TLDR: McLaren dominate the race. One stop prevails. No rookie retirements. Three disqualifications.

Start of the Race

With his first pole position, Piastri didn’t have the best start having to cover off Russell attacking instantly. This compromised Russell though allowing Norris around the outside of turn 1. Max also lost places to Hamilton and Leclerc going wide and sliding however Leclerc lost part of his front wing with contact on Hamilton. Leclerc believed he could survive until first pit however with 30 points loss to aero and with already struggling with front tyre degradation this weekend it will be a tall order for Leclerc.

Alonso retired the car on lap 5 with a rear brakes issue. Not a great start for the veteran driver after last weeks DNF. Bortoletto had a slide off into the gravel however he we able to get back racing but ultimately ruined any competition for him throughout the race.

By lap 13 Verstappen was 5.5 seconds behind Leclerc with a broken front wing. I believed that was more due to tyre management as the rest of the grid is complaining about front tyres starting to grain. Leclerc was nicely staying in DRS of Hamilton however this could be a mixture of tyre management and teamwork by Hamilton pulling Leclerc along.

Lap 11 and 12 cars starting coming in to pit for hard compounds, Tsunoda, Gasly, Doohan and Ocon. Followed by Hadjar on lap 13. Hamilton and Verstappen follow the back markers with the under cut looking strong. This highlights Verstappen pace was likely not tyre management and car performance related. Piastri and Russell come in however Piastri’s pit was not great as he went too deep on the pit markers. Norris came in late and Mercedes successfully undercut Norris. Leclerc did not change the front wing in his pit. The lose of a wing change must bee greater than the time lost on aero. At the Chinese GP this makes sense as the set up is generally for less downforce.

Hamilton and Leclerc were battling it out and its crazy that Leclerc stayed within DRS of Hamilton until lap 21 when Hamilton and the team decided to swap. The Ferrari’s in the meantime were both gaining on Russell at a rate of knots.

Albon managed to make the medium last longer than Lawson made the hard tyres last, which at the time indicated that there will need to be two stops at least in this race. However as the race went on, the top runners managed that hard compound much better

Leclerc has kept pushing on Russell and was edging closer and closer to DRS finally in range on lap 25. Leclerc commentary of Mercedes having unbelievable traction out of turn 12 was a great insight. Leclerc kept pushing however he couldn’t get the move done.

Around lap 28 were heard radio messages instructing the McLaren’s to up the pace. The undercut is very strong this weekend so they needed to build a 4 second gap to the Mercedes of Russell in case of the two stopper.

Bearman made an overtake on Lawson for 17th. I think Redbull need to make a swap, at least Perez got points. Although Verstappen’s comments suggest that Tsunoda would actually be quicker in the VCARB. Made it is a mixture of car and driver ability however 2 races in a row Redbull have one in the Top 5 and one in the bottom 5.

Doohan with some dangerous driving against Hadjar. First forces Hadjar off the track and then a late move under breaking. This ultimately landed Doohan with a 10 second penalty.

Lap 37 Verstappen started to push closing the gap on Hamilton from 4 seconds to 1.7 seconds in a couple of laps. This was short lived as Hamilton pitted for fresh hards. Only one place was lost in the pit and puts Hamilton in a very good position for the end of the race in the eventful of a safety car or if the car in front pitted again. As the race went on the top 5 appeared to be aiming for a one stop race

Verstappens late push allowed him to take 4th off Leclerc into turn 1 on lap 53. Great tyre preservation from the Dutchman certainly did well to get back to 4th.

Norris had to start coasting due to brake pedal tension issues the pitwall deemed it critical. This lead to Russell taking 5 seconds out of him on the last lap.

Piastri the 1/16th Chinese driver from Australia crossed the line with his first win of 2025. Another China GP win from pole (11) and a great race from Piastri. Very dominant showing. Rear wing flex didn’t seem to have much impact on their.

Summary

Overall, a pretty uneventful race for the top 6 apart from the first couple laps. A lot to racing happened in the 10-15th positions with a diverse range of strategies. Leclerc performance with a broken front wing was brilliant and probably a good thing that happened at the Chinese GP with less downforce requirements. Probably should’ve got driver of the day.

Below are the tyre strategies and as you can see the two stoppers didn’t benefit much however I believe the last stint should’ve been the medium rather than hards.

The season seems to be aiming for a dominant McLaren WDC and constructors however Verstappen and Russell are still in there. Cant wait for Japan in two weeks.

Post race the FIA disqualified Hamilton, Leclerc and Gasly massive changing the order. Hamilton skid block was worn too much by 0.5mm. Leclerc and Gasly were both underweight. Williams and Ferrari are on the same points. Definitely bittersweet.

Funny One

Lawson and Tsunoda Switch

I was thinking it but you guys voted it. Lets be honest, the promotion for Lawson was way too premature. The last few results proved that. If the car is so hard to drive then don’t put a “rookie” in the situation. Maybe the guy who outperformed him at VCARB should’ve been the one.

As you can see below Yuki outperformed Lawson in every way when they were together at VCARB. This should be an easy decision and give Lawson so time to learn the requirements of an F1 driver.

Watch Highlights Here

Standings

Lights Out!

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