Formula 1 2025 continued with the Chinese Grand Prix, which saw another McLaren masterclass, further Ferrari woes and some great showings in the ever-growing midfield battle.
It was also the first Sprint weekend of the campaign, giving a completely false impression of what was to come in the main Grand Prix, but added to another dramatic weekend.
Oscar Piastri – 9
Sprint: Qualified: P3, Race Result: P2
Grand Prix: Qualified: P1, Race Result: P1
After a promising weekend turning into a nightmare in Melbourne, Piastri showed tremendous presence of mind and all of his usual calculated skill to reaffirm his title credentials in some style.
Whilst he had no answer to Lewis Hamilton in the Sprint, Piastri came home in second place, and followed it up a matter of hours later with pole position for the Grand Prix, his first in the sport.
It was now his race to lose, and he most certainly did not disappoint, by going on to take victory in commanding style, and with McLaren losing one of its key strengths in its flexi-wing via the FIA’s tighter directives, there appeared to be no stopping the Woking squad in giving its drivers a winning car.
Lando Norris – 8
Sprint: Qualified: P6, Race Result: P8
Grand Prix: Qualified: P3, Race Result: P2
Coming in off the back of his opening round victory in Melbourne, Norris did not get off to the best of starts. A poor Sprint Race, in which he made an opening-lap error, saw him finish eighth and some 23 seconds off the lead, but in qualifying, he was able to put his McLaren, with which he had been struggling, onto the second row.
Whilst he did not have an answer for Piastri in the race, the performance was a fine recovery from an unsatisfactory Saturday, particularly as he was required to nurse his car to the flag due to a brake issue. He leaves China still in the lead of the World Championship, and must still feel on a good footing going into the Japanese Grand Prix in two weeks.
George Russell – 9
Sprint: Qualified: P5, Race Result: P4
Grand Prix: Qualified: P2, Race Result: P3
Max Verstappen aside, it might not be a controversial statement to make by saying George Russell has been one of the most consistent F1 performers of the last year and 2025 has already vindicated such an opinion.
The Mercedes is not yet on a par with the McLaren, but Russell has been able to extract enough out of it to make it two podiums in two races.
Narrowly missing-out on the top three in the Sprint, Russell was within a tenth of Piastri in qualifying for the Grand Prix, in which he came away with third, finishing ahead of Verstappen.
If Russell continues this kind of form, then it is highly possible that he will find the top step of the podium at some point sooner than later.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli – 7.5
Sprint: Qualified: P7, Race Result: P7
Grand Prix: Qualified: P8, Race Result: P6
Antonelli’s growing reputation soared further in Australia with a calm and calculated drive to finish fourth – after damaging his car in qualifying – in his first-ever Grand Prix.
More negative circumstances were to befall the young Italian in China, too, not before a Sprint Race in which he finished ahead of Norris in seventh.
Qualifying saw him end-up eighth, just shy of four tenths adrift of his team-mate and behind fellow rookie Isack Hadjar. So far, so… so-so, but his race was, under the circumstances, another very impressive one.
It started in the worst possible way, suffering floor damage on Lap 1, but was able to overcome it with a mature drive which initially saw him finish exactly where he started, but was promoted to sixth after Ferrari’s double-disqualification.
His efforts were recognised by fans at home, who voted him Driver of the Day.
Max Verstappen – 8
Sprint: Qualified: P2, Race Result: P3
Grand Prix: Qualified: P4, Race Result: P3
The reigning World Champion’s season has, to the layman, being underwhelming and flat, but given the RB21’s shortcomings, Verstappen is undoubtedly showing just how high a bar his driving is on.
Third in the Sprint, a fraction off Norris and within only two tenths of Piastri’s pole lap, Verstappen was able to extract enough from his car to finish fourth, only five seconds behind Russell and around seven ahead of Charles Leclerc.
Red Bull has produced what is possibly its worst F1 car in years, but its star man must surely be suffering from backache, given how much he appears to be carrying the team at the moment.
Liam Lawson – 3
Sprint: Qualified: P20, Race Result: P14
Grand Prix: Qualified: P20, Race Result: P12
From a PR perspective, it might be prudent for the Milton Keynes squad to play that card more than they might usually like to, as Verstappen’s new team-mate is bringing-up the rear like the drunkest person in a conga line.
The Kiwi’s struggles, first and foremost, come from needing to adapt to the car, specifically designed for Verstappen’s driving style, but such is the RB21’s lack of overall pace, the gulf between the two men looks almost comically wide.
14th in the Sprint, out in Q1 – starting last – and finishing 12th, Lawson sounded woefully dejected on the team radio on the wind-down lap, and with rumours almost immediately surfacing about being ousted in favour of Yuki Tsunoda, the gap between now and Japan might feel like an awfully long time.
