SHANGHAI – In a commanding performance at the Shanghai International Circuit, Oscar Piastri clinched victory at the Chinese Grand Prix, with McLaren teammate Lando Norris securing second place. This one-two finish highlighted McLaren`s superior form in the second race of the Formula 1 season. Meanwhile, Ferrari endured a challenging aftermath, facing double disqualification for Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton due to post-race technical infringements.
The race, heavily influenced by tire management strategies, saw Piastri capitalize on his pole position start. He maintained the lead throughout and smoothly executed a one-stop strategy to secure the win.
This victory marks a significant turnaround for Piastri, who experienced disappointment in the season opener in Australia the previous week, where he spun out while in second place.
“The car felt fantastic, and the team did a great job reacting to the tire degradation,” Piastri communicated to his team via radio immediately after crossing the finish line. “A truly satisfying weekend, and a fantastic team effort.”
In a post-race interview, Piastri expressed his surprise at the outcome: “It’s been an unbelievable weekend; the car has been incredibly strong. Today was unexpected in terms of how the tires behaved. This win feels like what I should have achieved last week.”
Norris finished 9.7 seconds behind Piastri, encountering a brake pedal issue in the race`s closing stages.
Despite leading the championship after winning the season opener, Norris was unable to challenge Piastri for the lead. He had to overtake George Russell to reclaim second position after losing it to the Mercedes team during pit stops.
Norris commented post-race, “There were a few exciting moments. I had a good start, but George overtook me during the pit stops. I felt a bit of pressure, but we were stronger in the second stint.
“Oscar drove excellently and deserved the win. I am happy with second place; it’s good points for me and fantastic points for the team with a one-two. My brake pedal issue was a nightmare; I was losing significant time in the last couple of laps. It was tense, but we managed to finish.”
Russell secured the final podium position, elevating him to third place in the championship standings, just one point ahead of Piastri and nine points behind Norris.
“Finishing P3 is a great result,” Russell stated. “We knew McLaren had a slight pace advantage, but these are crucial points. I suspected early on that a one-stop strategy was viable, and it turned out to be easier than anticipated. It ranks as one of my best weekends in Formula 1.”
Russell initially lost second place to Norris at the start but briefly regained it after the first pit stops. However, he lacked the pace to defend against Norris at Turn 1 on Lap 18.
Max Verstappen of Red Bull finished fourth, overtaking Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in the closing laps. This move became even more significant as Ferrari ultimately had both cars disqualified after the race.
Leclerc, who initially finished fifth, was disqualified because his car was under the minimum weight of 800kg. Lewis Hamilton was also disqualified from sixth place due to excessive wear on the skid plank underneath his car.
Pierre Gasly of Alpine, who finished 11th, also faced disqualification due to his car being underweight.
These disqualifications compounded a miserable Sunday for Ferrari.
Earlier in the race, Leclerc damaged his front wing in a minor collision with his new teammate Hamilton on the opening lap. Leclerc and Hamilton had overtaken Verstappen at the first corner, but as Leclerc moved inside at Turn 3, he clipped Hamilton`s right rear tire.
Despite the damage, Leclerc seemed faster than Hamilton in the initial phase of the race. Hamilton offered to swap positions on Lap 21, and then moved aside for Leclerc on Lap 22.
Clearly struggling with tire degradation, Hamilton opted for a two-stop strategy, unlike the five leading cars that managed the race with just one stop. This alternative approach made little difference in the end, as Hamilton finished only 2.1 seconds behind Leclerc before both were disqualified.
Benefiting from Ferrari’s misfortunes, Esteban Ocon of Haas secured fifth place, marking a significant turnaround from the previous race in Australia where Haas appeared to be the slowest team. Andrea Kimi Antonelli in the second Mercedes finished sixth.
Alex Albon earned valuable points for Williams, finishing seventh, ahead of Oliver Bearman in the second Haas, who utilized an alternative strategy to climb through the field and finish eighth. Lance Stroll and Carlos Sainz were promoted into the top ten following the post-race disqualifications.
Formula 1 honored Eddie Jordan with a minute of silence on the grid before the race. Jordan, the former F1 team owner, passed away at the age of 76 earlier in the week.
