers, promoting Ocon into fifth place, and Bearman eighth, giving Haas a haul of 14 points.
'Things were obviously looking difficult just a week ago in Melbourne, but we haven't slept much since then and it's all been worth it as we've discussed everything and where to unlock the performance from the car,' Ocon said. 'We knew there was more performance to be had, obviously we're keen to improve some more, but the signs for now are good. Honestly, it's been an amazing turnaround from the team. I'm proud of everyone back in Maranello, Banbury and Kannapolis—everyone's worked hard to find solutions. Well done to them and of course well done to Ollie, to. Double points, for us, is a massive thing.'
Added Bearman: 'I'm super happy with the result—I didn't expect points today. Everything I was doing with the car worked, and that's a nice feeling to just have the groove and then to have some points to show for it. I'll be honest, I wasn't expecting a one-stop race today but the tires were lasting much better than they were yesterday, the car was fantastic.'
Team Principal Ayao Komatsu, speaking before the result was revised, was over the moon at the recovery job.
'It's been an amazing day,' Komatsu said. 'We reacted to our change of circumstances very well. Like I said before, the reaction after the Sprint yesterday to change the car set-up, it really worked for qualifying and the race. Communication and execution in the race today was really good. I think it's the best reaction I could have asked for, everyone has just gotten on with the work after Melbourne. I wasn't expecting to score seven points today, if somebody had told me would could have scored one point I'd have been happy. It's an amazing result. I'm looking forward to working together as a team and improving this car.'
Liam Lawson expected a tough start to 2025, but even with moderate aspirations, it has been nothing short of a horror show. After a Q1 exit and crash in Melbourne, Lawson qualified plum last in both qualifying sessions in Shanghai, struggling for confidence from the wayward RB21. Lawson's Q1 time was seven-tenths shy of Max Verstappen, despite having three flying laps to Verstappen's single effort.
'It's a tough car to drive for sure and you always want more time to get used to it,' Lawson said. 'The window in this car is really small and that is known, but that is not an excuse. I have got to get a handle on it. We have had glimpses where it feels good, and I think to drive a Formula 1 car you need 100 percent confidence; I am not saying I don't have it but right now I just seem to be missing the window I need the car in - it is that I need to get on top of.'
The race was little better, as Lawson wasn't even part of the midfield group, instead running a lonely race ahead only of the struggling Saubers.
It is early days, and Lawson is shouldering responsibility, but he is sliding into the same situation that befell Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon and late-spec Sergio Perez, in being unable to get a handle on a nervous car that has a narrow operating window.
Verstappen's brilliance at extracting a lap time from a pointy car is well-known, but the gap so far between the Red Bull drivers has been a chasm, and already Lawson is under pressure to find answers. Is it a surprise? No, Lawson has only 13 Grands Prix under his belt, the gaps in Formula 1 are smaller than ever, and the car is tricky. But he needs to dig himself out of a hole quickly—if he is even afforded the opportunity to do so.
Oscar Piastri, McLaren, 56 laps, 1:30.55.0
Lando Norris, McLaren, +9.748 seconds
George Russell, Mercedes, +11.097
Max Verstappen, Red Bull, +16.656
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, +23.211
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari, +25.381
Esteban Ocon, Haas, +49.969
Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes, +53.748
Alexander Albon, Williams, +56.321
Oliver Bearman, Haas, +1:01.303
Pierre Gasly, Alpine, +1:07.165
Lance Stroll, Aston Martin, +1:10.204
Carlos Sainz, Williams, +1:16.386
Isack Hadjar, Racing Bulls, +1:18.875
Liam Lawson, Red Bull, +1:21.147
Jack Doohan, Alpine, +1:28.401
Gabriel Bortoleto, Kick Sauber, +1 lap
Nico Hulkenberg, Kick Sauber, +1 lap
Yuki Tsunoda, Racing Bulls, +1 lap
Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin, DNF
Lando Norris, McLaren, 44
Max Verstappen, Red Bull, 36
George Russell, Mercedes, 35
Oscar Piastri, McLaren, 34
Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes, 18
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, 18
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari, 17
Alexander Albon, Williams, 12
Lance Stroll, Aston Martin, 8
Esteban Ocon, Haas, 6
Nico Hulkenberg, Kick Sauber 6
Yuki Tsunoda, Racing Bulls, 3
Oliver Bearman, Haas, 0
McLaren 78
Mercedes 53
Red Bull 36
Ferrari 35
Williams 12
Aston Martin 8
Haas 7
Kick Sauber 6
Racing Bulls 3
Alpine 0