Chinese GP: Oscar Piastri Wins as Dominant McLaren Claim One-Two

SHANGHAI – In the Chinese Grand Prix, Oscar Piastri emerged victorious, with his McLaren teammate Lando Norris securing second place. McLaren demonstrated superior performance at the second event of the Formula 1 season. Meanwhile, Ferrari faced a challenging aftermath, with Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton both disqualified after the race.

Tyre management was crucial throughout the grand prix. Piastri, starting from pole position, maintained his lead from the beginning and smoothly won the race using a one-stop strategy.

This victory comes after a disappointing start to the season for Piastri, who had previously spun out from second position at his home race in Australia the week before.

“The car felt fantastic, and the team did a great job reacting to the tyre degradation,” Piastri communicated to his team via radio after the race conclusion. “Excellent team effort; this weekend is very satisfying.”

In a post-race interview, he expressed his surprise, stating, “It’s been an incredible weekend; the car has been exceptionally good. Today’s tyre behavior was unexpected. This win feels like what I should have achieved last week.”

Norris finished 9.7 seconds behind Piastri, experiencing brake pedal issues in the race`s final laps.

Despite winning the season-opening race and leading the championship, Norris couldn`t challenge Piastri for the win. He had to overtake George Russell to regain second place after losing it to the Mercedes team during pit stops.

Norris commented post-race, “There were some exciting moments. I had hoped for a better start, but George overtook me during the pit stops. I was a bit concerned, but we performed better in the second stint.

“Oscar drove excellently and deserved the victory. I’m pleased with second place, good points for me and excellent points for the team with a one-two finish. The brake pedal issue was my biggest fear; I was losing two to four seconds in the last couple of laps. It was frightening, but we managed to finish.”

Russell finished third, advancing to third place in the championship standings, one point ahead of Piastri and nine points behind Norris.

“Finishing P3 is a fantastic result,” Russell stated. “We knew McLaren was slightly faster, but these are crucial points. I suspected early on that a one-stop strategy was feasible, and it turned out to be easier than expected. It became one of my best weekends in Formula 1.”

Russell initially lost second place to Norris at the start, briefly reclaimed it after the first pit stops, but lacked the pace to hold off Norris at Turn 1 on Lap 18.

Max Verstappen of Red Bull finished fourth after passing Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc with three laps remaining. However, this position change became less significant due to Ferrari`s post-race disqualifications.

Leclerc, who originally finished fifth, was disqualified because his car was below the minimum weight of 800kg. Lewis Hamilton was disqualified from sixth place due to excessive wear on the plank under his car.

Pierre Gasly from Alpine, who finished 11th, was also disqualified for having an underweight car.

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 in the first corner, but as Leclerc moved inside at Turn 3, he clipped Hamilton’s right rear tyre.

Despite the damage, Leclerc appeared faster than Hamilton in the early stages. Hamilton offered to swap positions on lap 21 and moved aside for Leclerc on lap 22.

Hamilton, struggling with tyre management, chose a two-stop strategy, while the top five drivers completed the race with only one tyre change. This alternative approach made little difference in the end, as Hamilton finished just 2.1 seconds behind Leclerc before both were disqualified.

Following Ferrari`s misfortunes, Esteban Ocon of Haas, who seemed to have the slowest car in Australia just a week prior, finished fifth in China. Andrea Kimi Antonelli in the second Mercedes secured sixth place.

Alex Albon earned six points for Williams in seventh place, followed by Oliver Bearman in the second Haas car, who finished eighth after using an alternative strategy and advancing through the field in the latter part of the race. Lance Stroll and Carlos Sainz were promoted into the top ten after the 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.