McLaren's driver Oscar Piastri of Australia celebrates during the awarding ceremony of the Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix race at the Shanghai International Circuit in east China's Shanghai, on March 23, 2025. (Xinhua/Ding Ting)
by F1 correspondent Michael Butterworth
SHANGHAI, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Oscar Piastri took victory in Sunday's Chinese Grand Prix, with teammate Lando Norris coming home second for a McLaren 1-2 at the Shanghai International Circuit.
Starting from his first-ever Grand Prix pole position, Piastri headed off Mercedes' George Russell at the start to hold his lead and set about controlling the pace, losing his lead only as the positions shuffled during the pit stop phase.
With none of the drivers having run the Hard compound tyre at any point earlier in the weekend, there was much uncertainty over whether drivers would have to make one pit stop or two.
As it happened, the Hard tyres held up better than most teams appeared to have anticipated, with Piastri and most others electing to make only one stop.
"It's been an incredible weekend from start to finish. The car's been pretty mega the whole time. I think today was a bit of a surprise with how differently the tyres behaved," said Piastri, who had lost out on a strong result last weekend in Australia when he was caught out by a rain shower and slid onto the wet grass.
"I'm just so proud of the whole weekend. This is what I feel like I deserved from last week. The team did a mega job with the one-two. I'm very happy.
"On the Medium [compound] it was still a bit tricky but much better than yesterday, and then the Hard was a much better tyre than everyone expected, or certainly than we expected.
"To go all the way to the end like that was a bit of a surprise, but a happy surprise."
Behind Piastri, Norris passed Russell on lap 1 to take second, but never got close to challenging his teammate's lead, and had to slow his pace considerably in the last couple of laps after complaining of a braking issue.
Russell rounded out the podium places ahead of Red Bull's Max Verstappen, who caught and passed Ferrari's Charles Leclerc with three laps to go.
Leclerc took fifth after driving almost the entire race with a damaged front wing end fence following a lap 1 tag from teammate Lewis Hamilton, but the Monegasque did not appear to suffer, with Ferrari even ordering Hamilton to let him by, such was his superior pace.
Hamilton was the only one of the leading runners to make two pit stops, but he was not able to use his fresher tyres to make significant headway on the cars ahead of him, and the Briton - who had won Saturday's Sprint in convincing fashion - finished an underwhelming sixth.
Esteban Ocon finished an excellent seventh for his first points for Haas, ahead of Kimi Antonelli in the second Mercedes. Alex Albon took ninth for Williams on his 29th birthday, while Ocon's teammate Ollie Bearman rounded out the top ten after a spirited drive in which he overtook several competitors.
After two rounds, Norris leads the Drivers' Championship with 44 points, with Verstappen second on 36 and Russell third with 35 points.
In the Constructors' standings, McLaren leads the way with 78 points, ahead of Mercedes on 53 and Red Bull on 36 points.
The third round of the 2025 F1 season is the Japanese Grand Prix at the Suzuka Circuit on April 6. ■
McLaren's driver Oscar Piastri of Australia competes during the Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix race at the Shanghai International Circuit in east China's Shanghai, on March 23, 2025. (Xinhua/Xia Yifang)
McLaren's pit crew work on the car of Australian driver Oscar Piastri during the Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix race at the Shanghai International Circuit in east China's Shanghai, on March 23, 2025. (Xinhua/He Changshan)
McLaren's pit crew work on the car of Britain's driver Lando Norris during the Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix race at the Shanghai International Circuit in east China's Shanghai, on March 23, 2025. (Xinhua/He Changshan)
Red Bull's driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands competes during the Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix race at the Shanghai International Circuit in east China's Shanghai, on March 23, 2025. (Xinhua/He Changshan)
McLaren's pit crew work on the car of Australian driver Oscar Piastri during the Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix race at the Shanghai International Circuit in east China's Shanghai, on March 23, 2025. (Xinhua/He Changshan)
Red Bull's driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands competes during the Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix race at the Shanghai International Circuit in east China's Shanghai, on March 23, 2025. (Xinhua/Xia Yifang)
Mercedes's driver George Russell of Britain reacts before the Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix race at the Shanghai International Circuit in east China's Shanghai, on March 23, 2025. (Xinhua/He Changshan)
McLaren's driver Oscar Piastri of Australia celebrates after the Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix race at the Shanghai International Circuit in east China's Shanghai, on March 23, 2025. (Xinhua/Xia Yifang)
Aston Martin's driver Lance Stroll of Canada competes during the Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix race at the Shanghai International Circuit in east China's Shanghai, on March 23, 2025. (Xinhua/Xia Yifang)
Mercedes's driver George Russell of Britain celebrates after the Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix race at the Shanghai International Circuit in east China's Shanghai, on March 23, 2025. (Xinhua/He Changshan)
Mercedes's driver George Russell of Britain competes during the Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix race at the Shanghai International Circuit in east China's Shanghai, on March 23, 2025. (Xinhua/He Changshan)
