Disqualifying disasters, deadly dashes, and desperate drivers fighting tooth and nail for points—the Chinese Grand Prix brought drama and angst and had fans jumping out of their seats. Tragedy struck for multiple teams, and let’s just say if you’re a Ferrari fan, you had a rollercoaster weekend.
A speedy Sprint race was on the cards for this weekend. A bright, sunny China allowed the Formula 1 drivers to show their pace. The Chinese Grand Prix sparked shocking moments, with the first being a beautiful drive by Lewis Hamilton, who secured his first pole position with Ferrari for the sprint race.
The Sprint race blasted off with Hamilton’s ferocious start, and Lando Norris (McLaren) veered off the track, falling down a few places and out of the points. A late overtake from Oscar Piastri secured Mclaren a 2nd place finish, with Verstappen in 3rd and Hamilton securing his first-ever pole position for a Sprint. The sprint race result gave Mclaren a 1-point advantage over Mercedes in the constructors battle.
A flamboyant flourish at the start of the Chinese Grand Prix race from both Ferrari’s as they overtook Max Verstappen. It’s double trouble tackling George Russel (Mercedes) as Norris overtakes him into P2 and Piastri stays in P1. A Ferrari bust-up with Charles Leclerc and Hamilton bumping wheels, leaving Leclerc in the dust with a broken wing. Gabriel Bortoleto took a nose dive into the gravel; luckily, he managed to get the car back on track but fell to the bottom of the order.
Another disappointing DNF for Fernando Alsonso due to his brakes being on fire. This Aston Martin 2025 season seems to have had a disastrous beginning. Let’s hope this won’t continue for the rest of the races.
Several cars pitted on Lap 11, a chain reaction forming after Gasly pits. The cars from 16th downwards were hoping it would pay off and whisk them up higher. Then, the rest of the cars pitted from Lap 14 onwards, the top cars desperate for quick pit stops. A two-stop strategy was the winning plan today. Those who opted for a risky one-stop did not pay off.
Super overtakes and risky attempts led to an exciting race with many drivers. Ocon versus Kimi and Ocon stripped away the winner, even after taking a dip into the gravel. After a slower pit stop for Piastri, he had to fight to be back to the top again and overtake Russel…again. Norris regained his second place behind his teammate, and the powerhouse duo were in complete control for the remainder of the race.
This an unusual predicament for the Ferrari’s as Hamilton was ordered for Leclerc to overtake him as he had the quicker lap times even with a broken right wing. A Monegasque magic trick? Yuki Tsunoda also damaged his front wing, which most likely was from going over a curb or racing too hard down the main straight, which, unfortunately, led to a desperate pit and ruined his race. With only 10 laps to go, Verstappen is desperately attempting (and eventually succeeding) to overtake Leclerc to put him in 4th and desperately trying to catch George Russel (Mercedes).
It’s a sudden danger for Norris in 2nd as his brake pedal begins to fail within the final few laps. Russel smells blood and is out to get him. Norris desperately hangs on and only just passes the finish lap in front of Russel. Piastri claws victory, a masterclass display of keeping a steady head and fantastic driving.
The rookies of this race stepped up, Oliver Bearman showed some swift overtakes and a solid performance from Isack Hadjar who finished above his template (Yuki Tsunoda) and only just missed out on points. However, there’s an apparent leader in the pack of rookies: Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli, scoring points in every race so far and securing Driver of the Day (voted by fans). I’m hoping the best is yet to come for Liam Lawson (Redbull), Jack Doohan (Alpine) and Gabriel Bortoleto (Kick Sauber).
An unforeseen change in the finished race orders came just a few hours after the Chinese Grand Prix had finished. The Ferrari’s had finished in 5th and 6th and Pierre Gasly for Alpine had just missed out on the points, placing in 11th. But this all changed in an instant.
Disqualified! Leclerc and Gasly were disqualified for both cars being underweight and not meeting the regulatory weight. And if you think that was bad enough, the other Ferrari in Hamilton was also disqualified after the rear skid block was measured under the minimum thickness it needed.
What a disastrous end for Ferrari compared to the high they felt after the Sprint race.
This led to the rest of the cars moving up, and in return, some of the midfield cars gained vital points, such as Williams scoring points with both drivers, Alex Albon in 7th, and Carlos Sainz Jr. snagging the last point available in 10th. As well, Haas scored important points, Esteban in 5th, Haas’s highest position in a long time, and rookie Bearman in 8th.
After the Ferrari fumble, the constructors’ leaderboard shows Mclaren soaring away with 78 points, Mercedes in 2nd and Red Bull in 3rd. A fantastic effort from Williams in joint 4th with Ferrari and Haas hanging on to 6th. Aston Martin and Kick Sauber are tightly together in 7th and 8th, and trailing behind are Racing Bulls and Alpine, yet to score any points.
Next up is Japan!
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