China GP : Piastri wins, McLaren 1-2
Piastri wins the China GP as Lando came second. George was P3 and both the Ferraris were disqualified.
Piastri dominance in China
Oscar Piastri took the Pole position in China. He was the first one at the first turn as the race started. From then on there was no looking back. He managed the pace well and brought the car home. Lando started from P3 and was able to overtake George soon enough to take on the P2 position and held on to it. McLaren is the fastest car overall but it is not without some issues. The car is on the knife’s edge when pushing and it can snap at times. This is the reason why the McLarens did not do particularly well in the Sprints as Lando botched the qualifying and was then stuck behind other cars. Still the Papaya team would be very happy with their performance in China. They are the most dominant team as of now with two really good drivers.
Ferrari fumble in China
Lewis Hamilton got the full Ferrari experience in China this weekend. He pushed the car and got Pole in the Sprints. Then we saw vintage Hamilton as he got the start right, kept the lead and won the Sprint – his first win for Ferrari. Then the pace was nowhere to be found in Race Quali and the actual Race. To add salt to the would both the Ferraris got disqualified. Lewis for too much wear at the bottom and Charles for the car being under-weight. Ferrari may have the best driver lineup but they need to work hard to get some pace in that SF-25. Also such mistakes are too costly and not expected from a team like Ferrari.
Red Bull dissonance
The nightmare for Liam Lawson continued in China. He had a pathetic Sprint session and a pathetic Quali session too as he qualified plum last at P20. This is certainly expected from a team which has the current Driver Champion and looking to fight for the Constructor’s Championship. Liam finished outside of points and would be very very disappointed with himself. He is hanging by a thin wire and it will not be surprising if Red Bull makes some changes in their driver lineup soon. Max did a decent job with his Red Bull which is clearly not the fastest car around. He managed to finish P4 and should be happy with the result.
Mercedes march in China
Mercedes have put a happy face but overall they should be disappointed. They are nowhere close to match the pace of McLarens. George is doing a job of picking up the pieces as he got on the podium in both the race. Kimi finished an average P6. The car shows signs of pace at times but it is just not consistent. Constructors is out of reach for now. At least Kimi is doing a decent job and George is pushing as much as possible.
HAAS would be one team very happy with the result. They looked pathetic in the practice sessions but seems to have bounced back. Both the HAAS finished in points with Ocon in P5 and Bearman P8. Even the Williams finished in points – Albon P7 and Carlos P10. Lance got P9 as Alonso had to retire due to brake heating issues.