China’s Grand Prix was hardly a thriller, but it provided a clearer picture of the 2025 F1 Pecking order.
McLaren was able to celebrate 1-2, which the British team had missed in the season opener, as they highlighted their status as a title favorite, but it wasn’t all a smile up and down the grid.
This is our winner and China’s loser.
Winner – Oscar Piastri
After a disappointing result in the last home race in Melbourne, Oscar Piastri has put his own title aspirations back on track in Shanghai.
The Australians led Rand Norris to his hometown. Piastri led from start to finish and temporarily lost first place in the pit stop phase.
It was a compelling victory for Piastri, as he kept Norris at bay with a margin of about four seconds in most races. As a result, Piastri moved within 10 points of Norris’ championship lead, putting him in title competition.
Oscar Piastri claimed his first victory in 2025
Loser – Ferrari
Ferrari had already endured a rather bad day in the office. Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton were on Norman’s land and lacked the pace of their rivals when they finished fifth and sixth on the road.
However, Sunday became an absolute nightmare for Ferrari after the checkered flag, with both Leclair and Hamilton disqualified from separate final classifications of technological breach.
As a result, Ferrari lost 18 points and fell to fifth in the Constructors Championship behind Williams, adding even more salt to the wounds. They are now a whopping 61 points behind McLaren.
It was a horror day for Ferrari after Double DSQ
Winner – McLaren
McLaren maintained a 100% winning start of the season, dominating 1-2, which missed the same result in Australia.
Despite the horrors of Norris’ late brake drama, the perfect result for the walking team strengthened its position at the top of the Constructors Championship. They lead Mercedes 21 points.
McLaren’s way of winning is highlighted and serves as a worrying warning shot for the puck he chased.
Loser – Liam Lawson
Liam Lawson’s future with Red Bull is in danger after a disastrous start to the season in China.
The 23-year-old Kiwi was last qualified in both qualifying sessions at China’s Grand Prix, and only recovered to 15th on the road after starting the Grand Prix at Pitlan on Sunday as Red Bull experimented with a “radical” set-up.
Lawson already appears to be at risk of being x, and Red Bull doesn’t seem to rule out an immediate driver swap (probably with Yuki Tsunoda) before the next race in Japan.
Liam Lawson
Winner – George Russell
It was another great drive from George Russell. He made the most of Mercedes once again, but didn’t have the pace to challenge the dominant McLaren duo.
Russell was ahead of Norris after the sole round of the pit stop, but was unable to prevent his fellow compatriots from powering the past as he had to settle for the final spot on the podium for a two-week run.
If the race was just a little longer, it was almost P2 for Russell, who claimed he had overtaken the sick Norris at the end.
George Russell finished third in the opening two races.
Loser – Racing Bulls
Just like Australia, the Racing Bulls will be leaving the weekend and lose another big missed opportunity.
Isack Hadjar and Tsunoda both said inside the top 10 after a great qualifying lap, but their two-stop strategy backfired and remained outside of the point.
Zonodah was finally finished after a strange front wing failure caused him to visit the unplanned third pit, exacerbating the miserable race.
Winner – Haas
Haas left China as a huge winner following a double disqualification by Ferrari.
The team already enjoys a great race, with Esteban Ocon 7th and Formula 1 rookie Olly Baerman charging to 10th, but with post-race exclusions, he’s another 2nd place.
Their 14-point haul led Haas to jump ahead of Aston Martin, reaching seventh in the constructor position.
The P7 of Esteban Ocon on the road has been changed to P5
Loser – Alpine
Alpine is currently the only team that has not scored points in 2025, far from China.
Jack Doohan was a poor Grand Prix, earning a 10-second penalty penalty for his enthusiastic defending against the Hadger, earning four penalty points per weekend.
Teammate Pierre Guthrie got better on Sunday and finished 11th on the road. However, the Frenchman was disqualified after the race after he found out that his high float was underweight.
For the French team, it was a very disappointing start to the season. He was thinking of himself as a frontline challenger before the wheels could spin.
Winner – Alex Albon
Alex Albon produced a great qualifying lap to secure a top-10 starting position, turning it into a strong ninth place on the Chinese roads. It will be the seventh after Ferrari’s disqualification.
It’s an incredible drive from Albon, and he’s facing the challenge of having four-time Grand Prix winner Carlos Sainz as his new teammate.
It turned out to be a great day for Williams as a whole. Sainz was promoted to 10th place and gave the team another valuable point to lift them up above Ferrari in the Constructors Championship.
Alex Albon leads Fernando Alonso
Loser – Fernando Alonso
It was a rather disastrous start to the season for Fernando Alonso, who completed just four laps in Shanghai before the braking issues began.
Alonso failed to finish the 2025 Opening 2 Grand Prix after crashing from Melbourne’s season opening game.
If Alonso hadn’t experienced any race-ending issues, he could have scored decent points thanks to post-race exclusions.