In one of the most boring races of recent times, McLaren proved why everyone considered them the overwhelming favorites before the start of the season.
Oscar Piastri was able to start from the most prestigious position, and the Australian never relinquished the lead. Behind him, a series of fierce battles ensued, with George Russell and Lando Norris battling relentlessly, and eventually, Norris managed to forcefully overtake Russell, closing in on Piastri. Last season's leader, Max Verstappen, was not so lucky, immediately losing two places and, in fact, merging with the pack until the end of the race. Charles Leclerc, on the other hand, behaved differently, as although his front wing was damaged in the major post-start battle, he was still capable of a faster pace than his teammate, the seven-time world champion.
Soon, the first radio message was heard: "Lewis, Charles is faster than you, let him pass," which Lewis Hamilton finally complied with, albeit reluctantly. We also arrived at the first pit stops, but the race situation didn't change significantly: at the front, the McLaren duo were advancing in the order Piastri – Norris, with Russell on the podium behind them. Further back, the two Haas and Alexander Albon were moving very promisingly on the hard tires, the latter clearly playing for a pit stop. As mentioned in the introduction, it wasn't, to put it mildly, the race of the season, but the different strategies sometimes led to interesting battles.
Meanwhile, Yuki Tsunoda, who had shown promising performances throughout the weekend and was eyeing a Red Bull seat, was particularly unlucky: a piece of his front wing came off without physical contact, ruining his chances of scoring points. In the final significant moment, the highlight of the day came when Verstappen and Hamilton came face to face, recalling the spirit of 2021, fiercely battling for position through the corners, which ultimately went to the Dutchman. Aside from that, Oscar Piastri took an easy start-to-finish victory in a quickly forgettable Chinese Grand Prix, beating Lando Norris and George Russell. Praise also goes to Haas, who achieved an excellent double points score!
Photo: AP / F1
