Oscar Piastri took a lights to flag victory at the Chinese Grand Prix as McLaren achieved its 50th one-two finish.
After the sprint, Sunday’s Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai saw drivers throughout the grid under pressure to perform. Oscar Piastri needed to put all trace of his faux pas in Australia behind him, while Isack Hadjar’s only aim was to score points.
Liam Lawson and Ollie Bearman had to get their seasons back on track after a disappointing season opener. Lawson’s task became harder Red Bull opted to start him from the pit lane. By comparison, Esteban Ocon aimed to give Haas a much needed boost starting from 11th.
With a 40% chance of rain during the race, the drivers were not guaranteed a drama-free afternoon. As the countdown to lights out got closer, the weather remained dry with glorious blue skies.
Tailwinds and extreme tyre degradation threatened to derail afternoons for those who were not on top of their cars setups. All drivers except Gabriel Bortoleto, Lance Stroll and Liam Lawson started the Chinese Grand Prix on medium tyres.
Lights out, action and pace management
At lights out George Russell attempted to pass Oscar Piastri, but he failed. Lando Norris past the Mercedes around the outside to take second place. Lewis Hamilton past Max Verstappen, who also hit team-mate Charles Leclerc as the Monegasque had to take avoiding action.
At the end of the first lap Piastri led by over a second, with Norris seeing off initial heat from Russell. Further down the order, Bearman lost places, relegating him to sixteenth. Bortoleto suffered a disastrous first lap, spinning and re-joining in last place.
Pierre Gasly reported that Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin was suffering from a brake fire as he closed in. Slowing down dramatically, he pulled into the garage to round off a disappointing Chinese Grand Prix.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli ran in seventh, the Racing Bullseigth and ninth, with Ocon’s Haas pushing them for more points.
By lap six the field began to settle down. Piastri managed the gap to Norris to ensure both McLarens could gently pull away from Russell. With 10 laps gone, the cars entered the tyre-graining phase. Max Verstappen began to fall behind Charles Leclerc, the Red Bull perhaps choosing to manage its pace.
The first round of pit stops and intra team battles
Pierre Gasly pitted on lap 11, fitting hard tyres. Tsunoda came in a lap layter along with Ocon and Doohan a lap later. Ferrari kept an eye on the undercut, as they opted to pit Hamilton the next lap. Verstappen also pitted, as his tyres cried enough.
Piastri entered the pits on lap 15, closely followed by Russell, with Norris now leading the race. But with the undercut proving powerful, Norris could not prevent exiting the pit lane behind his team-mate and George Russell. Further down the order, Ocon pulled out a move on Antonelli, taking to the grass.
Norris passed Russell on lap 18, diving down the inside into turn 1, while Piastri took the lead away from birthday boy Albon.
The two Ferraris were now locked in a tight battle. Lance Stroll provided an unlikely blocker for Leclerc, but could not keep the charging Monegasque behind for long. Hamilton moved out of Leclerc’s way on lap 21, and set off after Russell.
Norris moved back into second place, but now had four seconds to make up. Albon finally pitted after a extended first stint.
In the midfield Stroll and Bearman had yet to pit but were locked in a battle for seventh. The Haas made a move on lap 25, but locked up into the hairpin, and the Aston Martin kept its position.
By this time, Leclerc had completed his quest to catch Russell, moving to within DRS range. The grip of the Mercedes kept the Ferrari at bay, but Leclerc was poised to pounce. His pace began to drop off as the second round of stops approached.
But down the order, Lawson’s pace on his latest set of tyres evaporated, as Bearman charged past the Red Bull. He rejoined in P18. Not content with overtaking one car, Bearman flew past Jack Doohan a lap later. He now had to try go to the end of the race on an alternate strategy.
Second round of stops and team tactics
Hadjar became the first driver to try an undercut on those around him on lap 34. Team-mate Tsunoda pitted a couple of laps later, but managed to maintain position.
Stroll pitted on lap 37 after a mammoth stint, as he joined the Racing Bulls in the quest for points.
The threat of rain then loomed over the two-stop drivers, presenting a dilemma. Hamilton chose to pit on lap 38 as Verstappen threatened to close in. He exited on fresh tyres, having only just lost one place. Pumping in multiple fastest laps, catching the reigning world champion would be a hard task.
At the front, however, Piastri stated that he planned to go to the end of the race after stopping just once. Bearman’s conquest of the field continued, joining his team-mate in the points on lap 40 by passing Gasly’s Alpine.
Those who opted to stop twice had now caught up those who chose not to pit. Bearman and Albon were now catching Antonelli, but Racing Bull’s two stop strategy had not worked out. Tsunoda’s miserable afternoon was compounded with front wing damage, while Hadjar had to take avoiding action when attempting to pass Doohan. The stewards awarded a ten-second time penalty to Doohan.
The final laps of the Chinese Grand Prix
As the laps counted down, Norris battled a brake issue. Instructed by his team slow down and avoid hard braking, he still moved to within three seconds of his team-mate.
Similarly, Leclerc struggled for grip with his damaged front wing. Verstappen closed in with just three laps to go. Passing the Ferrari around the outside of turn 1, he started to hunt Russell but there was not enough time for the Red Bull to catch the Mercedes.
Hamilton had moved to within five seconds of his team-mate using his tyres, while Norris’s brake issues were now becoming critical.
Oscar Piastri won against teammate Norris, securing McLaren’s 50th one-two finish after needing to dramatically slow down in the final laps to secure his brakes. Russell completed the podium.
Verstappen came home fourth, Leclerc fifth, Hamilton sixth, Ocon seventh, Antonelli eighth, Albon ninth, and Bearman 10th.
