McLaren driver Oscar Piastri won his first-ever Chinese Grand Prix from pole position, with the Australian leading throughout the race ahead of his teammate Lando Norris. The two McLaren drivers completed the team’s 50th one-two finish in Formula 1.
Piastri, who secured his first pole position on Saturday, got off to a strong start in Sunday’s race and led into the first corner, with Norris passing George Russell’s Mercedes for second place. Piastri then gradually extended his lead in a smooth drive to secure his third career win, following victories in Hungary and Azerbaijan last year.
“(It’s) very satisfying, obviously,” said Piastri, who moved to fourth in the standings, just 10 points behind Norris, with 22 races still to go. “I think it’s always a pretty good day when you cross the line first, but I think this has been the most satisfying, not just race, but (race) weekend for myself. I think the two wins I had previously were very different, and I think this one’s been the most complete.”
The race results were changed by race stewards after the event when Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton, and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly were disqualified.
Norris had a more challenging race to secure his second-place finish. The British driver had to pass both Russell and Williams’ Alex Albon after his pit stop. He then followed his teammate to the finish line, but toward the end of the race, he struggled with a brake-pedal issue that almost affected his ability to finish.
“Tough race,” Norris said. “I mean I’m just satisfied, for the result, for the team, the 50th one-two for McLaren is quite an achievement. So happy to be part of that, first of all, and a great race by Oscar. I’m (also) happy considering how bad my last few days have been and how much I struggled just to kind of get comfortable and understand how to drive the car.”
Russell finished third for Mercedes, marking the team’s 300th podium in Formula 1. It was his second consecutive podium finish of the season, putting him third in the standings, just one point ahead of Piastri.
Oscar Piastri celebrates on the podium after the win“In the last three races, with the sprint as well, the result we achieved was the maximum (we could achieve), so that gives me a lot of satisfaction,” Russell said. “If we do deliver a car that is capable of fighting the McLaren, I have no doubt that we can finish ahead because we’re doing such a solid job as a team.”
Last year’s winner, Max Verstappen, finished fourth for Red Bull, passing Leclerc in the final laps. Leclerc’s race was impacted by a first-lap collision with his Ferrari teammate Hamilton, which damaged the front wing and affected his car’s aerodynamics for the rest of the race.
However, both Leclerc and Gasly, who finished fifth and 16th, were disqualified after their cars were found to be 1 kilogram under the minimum weight limit at the end of the race.
Hamilton, who won the Sprint race on Saturday for his first victory in a Ferrari, finished sixth in the main race but was disqualified. The thickness of the skid block under Hamilton’s Ferrari was found to be below the allowed minimum thickness.
Haas benefitted from the disqualifications, with Esteban Ocon moving from seventh to fifth, and rookie Oliver Bearman moving from tenth to eighth. Mercedes rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli was classified sixth, ahead of Alex Albon in seventh. Lance Stroll, driving for Aston Martin, moved up to ninth, while Carlos Sainz, driving for Williams, took the final point in tenth.
The next race is at Japan’s Suzuka Circuit on April 6th, starting a triple header that includes races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
