Chinese Grand Prix: Live F1 race coverage

Can Oscar Piastri win from pole and give McLaren two wins in two races?

Can McLaren make it two wins in a row to open the 2025 Formula 1 season?

Lando Norris went wire-to-wire to win the season-opening Australian Grand Prix last week, and now Oscar Piastri has a chance to replicate his teammate’s feat after capturing pole position for the Chinese Grand Prix. Piastri edged out George Russell by just 0.082 seconds to take P1 during qualifying, and will have Norris behind him, as his McLaren teammate qualified third.

Defending Drivers’ Champion Max Verstappen qualified fourth, with the Ferrari duo of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc locking out the third row.

Here is the full starting grid for the Chinese Grand Prix:

Sunday’s race is expected to be a tire degradation battle, as the resurfaced circuit in Shanghai has increased both the grip level, and the wear on the tires. During Saturday’s F1 Sprint race Hamilton drove away from the grid after starting on pole, with the clean air causing less damage on his tires. Those behind him in dirty air, however, saw their tires fade quickly over the 19-lap sprint.

We’ll have the entire race covered for you live so whether you’re staying up late, or getting up early, check back early and often!

Updates are noted in either Eastern time or by lap number.

F1 Chinese Grand Prix live coverage

Lap 50: Norris is reporting that his brake pedal is “going long.” McLaren tells him that the brakes still have all the power they need, but that he will just feel the brake pedal softer on his left foot.

Lap 47: Replays on FT1V indicate that Tsunoda’s front wing simply snapped under aerodynamic load.

Lap 46: McLaren tells Norris that any rain will be on the final lap only.

Hadjar and Doohan have a little scrap, and Hadjar’s teammate Tsunoda has picked up some damage to his front wing. VCARB saw both drivers start in the points but now both are running outside the top ten.

Lap 44: Stroll makes the first overtake he will need to fight back into the points, getting by Sainz for P13.

Red Bull tells Verstappen that everyone is trying to make it until the end on a one-stop strategy. We’ll see if that is indeed the case.

Ferrari tells Leclerc that “we’re losing some time in Turn 2. Maybe try one lap without doing the kerb.”

Leclerc’s response? “Nope.”

Lap 43: Current top five with intervals:

Piastri
Norris +4.429
Russell +5.186
Leclerc +5.086
Verstappen +3.531

Lap 42: F1TV theorizing that Stroll’s massive stint on the hards to start the race may unfortunately be his undoing. He is currently running in P13, but if those in front of him believe they can make it until the end because of what Stroll himself showed on the hard compound over 30-plus laps, then Stroll will have to get in the points by making some moves on the track, and not due to teams pitting in front of him.

Lap 40: A fun battle between Bearman and Gasly for the final spot in the points over the past few laps, but the rookie finally gets by Gasly into P10.

Lap 39: Piastri tells his team that he thinks he can go to the end. We’ll see if McLaren tries the one-stop, or if that was a bit of radio bluffing.

Lap 38: Norris has closed to within three seconds of Piastri in front of him. The gap from Norris to Russell behind him is 5.754 seconds at the moment.

Norris reports that he feels the first little bit of graining on his front left tire, but it feels “okay” for now.

Lap 38: Hamilton dips into the pits, and Ferrari bolts on a fresh set of hards. He is the first of the lead runners to commit to a two-stop race.

Lap 37: Stroll is finally making his stop, and will make the switch to mediums.

Verstappen is told that he has good pace, “better late than never.” We’ll see if he can put a charge together.

Lap 36: Tsunoda comes in for a pit stop and bolts on a new set of hards.

Bearman sticks another overtake, this time of Carlos Sainz Jr., and is up into P12.

“Ciao,” says the rookie which is becoming something of a catchphrase for him, as he used it earlier after making a pass.

Lap 35: Norris is told that there is a small risk of “class one” rain incoming. For those that were with us last week, according to former race strategist Ruth Buscombe Divey “class one” rain is rain that gets the track damp.

Lap 34: Okay that embed from Bluesky worked, but if you are reading on Apple News you’ll need to click the link.

Bearman makes an overtake of Jack Doohan stick for P15.

Norris is told that the hard tire looks “robust,” and that Russell has been told they are going to the end at Mercedes. We’ll see if that is more bluffing from Mercedes or not.

Lap 29: Let’s try something here:

Lap 28: Leclerc has a snap at the hairpin, and as a result has fallen back almost two seconds behind Russell.

Lap 28: Will Joseph instructs Norris to “use some of his pace.” Norris is wary about getting into the dirty air from Piastri in front of him, but has just posted the fastest lap of the race.

Leclerc remains in DRS range of Russell as the two battle for P3.

The current top ten in Shanghai:

Piastri
Norris
Russell
Leclerc
Hamilton
Verstappen
Stroll
Tsunoda
Ocon
Antonelli

Stroll has just done his best lap of the race, still on 28-lap old tires.

Lap 27: Bearman comes in for a stop, and Haas bolts on a set of mediums.

F1TV speculating that a one-stop strategy could be in the works for some teams given how well both Bearman and Stroll fared with those long stints to start the race on the hard compound.

Lap 25: Bearman locks up at the hairpin trying to finish an overtake on Stroll, but ends up running wide, and Stroll settles back into P7.

