RACE REPORT | F1 China 2025

Oscar Piastri emerged victorious in a thrilling race filled with intense battles, strategic pit stops, and unexpected twists. Lando Norris and George Russell completed the podium, while Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc engaged in a fierce fight for fourth place. Rain threatened in the final laps, adding to the drama, but McLaren showcased strong pace throughout.

Even though George Russell had a good start, he wasn’t able to overtake Oscar Piastri, who dived into Turn 1. At Turn 7, Lando Norris overtook Russell. Further back on the grid, Max Verstappen lost positions on Lap 1 at the hairpin due to an oversteer problem, falling behind the two Ferraris. Liam Lawson was able to make up some positions in the first lap, moving from 20th to 18th.

On Lap 1, Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton made slight contact, but it didn’t cost them positions. However, it did damage Leclerc’s front wing.

On Lap 4, Pierre Gasly reported that Fernando Alonso’s brakes were on fire. Moments later, Alonso slowed down, and smoke was visible coming from his brakes. Due to this brake issue, Alonso retired from the race on Lap 4. By Lap 5, the McLarens at the front started to pull away from George Russell in third.

Also on the lap 6, Gabriel Bortoleto spun and ended up in the gravel but managed to rejoin the race.

On Lap 8, Lando Norris reported that he was starting to struggle with his front left tire while chasing his teammate Oscar Piastri for the lead. The first driver to pit was Pierre Gasly on Lap 11, switching from mediums to hards. Yuki Tsunoda was the first driver in the top 10 to pit, shuffling the order slightly. George Russell set the fastest lap on Lap 13. Piastri pitted on Lap 14, dropping from first to fourth behind Alex Albon, while Norris took the lead with Leclerc behind him.

Norris pitted on Lap 16 and returned ahead of Russell, but Russell was faster and managed to undercut him. Albon briefly led the race, despite not having pitted yet, with Piastri behind him. Leclerc pitted but continued with his damaged front wing, which surprisingly turned out to be more effective than an undamaged one. Norris regained third place after diving into Turn 1 on Lap 18. Meanwhile, Piastri retook the lead on Lap 17.

Hamilton and Leclerc were battling closely, with Leclerc slightly faster despite his broken wing. Eventually, Leclerc overtook his teammate and started moving up the field. On Lap 19, Norris overtook Albon, who impressively held his place despite being on old tires.

A controversial moment occurred when Ferrari executed a position swap, as Leclerc had better pace. When Ferrari instructed Hamilton to swap positions, he wasn’t happy about it. On Lap 24, we saw Oliver Bearman and Lance Stroll battling for eighth place, impressively, without having pitted yet. Bearman attempted to dive in and overtake Stroll but locked his front tires and was unable to complete the move.

Carlos Sainz overtook Jack Doohan on Lap 26 to move up to 15th. Also on Lap 26, Bearman asked his team to take action, and they responded with a pit stop. Leclerc put pressure on Russell but was unable to overtake him as Russell maintained a slight pace advantage. Norris set the fastest lap on Lap 28, showing strong pace. His team asked him to use that pace to catch Piastri, but Norris responded that he didn’t want to get into Piastri’s dirty air, which would degrade his tires faster. The team later informed Norris that they had asked Piastri to assist him.

On Lap 30, Gabriel Bortoleto set the fastest lap. Oliver Bearman continued his impressive performance, overtaking Liam Lawson on Lap 31. On Lap 32, Leclerc was still behind Russell, unable to overtake him. Bearman, still flying, overtook Jack Doohan and moved up to 15th.

On Lap 36, Norris received news of a possible rain shower three laps before the end. Bearman overtook Sainz and continued his remarkable stint, making multiple overtakes. Meanwhile, Verstappen started catching up to Hamilton, who then pitted for fresh tires. Verstappen found his pace and began closing in on Leclerc. Ferrari asked Leclerc to try a lap without using the curb, to which he replied, “No.”

With updates for Norris suggesting Class 1 rain was expected only on the final lap, Jack Doohan attempted an overtake but locked his wheels, still managing to force both himself and Isack Hadjar wide. The Racing Bulls had a poor strategy, and to make matters worse, Yuki Tsunoda suffered front wing damage. It was unclear how it happened, but he had to pit. Doohan took advantage of Tsunoda’s struggles and moved up to 14th. Replays showed that Tsunoda’s front wing broke due to vibrations from Sainz’s car ahead.

Doohan’s controversial overtake was under investigation by the FIA. Meanwhile, Leclerc and Verstappen were fighting for fourth place, with Verstappen closing the gap to under two seconds. Doohan received a 10-second penalty for forcing Hadjar off the track, yet they continued battling. On Lap 52, Verstappen closed in to within 0.4 seconds of Leclerc but was unable to pass. On Lap 53, Verstappen fought side by side with Leclerc and managed to overtake him, moving up to fourth place.

On Lap 55, McLaren informed Norris that his pedal situation was becoming critical, and he began slowing down slightly. Meanwhile, Hadjar and Doohan were still fighting. On the last lap, Norris struggled significantly with his brakes, allowing Russell to catch up.

In the end, Oscar Piastri won the race, with Norris finishing second and Russell close behind in third.

Shortly after the race, three drivers were disqualified — Leclerc and Gasly for failing to meet the minimum car weight and Hamilton because the rear skid block on his Ferrari was found to be below the minimum thickness.

2025 Chinese Grand Prix results