Esteban Ocon – 7.5
Sprint: Qualified: P18, Race Result: P16
Grand Prix: Qualified, P11, Race Result: P5
The American eagle looked lame and wing-clipped in Australia, but Haas found flight in Shanghai and now finally look good for a team that has, for once, broken the cost cap.
The Sprint Race was not a happy one, with Ocon finishing 16th, but he was able to improve in qualifying, and narrowly missed-out on Q3.
His race was a far better one and showed the fastest pace of all the cars of the midfield battle, bettering the Williamses, Alpines and Racing Bulls, albeit through the latter’s strategy errors.
Ocon would have no doubt been pleased with seventh, but the disqualification of its technical partners Ferrari saw him promoted up to fifth, and, for the time being at least, a justification of his decision to bail on Alpine.
Oliver Bearman – 8
Sprint: Qualified: P12, Race Result: P15
Grand Prix: Qualifying: P17, Race Result: P7
The more glass-half-empty Bearman fan might have been left feeling nervous about his F1 credentials after a woeful showing in Australia, but China showed once again that the teenager could till be branded as quite the sensation.
One place ahead of Ocon in the Sprint, Bearman’s qualifying result was undoubtedly poor, but a solid race showing saw him climb up the order to finish 10th, ensuring a double-points finish for Haas, but, being another beneficiary of Ferrari’s woes, he would leave Shanghai eighth, one place short of his best result to date.
Alex Albon – 7.5
Sprint: Qualified: P9, Race Result: P11
Grand Prix: Qualified: P10, Race Result: P7
Williams maybe didn’t quite show the speed it showed in Australia, but in a dry race, the FW47 still appears to have the minerals for a midfield battle that will last the distance of the season.
Albon’s been a very much consistent performer for the team ever since he joined, and that it is now being firmly rewarded in the fastest Williams he’s ever driven.
Finishing 10th in the Sprint, Albon made it into Q3 a couple of hours later, and in the race, he was able to maintain the pace to keep in the points, finishing ninth on the road, but seventh in the end.
Carlos Sainz – 5.5
Sprint: Qualified: P13, Race Result: P17
Grand Prix: Qualified: P15, Race Result: P10
A lot of expectation has been placed on Sainz, a proven F1 race-winner, to be a focal part of Williams’ regeneration, but he has so far been unable to get the better of his team-mate.
17th in the Sprint, his qualifying session did not fare much better, making it into Q2 but going no further.
In the race, things did not look any brighter, finishing 13th, which would have been mostly 15th had it not been for Racing Bulls’ own issues, but the disqualifications in-front of him enabled him to grab his first point of the season.
Lance Stroll – 6.5
Sprint: Qualified: P10, Race Result: P9
Grand Prix: Qualified: P14, Race Result: P9
Stroll had, in terms of matching his team-mate, one of his best Aston Martin showings to date.
Finishing ninth ahead of Fernando Alonso in the Sprint, he was narrowly out-qualified by him for the Grand Prix, and after a bad start, was running behind him when the Spaniard’s rear brakes caught fire and curtailed his afternoon.
Another to benefit from the triple-disqualification, Stroll was eventually given ninth, which looks great on paper, but given he is in his ninth season of F1, it appears he is doing the bare minimum.
Fernando Alonso – 6
Sprint: Qualified: P11, Race Result: P10
Grand Prix: Qualified: P13, Race Result: DNF
Approaching his mid-40s, Alonso must surely be aware that Adrian Newey needs to work overtime in order to rectify the problems plaguing the AMR25, and design an AMR26 which can cater for what is still a supreme set of skills.
10th in the Sprint was about as good as it got for Alonso, as he made it into Q2 for the Grand Prix, before his aforementioned brake issues ended his interest.
Isack Hadjar – 8
Sprint: Qualified: P16, Race Result: P13
Grand Prix: Qualified: P7, Race Result: P11
After his formation lap spin and subsequent DNF in Melbourne, Hadjar firmly stamped his name into F1 this weekend.
Finishing 13th in the Sprint, the Frenchman qualified seventh, less than a tenth off Leclerc’s time and would have been on for his first F1 points had his team inexplicably called him and team-mate Tsunoda in for more tyres, when all others had realised that running to the end on one stop was the way to go.
It was pleasing to see Hadjar bounce back from his embarrassment at Albert Park, and if the Racing Bulls strategists can get its act together, he will be in the points soon enough.
Yuki Tsunoda – 8
Sprint: Qualified: P8, Race Result: P6
Grand Prix: Qualified: P9, Race Result: P16
Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko suggested that Tsunoda is in “the form of his life”, quite the irony given that he was overlooked for the second seat alongside Verstappen.
