F1 Takeaways: Piastri gets redemption with flawless victory at Chinese GP
After wet weather caused Oscar Piastri to spin out and lose a sure podium at his home race in Australia last week to begin the Formula One season, the McLaren driver bounced back with authority Sunday to win the Chinese Grand Prix.
Redemption is a dish best served at the top of the podium.
After wet weather caused Oscar Piastri to spin out and lose a sure podium at his home race in Australia last week to begin the Formula One season, the McLaren driver bounced back with authority Sunday to win the Chinese Grand Prix.
Piastri finished 9.748 seconds ahead of teammate Lando Norris as McLaren earned its milestone 50th 1-2 finish that the team was denied down under.
It’s also the second 1-2 finish for McLaren in the Norris-Piastri era following last year’s Hungarian GP, although there was no controversial swapping of the lead this time around.
Piastri delivered a flawless victory at the Shanghai circuit from pole position — after qualifying on P1 for the first time in his F1 career — with the only challenge coming right at the start from George Russell.
The Mercedes driver started P2 on the front row right beside Piastri and got the better jump out of the block. However, it wasn’t enough to complete an overtake as Piastri pinched heading into turn one and held on.
Piastri conceded the lead only once during the 56-lap race when he made his lone pit stop as he executed a one-stop strategy to perfection. He might have lost a podium at his home race, but he wasn’t going to miss out at his 1/16th home race (Piastri says he has Chinese heritage from his great-great-grandfather).
Norris started third and swooped around Russell on the outside of the turn-one bend. McLaren learned from its mistake in Hungary and had Piastri pit first on Lap 15, but that left Norris vulnerable to the undercut from Russell, who was able to reclaim his starting position.
The McLaren proved to be too much for the Mercedes, though. Norris breezed by again a couple of laps later and built up a seven-second advantage, which he needed in the later stages once a brake pedal issue reached critical levels. Norris nursed the problem to the line, finishing 1.349 seconds ahead of Russell, who earned his second straight third-place finish to start the season.
It’s the first time McLaren has won back-to-back grands prix to start a season since 2003 when David Coulthard was victorious in Australia, followed by Kimi Raikkonen in Malaysia. McLaren ended that season third in the constructors’ championship though as neither driver scored another victory.
It’s a long F1 season, and an even longer one these days, but McLaren has yet to meet its match outside of itself. Norris was roughly 3.5 seconds back of Piastri with eight laps remaining when he was told by the team to back off due to his deteriorating brake issue. Norris was also reminded that it’s better to finish second than not finish at all.
“Papaya rules” has taken a different meaning this season with McLaren winning both races with different drivers and the team not playing favourites … just yet.
Fun fact: McLaren’s first-ever 1-2 came at the 1968 Canadian Grand Prix as Denny Hulme took the victory at Mont-Tremblant ahead of the man himself, Bruce McLaren.
ROLLER-COASTER WEEKEND FOR FERRARI
Ferrari was flying high after Lewis Hamilton scored his first win with the team during Saturday’s sprint. That should have set the tone for the Grand Prix but things tumbled downhill from there.
Charles Leclerc looked to be in trouble on the opening lap as he lost a bit of his front wing during a minor collision with Hamilton around turn one. Despite the damage, Leclerc managed to make it work and didn’t take a new wing during his lone pit stop as it would have held him up longer and likely cost him precious positions.
Leclerc and Hamilton finished fifth and sixth, respectively, but Ferrari walked away empty-handed. Not only did Leclerc get disqualified for having an underweight car, but Hamilton was also dinged for a breach of technical regulations due to his plank.
Ferrari would have been third in the constructors’ standings but is now fifth behind Williams, believe it or not.
CURSE OF THE SECOND RED BULL SEAT?
Verstappen sits second in the drivers’ standings and single-handedly has Red Bull in third place in the constructors’ points as rookie teammate Liam Lawson finished out of the points again in 12th.
The Drive to Survive episode is writing itself.
Lawson, who crashed out in Australia, has had a rough start to his tenure with the big team after impressing during his short stints over the previous two seasons with Alpha Tauri/RB (now known as Racing Bulls). The 23-year-old from New Zealand has struggled mightily in qualifying, something that put his predecessor Sergio Perez on the hot seat. Lawson qualified last in the sprint and again for the grand prix.
His P12 finish doesn’t sound that bad until you take into consideration the three disqualifications.
The Red Bull seems to be set to “NES Hard” mode that only a driver of Verstappen’s calibre can tame. Even then, the four-time reigning world champion acknowledged it’s tough.
Lawson needs time to figure it out, but time isn’t on his side on a team known for swapping drivers on a whim and with Racing Bulls’ Yuki Tsunoda and Isack Hadjar waiting in the wings. (Then again, Tsunoda and Hadjar might be better off staying put at Racing Bulls and avoid becoming the next victim.)
PIT STOPS
• Mercedes remains in second place in the constructors as Russell’s rookie Kimi Antonelli also picked up points again. The 18-year-old Antonelli started and finished eighth but was promoted to sixth with Ferrari’s DSQs.
• Happy World Bear Day (no really, it’s a thing), and what a turnaround for Haas as the team went from scoreless in Australia to a double points finish in China. Esteban Ocon finished fifth, while rookie teammate Ollie Bearman was eighth. The 19-year-old Bearman was the biggest mover of the day after qualifying 17th but opted to start on the hard tire rather than the mediums and used the longer opening stint to surge. He also made an impressive manoeuvre past Lawson and added a cheeky “ciao” on the team radio.
• Youth is being served: Antonelli and Bearman became just the second set of teenagers to score points in the same Grand Prix since Verstappen and Canadian driver Lance Stroll at the 2017 Italian GP.
• Alpine is now the lone team yet to score any points. Bearman’s gain meant “le pain” for Pierre Gasly, who crossed the 11th and was later disqualified for an underweight car. Rookie Jack Doohan ended up in 13th due to a 10-second time penalty for forcing Racing Bulls driver Isack Hadjar off of the track.
• Stroll and Carlos Sainz benefited from the three DSQs as it pushed them both into the points. That gives Stroll points in back-to-back GPs to start the season while Sainz scored his first point since joining Williams.
