Piastri romps to victory in Shanghai, Norris manages brake issues to deliver McLaren 1-2; Russell solid for Mercedes in P3; Verstappen maximizes results in P4; both Ferraris shockingly DQ’d after post-race technical infractions

McLaren cemented their status as the early season favorites to win a second consecutive Formula 1 Constructors’ Title with a dominant performance at Sunday’s Chinese Grand Prix. The impressive young Aussie, Oscar Piastri, converted his pole position start at the Shanghai International Circuit into a drama-free victory, while teammate Lando Norris did face some stress-inducing deteriorating brake issues late in the race but was still able to nurse his MCL39 to a second place finish. While nobody else really had anything for the dominant Papaya duo over the course of 55 sometimes static laps, Mercedes’ George Russell was best of the rest and managed to get himself on the podium in P3 ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. The current World Champ maximized what has so far been the disappointing pace of the RB21, making a strong move to get that final position to overtake the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc on Lap 53.

Verstappen 🆚 Leclerc

Max gets by with a mega move but Charles fought back hard 🍿#F1 #ChineseGP pic.twitter.com/2Z0AU9loNf

— Formula 1 (@F1) March 23, 2025

While that relegated Leclerc to P5 at the finish and new Scuderia teammate Lewis Hamilton trailed him in P6 after an unsuccessful two-stop strategy gambit, it got much worse for the Ferrari duo after post-race inspection. Both Prancing Horses were unceremoniously disqualified for rules infractions, Leclerc for being underweight even accounting for a damaged front wing that he ran essentially the entire race with, and Hamilton for a too-thin skid plank. While other teams have gone on to win the Constrcutors’ title when both their cars failed to finish in a race — see Mercedes in 2016 when Rosberg & Hamilton took each other out in Spain — it was still a bitter blow to Ferrari’s hopes of toppling McLaren and perhaps even trying to stay in front of Mercedes and Red Bull, as all the joy from Saturday’s Sprint victory for Hamilton ebbed away in the harsh reality of a zero-points Grand Prix Sunday.

Why Hamilton, Leclerc and Gasly were all disqualified from the Chinese Grand Prix… ❌

Read our full explanation on our website, covering all the key details and the fine margins involved 👇#F1 #ChineseGPhttps://t.co/RrJ7XpLxEs

— Formula 1 (@F1) March 24, 2025

Obviously, Maranello’s stunning misfortune in China redounded to the benefit of those who originally finished behind them on the day. Haas F1 was the biggest beneficiary, with a motivated Esteban Ocon being promoted up to P5 and rookie Oliver Bearman, who drove a superb race with a passel of mid-pack passes along the way, elevated to P8. It was a fairly epic and much needed result on what was already looking like a very good day a week after scoring zero in the rains of Melbourne. The second Merc of Kimi Antonelli, who struggled in traffic all race long,  was lifted to a rather less mediocre P6, while the excellent efforts of Williams Alexander Albon, who ran an extra long first stint, was rewarded with P7. Albon’s new teammate Carlos Sainz took the last point in P10 despite a mysterious race-long lack of pace, while Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll, who also made the most of a very long opening stint, finished P9 after starting a lowly P14.

Top 10 finishers of the Chinese GP:

Complete race results available via Formula1.com.

The next race is in a fortnight’s time — an early spring arrival of the Japanese Grand Prix from the legendary Suzuka Circuit. The teams get a much needed week off after two races on the trot to start 2025 and the other ostensible contenders will be keen to make some progress during that brief interim and get on terms with what is looking like a supreme McLaren hot rod and two pilots who can win on any given Sunday. Hope to see you then to find out how it all shakes out!