Chinese GP Weekend Results: Papaya on Top

Picture: F1

The second race of the season, the 2025 F1 Chinese GP, took place this weekend at the Shanghai International Circuit. The drivers only got to do one practice session because the Chinese Grand Prix features a sprint race. The drama started before the weekend even began, as some teams faced shipping issues with their equipment, and there was a lot of talk about Hamilton’s communication with his engineer. McLaren’s mini DRS on their rear wing was also a hot topic among journalists, raising questions about how much it impacts their performance. Fortunately, all the cars were ready for the practice session on Friday, and racing went on as planned. Historically, Hamilton has won at this track six times — could he make it seven and take his first victory with Ferrari in the Chinese GP? Let’s find out.

Practice

The sole Free Practice session was carried out on a freshly laid track surface, causing drivers to struggle with grip and run off the track multiple times. With only 13 minutes remaining, red flags were raised as Doohan’s Alpine reported a loss of power steering, causing him to go wide. McLaren looked strong once again, with Lando Norris finishing P1, setting a time 0.454s ahead of Leclerc. Most of the drivers completed over 20 laps, with Russell and Sainz topping the charts at 26 laps each. Alpine and Doohan’s struggles continued, as he completed the fewest laps—only 17.

Sprint Qualifying

As mentioned earlier, Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari were the main talking points once again during the break between the Chinese GP and Australian GP. They responded in style as McLaren slipped up, allowing Hamilton to snatch pole position for the sprint. The man with the most wins in Shanghai started the weekend off strong. Verstappen admitted that Red Bull had a lot of work to do on their setup after practice but still managed to qualify P2. Unfortunately for Lawson, things didn’t go as planned, and he had to start the sprint in last place, P20. Piastri’s McLaren grabbed the final podium position, while Leclerc and Russell rounded out the top five. Among the rookies, Antonelli delivered the best result once again, setting a time within the top 10 and securing a P7 start.

Sprint 

Lewis Hamilton kept the momentum going, securing eight extra points by winning the 2025 Chinese GP Sprint session. His Ferrari looked unbeatable during the sprint, delivering a masterclass in tyre and distance management. Max tried to challenge him, bringing back memories of 2021 for a moment, but his Red Bull struggled with tyre wear, forcing him to back off. Piastri overtook Max towards the end, finishing P2 and earning seven extra points. Norris lost a few positions at the start and seemingly gave up, but he later managed to overtake Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll, who had DRS issues, to secure one point with a P8 finish. Sprint winner Hamilton’s teammate, Charles Leclerc, struggled with turning and couldn’t overtake Russell, settling for P5.

At the back of the grid, Lawson gained a couple of positions with an aggressive, elbows-out driving style—perhaps too aggressive, as he made contact with multiple cars—and finished P14. Another impressive drive came from Pierre Gasly, who gained five positions (matching Lawson) and finished P12. Doohan’s Alpine continued to struggle, and on the final lap, he crashed into a Kick Sauber, finishing P20. Is the pressure piling up on the young Aussie? Struggles continued for Sainz as well, as he was forced to pit due to issues during the sprint, ultimately finishing P17.

As expected, tyre degradation was a major issue, particularly for Verstappen’s Red Bull. It appeared that Red Bull lacked the pace to compete with Ferrari and McLaren without compromising tyres too much. Mercedes isn’t far behind the podium contenders, with both Russell and Antonelli securing points in a strong sprint performance. One thing worth noting is Norris’ attitude—he clearly struggled with his car during the sprint and didn’t put up much of a fight. McLaren appears to have the fastest car on the grid, yet he continues to downplay it in the media. Is it pressure, the new flexi-wing regulations, or just a setup mistake?

Qualifying

McLaren proved they still had the pace, with Norris especially showing it by setting the fastest-ever lap in Q2 at the Shanghai circuit. Unfortunately, he couldn’t replicate that time in Q3 and settled for P3. Piastri took his first-ever pole position, while Russell split the McLarens, securing P2. His rookie teammate, Kimi Antonelli, delivered a solid performance, making it to Q3 and earning a top-10 starting position. Red Bull’s struggles continued, with Max managing only P4, while Lawson found himself dead last once again in P20. The pressure keeps piling up on Lawson, especially with both Racing Bulls making it to Q3. Speaking of pressure, Alpine seems to be feeling it too—Doohan failed to make it out of Q1, and surprisingly, so did Gasly.

Race

Before the 2025 Chinese Grand Prix race began, the talk about tyre degradation continued. It was evident that whoever could keep a solid pace and their tyres intact would come out on top. As the lights went out, McLaren capitalized on their front-row lockout, with Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris leading the pack. Meanwhile, Max Verstappen lost a few positions, Charles Leclerc sustained front wing damage early on, and Fernando Alonso’s race ended early on Lap 4 due to brake failure, marking another disappointing DNF for the Aston Martin driver.

Ferrari’s communication struggles were once again on display, with Leclerc growing frustrated and Lewis Hamilton disagreeing with strategy calls. Verstappen found himself lacking the race pace compared with McLaren’s and Russell and was left battling the Ferrari’s for the rest of the race. His teammate, Liam Lawson, kept on struggling and finished P15.

As the race neared its conclusion, Norris faced a critical brake pedal issue but managed to hold onto P2. Verstappen made a late move on Leclerc to secure P4, while Yuki Tsunoda suffered front wing failure, and Lance Stroll struggled on the medium tyres. In the end, Piastri controlled the race from the front, leading a McLaren 1-2, with Russell rounding out the podium in third.

Picture: PlanetF1

However, post-race inspections dealt Ferrari a major blow, as both Hamilton and Leclerc were disqualified—Hamilton for excessive skid block wear and Leclerc for an underweight car—leading to a reshuffling of the final results. Alpine’s Pierre Gasly was also disqualified for the same infraction as Leclerc, leaving the Alpine team as the only one yet to score a point in 2025.

Ferrari’s double disqualification elevates Esteban Ocon, Kimi Antonelli, Alex Albon, and Ollie Bearman by two positions, moving them up from seventh to 10th. Meanwhile, Lance Stroll and Carlos Sainz also secured points after Gasly’s disqualification from P11.

Team standings