McLaren driver Oscar Piastri achieved his first victory at the Chinese Grand Prix from pole position on Sunday, in a race where the Australian was unreachable for his teammate, Lando Norris. McLaren reached a milestone with their 50th 1-2 finish in Formula 1.
Piastri, who achieved his first pole position on Saturday, had a great start in the race and led from the first corner, while Norris overtook Russell to move into second place.
The Australian then continued to increase his lead in a race without setbacks to secure his third victory in his career, after Hungary and Azerbaijan last year.
“(It’s) very satisfying, obviously,” said Piastri, who is now in fourth place in the standings, just 10 points behind leader Norris with 22 races left. “I think it’s always a good day when you cross the line first, but I think this one has been the most satisfying, not just the race, but the whole weekend for me. I think the two previous wins I had were very different, and I think this one has been the most complete.”
The final result was altered by the stewards after the race when Charles Leclerc from Ferrari and Lewis Hamilton, as well as Pierre Gasly from Alpine, were disqualified.
Norris had a more challenging afternoon securing his second place, as the British driver had to overtake George Russell from Mercedes and Alex Albon from Williams after his pit stop. He then followed his teammate to the checkered flag, although in the final stages he had to deal with a growing issue with the brake pedal that threatened to prevent him from finishing the race.
“Difficult race,” Norris said. “I mean, I’m satisfied, with the result, with the team, the 50th one-two for McLaren is quite an achievement. So happy to be part of that, first and foremost, and a great race by Oscar. (Also) I’m happy considering how bad my last few days have been and how much I struggled just to feel comfortable and understand how to drive the car.”
Russell completed the podium, his second consecutive of the season and Mercedes' 300th podium in F1. The British driver’s consistency keeps him in third place in the standings, one point ahead of Piastri.
“In the last three races, including the sprint as well, the result we achieved was the maximum (we could achieve), so that gives me a lot of satisfaction,” said Russell. “If we deliver a car that is capable of fighting against McLaren, I have no doubt that we can finish ahead because we are doing such solid work as a team.”
Last year’s race winner, Max Verstappen from Red Bull, finished fourth, overtaking Charles Leclerc from Ferrari in the final laps. Leclerc’s race was compromised by contact with his teammate Lewis Hamilton in the first lap, which damaged the front left wing endplate of his car, affecting its aerodynamics for the rest of the race.
However, Leclerc and Gasly, who finished fifth and sixteenth, respectively, were disqualified after it was found that each of their cars was one kilogram below the minimum weight limit at the end of the race.
Hamilton, who won the Sprint race on Saturday to secure his first victory with Ferrari, and who finished sixth on the track, was also disqualified because the thickness of the skid block on the underside of his Ferrari was below the minimum allowed limit.
Haas' double points finish was propelled by disqualifications with Esteban Ocon, who finished seventh but moved up to fifth, while rookie Oliver Bearman moved from tenth to eighth.
Mercedes rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli finished sixth, ahead of Alex Albon. Lance Stroll from Aston Martin moved up to ninth place, with Carlos Sainz from Williams taking the final point in tenth.
The next race will take place at the legendary Suzuka Circuit in Japan on April 6 to kick off a triple-header with Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.