McLaren achieved their 50th Formula 1 one-two finish at the 2025 Chinese Grand Prix, and as great an achievement as that is, the team have a dilemma now.
After the hiccup in the Sprint part of the weekend in Shanghai, McLaren went on to dominate the main race on Sunday despite George Russell's best efforts to crash their party after splitting them in qualifying.
It was a tricky weekend for all the teams as the Shanghai International Circuit was resurfaced ahead of the race, which rendered all the tyre data useless, while having one practice session did not help.
That is not to mention the increase in tyre pressure Pirelli mandated on the teams to make sure the tyres did not fail under the loads caused by the track. One would think by now Pirelli would not have to resort to such measures...
As a result, some teams got it wrong in Sprint qualifying and the Sprint race, and others didn't while some made the right changes ahead of qualifying, and the others didn't.
But basically the trend that started in Melbourne a week earlier continued in Shanghai with some twists. McLaren are still the team to beat, Mercedes are maximizing their results, Red Bull are in crisis, and Ferrari... Well, who knows what Ferrari are doing...
Having said that, let's get down to business with our takeaways from the 2025 Chinese Grand Prix.
Eeny Meeny Miney Moe
McLaren proved they genuinely have the best car on the current F1 grid despite a hesitant start to their weekend in China, especially as Lando Norris wasn't able to put in a decent lap around the Shanghai International Circuit, and in this case, anything less than a pole lap is not decent.
Instead, it was Oscar Piastri who stepped up and delivered the goods for the Woking squad, finishing second in the Sprint Race, then sticking it on pole for the Grand Prix on Sunday, which he went on to win effortlessly.
As much as Zak Brown and Andrea Stella are ecstatic about their team's 50th one-two, they now have some head-scratching to do.
Usually, a team will wait for a few races before deciding which driver they will back as their #1, but Piastri and Norris have presented their team with the inevitable predicament after two races. Who will you back?
Logic suggests Norris should be the chosen one based on how he performed in 2024, taking the fight to Max Verstappen, and despite falling short, he was the favorite at the start of 2025.
But in just the second race, Norris was making errors while Piastri bounced back from his disappointing home race in Melbourne in style.
McLaren now have two genuine F1 title contenders, and they cannot afford to slip up in terms of how they manage them, as Verstappen, despite his woeful RB21, will be lurking, ready to pounce when the Papaya rules, whatever those are, fail to keep Norris and Piastri in check.
McLaren can be excused for messing up the driver management in 2024, but there is no hiding this year. The drivers' championship will be the target in addition to defending the constructors'.
So in the two-week break ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix, Brown and Stella should do some serious thinking to decide how they manage their drivers going forward.
From hero to zero... To subzero
On to Ferrari, their Chinese Grand Prix weekend can simply be described as a roller coaster from the highs of the Sprint part to the lows of the Grand Prix and the abyss they fell into after that.
Let's start with the positives. Lewis Hamilton was better than Charles Leclerc from the start, showing his move to Ferrari was not just a marketing stunt, and delivered Sprint Race pole and went on to masterfully win the Sprint, keeping both Verstappen and Piastri at bay. Classic Lewis...
But then, with parc ferme conditions lifted and the teams getting a chance to revise their car setups before qualifying, Ferrari went on and did what they do best: shoot themselves in the foot.
They justified their low qualifying positions with a car setup more biased towards the race, and after both Ferraris survived a first-lap clash that broke the front wing of the #16 car, both Leclerc and Hamilton failed to make inroads despite the latter being moved aside so his teammate (somehow faster without a front wing endplate) could try and chase down Russell for the final podium position, which he failed to do.
Hamilton's two-stop strategy meant he dropped further out of contention, while Leclerc's one-stop meant Verstappen could catch him and deny him fourth.
And as if that wasn't enough, the stewards found that Leclerc's car was underweight after the race even with a new front wing fixed to the car, and it seems they fell prey to the same issue that denied Russell his win at Spa in 2024. The tyres were too worn and lost too much rubber; the car ended up underweight.
Hamilton's car, on the other hand, was found to be running too low, which meant his plank was excessively worn, and both Red cars were disqualified. Classic Ferrari.
Brown said Ferrari might end up being the main challenge to McLaren's constructors' title. Given how last Sunday went down, I don't understand how...
I'm fine!
That is what Verstappen basically said after finishing fourth in the 2025 Chinese Grand Prix, which was a weekend of rodeo bull riding for the champ.
Again, he proved how good a driver he is by finishing third in the Sprint Race and fourth in the Grand Prix while always featuring in the sharp end of proceedings, while poor Liam Lawson, yet to take his bull by the horns, languished way down the grid.
The Kiwi was 20th in Sprint qualifying and 20th in the qualifying for the Grand Prix as well after what was another inexplicable performance from the young Red Bull Racing driver.
But Red Bull leave Shanghai with many questions. How long will Verstappen remain "fine" with the situation? What the hell is wrong with Lawson? What is wrong with the RB21? Can it be fixed in 2025?
Most importantly, should they throw in the towel and focus on their 2026 car? That would deny Verstappen a chance at a fifth consecutive F1 title, and then he will definitely not be "fine".
There have been talks that Red Bull are contemplating having Yuki Tsunoda in their RB21 for the Japanese Grand Prix, which would be a big mistake if you ask me. A more detailed explanation is there in my latest Editor's Desk.
Tough time for Red Bull, and I would not want to be in Christian Horner's shoes at the moment.
Chinese Grand Prix Quick Hits
- Another strong weekend from Mercedes with Russell apparently relishing his new role as team leader with his track performances justifying Toto Wolff's faith in him.
Wolff's faith in Kimi Antonelli seems to be justified so far, as the rookie enjoyed another clean weekend with the team. - Haas did well to bounce back from their miserable weekend in Melbourne. Oliver Bearman did quite well to bounce back from his crash-marred debut weekend with the team.
A double-points finish was a great reward, and Ferrari were so gracious to disqualify themselves, giving what is their de facto junior team a bigger points haul. - A strong weekend for Isack Hadjar and Tsunoda, but the Racing Bulls' two-stop strategy backfired and meant they couldn't deliver the result they deserved.
- What was said about Ferrari applies to Alpine and Pierre Gasly's disqualification. Oh, how I would have liked to have been in the post-race debrief just to know what Flavio Briatore said.
- Finally, F1 lost Eddie Jordan just as the Chinese Grand Prix weekend was building up. A great loss of one of the old guard, an iconic character of our sport.
RIP, Eddie.
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