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'The car's been pretty mega': Piastri wins Chinese GP in McLaren 1-2 finish
Oliver Caffrey, AAP • March 24th, 2025 6:00 am
Australia's Oscar Piastri has led the Chinese F1 Grand Prix from start to finish in Shanghai | Photo: AP
Australian Formula One star Oscar Piastri has redeemed himself from a nightmare end in Melbourne seven days ago by emphatically winning the Chinese Grand Prix from pole.
The McLaren flyer never gave up the lead he earned in qualifying in Shanghai to win the third GP of his burgeoning career.
It adds to his triumphs in Hungary and Azerbaijan last year in what proved to be a breakout season for the 23-year-old.
Piastri was almost 10 seconds ahead of McLaren teammate Lando Norris in second, while Mercedes' George Russell came third for the second week in a row.
It follows up a bitterly disappointing season-opener for Piastri, who made a crucial error last Sunday when he appeared to be cruising in second on his home track at Albert Park, only to spin off and finish ninth.
Photo: AP
"It's been an incredible weekend, from from start to finish," Piastri said.
"The car's been pretty mega the whole time.
"Just proud of the whole weekend.
"This is what I feel like I deserved from last week so extremely happy.
"The team did a mega job.
"Very proud of the race we managed to pull off because it wasn't an easy one going in."
Lando Norris chases McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri in vain at the Shanghai International Circuit | Photo: AP
McLaren continue to power away from their rivals after taking out a long-awaited constructors championship last year.
Norris won in Melbourne and McLaren were set for a one-two finish there before Piastri's crucial mistake.
Piastri's fellow Australian Jack Doohan came in 16th after being unable to finish in his first home GP last Sunday. He was 14th, but then was slapped with a 10-second penalty with only a few laps to go for forcing Racing Bull's Isack Hadjar off the track to be 16th.
New Zealand's Liam Lawson had finished 15th behind Hadjar as a result of that penalty, before being promoted to 12th after Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, plus Alpine's Pierre Gasly, were all disqualified - Hamilton for a rear skid block breach, while Leclerc and Gasly's cars were found to be underweight in post-race checks.
Yuki Tsunoda pitted late due to an unfortunate front wing break, despite no visible collision, to be 19th.
Fernando Alonso was the only driver that did not finish, the Aston Martin driver was forced to retire early with smoke visible from the brakes.
The drivers will have next weekend off before heading to Japan for the next round on April 4-6.
