In one of the most boring races in recent times, McLaren showed why everyone considered them the big favourites before the start of the season.
The start was led by Oscar Piastri, who occupied the most prestigious position, and the Australian never gave up the lead. Behind him there was a serious battle, with George Russell and Lando Norris battling it out, until Norris managed to forcefully pass Russell, tagging along behind Piastri. It didn't go so well for last season's leader Max Verstappen, who immediately lost two places and, in effect, disappeared into the pack until the end of the race. This was not the case for Charles Leclerc, whose front wing was damaged in the great battle after the start, but despite this he showed better pace than his teammate, the seven-time world champion.
Shortly after, the first radio message came: “Lewis, Charles is faster than you, give him some space”, which Lewis Hamilton reluctantly complied with. We also got to the first pit stops, but the overall picture of the race had not changed substantially: in the lead was the McLaren duo, in order Piastri – Norris, followed by Russell on the podium. Further back, the two Haas and Alexander Albon were moving very promisingly on the hard compounds, with the latter clearly oriented towards a one-stopper. As mentioned in the introduction, it was certainly not the race of the season, but the different strategies led to interesting battles here and there.
Meanwhile, Yuki Tsunoda, who had shown good pace all weekend and was aiming for a seat at Red Bull, was unlucky: a piece of his front wing broke without physical contact, thus losing any chance of scoring points. As a final significant moment, came the highlight of the day, when Verstappen and Hamilton met, evoking the spirit of 2021, and fought hard for position through the corners, which ultimately went to the Dutchman. Apart from that, Oscar Piastri took a clear victory from green light to checkered flag in a quickly forgettable Chinese Grand Prix, where he passed Lando Norris and George Russell. A round of applause also goes to Haas, who scored a great double points!
Photo: AP / F1
