Piastri secures dominant Chinese Grand Prix win as Mclaren take one-two
The Australian, who had been in contention for a podium at the season-opening race in Melbourne before a late spin, controlled the race in Shanghai, executing a one-stop strategy to perfection.
Oscar Piastri led from pole position to secure victory at the Chinese Grand Prix on 23 March, as McLaren sealed a commanding one-two finish with Lando Norris taking second place.
The Australian, who had been in contention for a podium at the season-opening race in Melbourne before a late spin, controlled the race in Shanghai, executing a one-stop strategy to perfection.
"It's been an incredible weekend, the car has been pretty mega," said Piastri. "The hard tyre lasted longer than expected, which was a nice surprise."
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Norris, who battled a late brake issue, opted not to challenge his teammate and settled for second, ensuring McLaren's first one-two finish of the season. Despite missing out on victory, he remains top of the drivers' standings with 44 points, ahead of Red Bull's Max Verstappen on 36.
George Russell finished third for Mercedes, while Verstappen produced a late charge to snatch fourth from Charles Leclerc after an intense battle in the closing laps.
The race began with Russell attempting to challenge Piastri at the first corner, but the McLaren driver held firm, allowing Norris to move up to second. Meanwhile, both Ferraris passed Verstappen, dropping the reigning world champion to sixth.
Leclerc suffered minor front-wing damage in a clash with Lewis Hamilton but was able to maintain his pace. Hamilton, coming off a sprint race victory on saturday, was the first of the frontrunners to pit on lap 14, triggering a series of stops. Russell briefly got ahead of Norris in the shuffle, but the McLaren soon reclaimed second place down the pit straight.
As the race progressed, Hamilton struggled on the hard tyres, allowing Russell and Leclerc to move ahead before being forced to pit again on lap 38, dropping him behind Verstappen.
While most of the frontrunners opted to extend their stints to the end, Verstappen, who had carefully managed his tyres throughout, found extra pace late on and overtook Leclerc at the start of lap 54 to claim fourth.
Haas enjoyed a strong race with both cars finishing in the points—Esteban Ocon took seventh, while rookie Ollie Bearman secured tenth. Mercedes teenager Kimi Antonelli finished eighth, with Alex Albon bringing his Williams home in ninth on his 29th birthday.