McLaren's driver Oscar Piastri (L) of Australia reacts after the Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix race at the Shanghai International Circuit in east China's Shanghai, on March 23, 2025. (Xinhua/He Changshan)
Mercedes's driver George Russell (C) of Britain celebrates after the awarding ceremony of the Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix race at the Shanghai International Circuit in east China's Shanghai, on March 23, 2025. (Xinhua/He Changshan)
Mclaren's driver Lando Norris of Britain competes during the Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix race at the Shanghai International Circuit in east China's Shanghai, on March 23, 2025. (Xinhua/Xia Yifang)
McLaren's driver Oscar Piastri of Australia reacts before the Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix race at the Shanghai International Circuit in east China's Shanghai, on March 23, 2025. (Xinhua/Xia Yifang)
McLaren's driver Oscar Piastri of Australia competes during the Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix race at the Shanghai International Circuit in east China's Shanghai, on March 23, 2025. (Xinhua/Xia Yifang)
McLaren's driver Oscar Piastri (2nd L, front) of Australia competes during the Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix race at the Shanghai International Circuit in east China's Shanghai, on March 23, 2025. (Xinhua/Ding Ting)
Mercedes's driver George Russell (C) of Britain reacts before the Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix race at the Shanghai International Circuit in east China's Shanghai, on March 23, 2025. (Xinhua/He Changshan)
Mercedes' driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli (L) of Italy competes during the Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix race at the Shanghai International Circuit in east China's Shanghai, on March 23, 2025. (Xinhua/Xia Yifang)
McLaren's driver Oscar Piastri of Australia competes during the Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix race at the Shanghai International Circuit in east China's Shanghai, on March 23, 2025. (Xinhua/Xia Yifang)
Ferrari's driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain competes during the Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix race at the Shanghai International Circuit in east China's Shanghai, on March 23, 2025. (Xinhua/Xia Yifang)
Ferrari's driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain competes during the Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix race at the Shanghai International Circuit in east China's Shanghai, on March 23, 2025. (Xinhua/Xia Yifang)
Ferrari's driver Charles Leclerc of Monaco reacts before the Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix race at the Shanghai International Circuit in east China's Shanghai, on March 23, 2025. (Xinhua/He Changshan)
McLaren's driver Oscar Piastri (2nd L) of Australia celebrates during the awarding ceremony of the Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix race at the Shanghai International Circuit in east China's Shanghai, on March 23, 2025. (Photo by Qian Jun/Xinhua)
McLaren's driver Oscar Piastri of Australia celebrates after the Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix race at the Shanghai International Circuit in east China's Shanghai, on March 23, 2025. (Xinhua/Xia Yifang)
McLaren's driver Oscar Piastri of Australia competes during the Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix race at the Shanghai International Circuit in east China's Shanghai, on March 23, 2025. (Xinhua/He Changshan)
McLaren's driver Oscar Piastri of Australia celebrates after the Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix race at the Shanghai International Circuit in east China's Shanghai, on March 23, 2025. (Xinhua/Ding Ting)
McLaren's driver Oscar Piastri of Australia attends the press conference after the Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix race at the Shanghai International Circuit in east China's Shanghai, on March 23, 2025. (Xinhua/Xia Yifang)
Ferrari's driver Lewis Hamilton (C) of Britain reacts before the Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix race at the Shanghai International Circuit in east China's Shanghai, on March 23, 2025. (Xinhua/He Changshan)
McLaren's driver Oscar Piastri of Australia celebrates after the Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix race at the Shanghai International Circuit in east China's Shanghai, on March 23, 2025. (Xinhua/Ding Ting)
McLaren's driver Oscar Piastri (C) of Australia is weighed after the Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix race at the Shanghai International Circuit in east China's Shanghai, on March 23, 2025. (Xinhua/He Changshan)
Aston Martin's driver Lance Stroll of Canada drives after the Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix race at the Shanghai International Circuit in east China's Shanghai, on March 23, 2025. (Xinhua/He Changshan)
McLaren's driver Oscar Piastri of Australia competes during the Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix race at the Shanghai International Circuit in east China's Shanghai, on March 23, 2025. (Xinhua/Xia Yifang)
McLaren's driver Oscar Piastri of Australia competes during the Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix race at the Shanghai International Circuit in east China's Shanghai, on March 23, 2025. (Xinhua/Xia Yifang)
McLaren's driver Oscar Piastri of Australia celebrates after the Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix race at the Shanghai International Circuit in east China's Shanghai, on March 23, 2025. (Xinhua/He Changshan)
Mclaren's driver Lando Norris of Britain competes during the Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix race at the Shanghai International Circuit in east China's Shanghai, on March 23, 2025. (Xinhua/He Changshan)