Lap 23: Stroll and Bearman are still out, the only drivers yet to stop. Both started on the hard compound, and Stroll is currently P7 with Bearman within DRS range behind him in P8.

Also an update here at the Schofield household. It is 3:42 a.m. and our cat Rosie is currently battling with a little ball in the kitchen. That might be one of the better battles to watch over the next hour.

Lap 21: Ferrari makes the switch, and Leclerc slides into P4. He is running 1.666 seconds behind Russell.

Albon makes his stop and comes out in P14. We’ll see how much his running long pays off later in the race.

Lap 20: Albon gets called in for his stop, after taking his medium tires 19 laps. Piastri is in the lead, more than three seconds ahead of Norris.

Lap 18: Norris sticks an overtake on Russell, and gets that position back. Piastri has retaken the lead at the front and Albon, who has yet to pit, is running in P2.

Leclerc still has the broken front wing after his pit stop, and he is still within DRS range of Hamilton in front of him with Hamilton in P6 and Leclerc in P7. F1TV reports that Ferrari has instructed the drivers to switch positions, but they have not done so as of yet.

Lap 16: Ocon sticks an overtake on Antonelli down the long straight, dipping his right side into the grass and kicking up some dirt.

Norris comes out of his pit stop but cannot hold off Russell as he comes out of the pits. Albon leads the Chinese Grand Prix but has yet to stop, followed by Piastri, Russell, and Norris.

Lap 14: Mercedes then immediately calls Russell in for a pit stop, which probably negates a one-stop strategy.

Piastri’s pit stop was on the slower side, which could open the door for the challengers.

Lap 14: Piastri is being called in for his pit stop.

Russell is calling for a “one-stop” strategy, which would be a bold call.

Lap 13: Antonelli and Hadjar are the next drivers to dip into pit lane. Tsunoda and Ocon bolted on the hards on their earlier stops.

Antonelli comes back out on the track and is behind Tsunoda, which gives you a sense of the power of the undercut here. But Antonelli will have tires that are one-lap fresher at the end of this stint.

Lap 12: Tsunoda is the first driver in the top ten to pit, followed by Ocon.

Lap 10: F1TV is speculating that Leclerc, who is doing a masterful job at staying within DRS range of Hamilton in front of him even with the damage to his front wing, could forego changing his front wing giving how well he is running at the moment.

Leclerc also radios into his team that “if it stays like this, I want Plan A.” But his team tells him that there would be too much traffic.

Gasly pulls in to make his first pit stop, and Alpine bolts on a set of hards.

Lap 9: Alex Albon tells his team to “relax,” stating “I am better than everyone” when warned about tire wear. Albon is running in P11, but is within DRS range of Esteban Ocon in front of him.

Lap 8: Hamilton is reporting some graining on his front left tire here on Lap 8. During the F1 Sprint race yesterday Verstappen noted that his medium tires were “dead” on Lap 10. We are firmly in two-stop range here.

Norris also reports that he is starting to “struggle, left front” to his team.

Lap 6: Norris is within DRS range of Piastri at the front. Russell is more than a second behind Norris in P3.

Leclerc is staying with Hamilton, even with the damage to his front wing. Verstappen is almost three seconds behind Leclerc in P6, but the Red Bull driver might be trying to manage his tires as much as possible.

Lap 4: Pierre Gasly reports that Fernando Alonso’s brakes are “on fire.”

That’s two drivers now providing some commentary from the cockpit so far.

Alonso pulls to the side here on Lap 4, likely to be the first retirement of the race. That would make for his second retirement in two Grands Prix this season.

“No brakes,” reports Alonso from the cockpit of his AMR25.

Lap 3: “We can survive,” said Leclerc when told of the damage to his front wing.

Lap 1: Alex Jacques on F1TV reports that the two Ferrari drivers made contact, which caused the damage to Leclerc’s front wing, including the loss of an endplate. Replays confirm that report.

3:05: Things are underway in Shanghai. Piastri holds onto the lead after a challenge from Russell, but that opens the door for Norris who jumps into P2 behind his teammate.

Verstappen radios into Red Bull that Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc has a “broken front wing.”

3:04: Lawson has pulled down pit lane. The green flag is at the back.

3:00: The formation lap is underway in Shanghai.

Only three cars are on the hard tire: Lance Stroll in P14, Oliver Bearman in P17, and Liam Lawson in P20, who will start from pit lane.

Everyone else is on the medium compound. Expect a two-stop strategy to be the primary plan today for the field.

2:57: I feel it necessary to point out that one of our cats, Rosie, is perplexed at my being awake right now.

I understand her confusion.

2:48: Toto Wolff stops by F1TV. “I think everything is possible but I think a podium would be good,” says the Mercedes boss about George Russell, who is set to start second. He points to the McLarens, Max Verstappen, and Lewis Hamilton as challengers for the win.

2:46: The run into Turn 1 from the start/finish line is 300 meters. That should make for a fun start.

2:43: “It’s all about that front left tire today,” says Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner to Jolyon Palmer as the F1TV analyst does his pre-race walk through the grid.

Again, tire degradation and clear air are the two major talking points heading into this race.

2:39: Liam Lawson, who was set to start 20th, will start from pit lane as Red Bull made changes to the suspension on his RB21 under parc ferme conditions.

2:38: My word it is early.