There’s something rather poetic about redemption in sport. One week, you’re skating through the grass in Melbourne, gift-wrapping victory to your team-mate. The next, you’re standing tall on the top step of the podium, arms aloft, delivering a masterclass in race control.
That was Oscar Piastri’s tale in Shanghai. At the Chinese Grand Prix, it wasn’t so much a race as it was a well-composed symphony of pace, precision, and poise. And at the heart of it all, Piastri – calm, methodical, utterly in control.
From pole position to chequered flag, Piastri didn’t so much fight for the win as he crafted it. There were no dramatic lunges or near-misses, no dicey overtakes or nail-biting duels. Just a driver in a rhythm, keeping the rest of the field at arm’s length.
It was a race that demanded brains over bravado. With tyre wear and strategy playing lead violin, the question was simple: one stop or two? The answer? For most of the grid, including the top five, once was enough. Piastri built the gap early and never looked back.
Trailing in second, team-mate Lando Norris gave chase as best he could. He hovered around the three-second mark late into the race before brake issues crept in like a nagging doubt. McLaren, ever the pragmatists, told him to hold position. No risks. No heroics. Just bring it home. And he did.
A one-two for McLaren in China? It’s the kind of thing that, just a few years ago, would’ve been considered fanciful. Now, it’s very real. And very deserved.
George Russell had hoped to stir the pot a little more after snatching second place during the pit stop cycle, but the McLaren of Norris, brake gremlins and all, eventually slipped past and kept him at bay. Still, a strong result for Mercedes and a quietly effective drive from the Brit.
Behind them, Max Verstappen brought his Red Bull home in fourth, exactly where he started. For a driver who’s made winning look inevitable in recent years, that’s a tough pill to swallow. But this weekend? The magic just wasn’t there. The car looked reluctant, like it didn’t get the Sprint Weekend memo, and Verstappen was more firefighter than frontrunner.
Then there was drama at Turn 1. Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, two world-class drivers with a combined seven titles between them, had a clumsy coming-together. The Ferrari tapped the Mercedes, dislodging its own front wing. Leclerc chose to soldier on with the damage. Hamilton, meanwhile, rolled the dice with a two-stop strategy and laid down some blistering laps; fastest of the race, in fact. But not fast enough.
Further back, there were stories worth telling too. Esteban Ocon quietly delivered Haas their first real haul of 2025, finishing seventh after a well-executed one-stopper. Young Kimi Antonelli continued to impress in the other Mercedes, while Alex Albon wrung every last drop of performance out of his Williams to finish ahead of team-mate Ollie Bearman.
Pierre Gasly and Lance Stroll were on the cusp of points… until they weren’t. Alpine’s Jack Doohan tangled with Hadjar in the late stages, resulting in a penalty and more bruised pride than broken parts.
Elsewhere, Carlos Sainz is still trying to find his groove in the Williams, while Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar and Liam Lawson found themselves stranded in the no man’s land between strategy misfires and midfield mediocrity.
And Fernando Alonso? The Spaniard retired early on with brake issues, his Aston Martin quite literally unable to stop when it mattered most.
Disqualification Drama
Post-race scrutineering brought the hammer down on Leclerc, Gasly, and Hamilton. Leclerc and Gasly were disqualified for car weight breaches. Hamilton’s Mercedes, meanwhile, was found with an illegal plank wear; too much ground contact, too little wood left.
As a result, Ocon was promoted to sixth, Antonelli to seventh, and the Williams boys marched up the leaderboard. Stroll and Sainz both found themselves back in the points.
Photo Credits: All images used in this article belong to the official Formula One Content Pool
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