The irony intensifies given the Racing Bulls car seems, in many ways, a stronger package than its ‘A Team’ counterpart, but, like Hadjar, Tsunoda left China deflated after no reward for another strong showing.
Finishing sixth in the Sprint, Tsunoda qualified in the top 10, and was also looking good for staying there in the race, but having also been called-in for fresh tyres when staying out was the better option, his chance of points were denied, and further compounded by a sudden front-wing disintegration towards the end.
Jack Doohan – 4.5
Sprint: Qualified: P16, Race Result: P12
Grand Prix: Qualified: P18, Race Result: P13
Doohan’s publicly-perceived image as a dead man walking in F1 was further enhanced in the Sprint, after receiving two penalty points on his licence and a 10-second time penalty for punting into Gabriel Bortoleto.
It does not shine a total light on the Aussie’s performance however, as he did out-qualify his experienced team-mate for the Sprint, and for the Grand Prix, he qualified just one tenth shy of Gasly, and ahead of Bortoleto and Lawson.
Doohan’s true pace and talent is not really likely to be shown in the Alpine however, as he is contending with a package that isn’t yet living-up to a team that finished P6 in the Constructors’ Championship, and his closeness to Gasly over one lap is an encouraging sign.
Pierre Gasly – 6
Sprint: Qualified: P17, Race Result: P12
Grand Prix: Qualified: P16, Race Result: P11 [DSQ]
Gasly’s weekend did not start brilliantly, finishing behind both Aston Martins in the Sprint and qualifying 16th, failing to make it out of Q1, and being slower than all his midfield contemporaries except team-mate Jack Doohan.
The Frenchman’s race saw some improvement, but ultimately, the French squad’s package seems to be the weakest within the gaggle in which it is battling, leaving him out of the points.
His disqualification for, like Leclerc, being underweight, probably did little to lower morale anymore than it already was.
Gabriel Bortoleto – 6
Sprint: Qualified: P14, Race Result: P18
Grand Prix: Qualified: P19, Race Result: P14
It seems harsh for the reigning Formula 2 champion to be handed possibly the worst car on the grid for your first year in F1, but it might be a good learning curve, because he can’t surely drive a car much worse in his career again.
Almost a whole minute behind Hamilton in the Sprint in 18th place, the Brazilian overcame an early tap from Doohan in the Grand Prix after starting on the back row to finish ahead of his team-mate, securing a bit of personal pride.
Nico Hulkenberg – 6
Sprint: Qualified: P19, Race Result: P19
Grand Prix: Qualified: P12, Race Result: P15
Finishing behind his team-mate in the Sprint was not a brilliant start for the weekend for Hulkenberg, but his Saturday ended on a brighter note with narrowly missing-out on Q3.
His Grand Prix, however, was a disaster, his Sauber behaving like the tarmac was ice off the line, sending him tumbling down the order, undoing all his hard work the day before.
Along with his team-mate, Hulkenberg was one of only three drivers to finish a lap down, and both men can be credited for doing an admirable job driving a car that must leave Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu feeling somewhat fortunate they haven’t got to drive this year.
Charles Leclerc – 7
Sprint: Qualified: P4, Race Result: P5
Grand Prix: Qualified: P6, Race Result: P5 [DSQ]
Leclerc might have been left feeling jittery after the Sprint Race, seeing his new team-mate sail to victory whilst he could only achieve fifth, over 10 seconds behind.
Qualifying fared a little better, but was still on the wrong side of the third row alongside Hamilton, and after the pair touched on Lap 1, it felt like the race was never going to get going for him or the team.
Aware his race pace was faster – despite getting front-wing damage in the incident – Hamilton let Leclerc through to mount an assault on the top four, but could not make an indentation on Verstappen’s fourth spot.
Given the Ferrari was a kilo underweight, this now seems even worse, as the post-race checks condemned him to leaving China with nothing, a reasonable performance scant consolation for an ultimately fruitless endeavour.
Lewis Hamilton – 8
Sprint: Qualified: P1, Race Result: P1
Grand Prix: Qualified: P5, Race Result: P6 [DSQ]
Hamilton’s Ferrari journey finally reached a higher gear on Saturday with victory in the Sprint, leading from the lights to the flag.
Perhaps the signs were now there that the seven-time World Champion’s relationship with the team was now starting to find some momentum, and, dare we say it, some ‘Hammertime’?
No.
It proved to be a false dawn, with Hamilton declaring the team made the car “quite a bit worse” for qualifying, only managing fifth, over two tenths off pole and closer to Hadjar’s time than he was to Piastri’s.
The prang with Leclerc did not help matters but playing the team game, Hamilton let his partner through but to no avail.
Any points would be better than none, of course, and it was a more respectable result than Melbourne, but with his underside plank suffering excessive wear, Hamilton would also be disqualified by the stewards.
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