The Highs and Lows of the 2025 Chinese Grand Prix
Mar 25
5 min read
Another race, another round, another set of winners and losers… Though I prefer to call them “highs” and “lows”. Compared to the Australian Grand Prix, this looked like a relatively tame promenade in the park. However, very critical events took place this weekend, and I daresay that a particular piece of news overshadowed the race itself. Let me walk you through four primary takeaways:
High - Victories for Lewis Hamilton and Oscar Piastri
Lewis Hamilton not only took pole for the first sprint race of the season, but he also won. The Ferrari driver zipped ahead of Max Verstappen (who qualified second and finished third after struggling with his front tires) and Oscar Piastri (who qualified third and finished second). It was a delightful moment for Hamilton, Ferrari, and Tifosi worldwide. It was Hamilton’s first win with Ferrari and hopefully the first of many.
Oscar Piastri, after a heart-wrenching result at his home race in Melbourne, entered this weekend with an ice-cold vengeance, and boy, did it pay off. After a second-place win in the sprint, the McLaren driver seized pole position (his first ever) for the race and secured a third Grand Prix victory. Teammate Lando Norris, who was not shy about expressing his troubles with the car on the team radio, finished behind him in second place, and Mercedes driver George Russell finished in third.
Low - A Triple Disqualification
These post-race announcements were so painful that they nearly overshadowed the race itself. There’s no sugar-coated way to convey this, so I shall state this plainly: Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc, and Pierre Gasly were disqualified from the Chinese Grand Prix for technical infringements.
To put it succinctly, Leclerc and Gasly’s cars were found to be underweight post-race after draining out the fuel. FIA rules state that the vehicles need to weigh at least 800 kg without fuel in competitive circumstances. Both cars weighed 799 kg. As a refresher, this was why George Russell was disqualified after winning the Belgian Grand Prix last season. Hamilton’s car, on the other hand, had a different infringement. The rear skid block, the plank on the car's underside, was below the minimum 9mm thickness required.
I should emphasize that technical errors are not the fault of the drivers. They are usually genuine team errors, more often than not a miscalculation on their part.
Rules and all aside, this, frankly, sucks. Alpine taking a disqualification hit with Gasly is one thing, but a double disqualification with Ferrari? After that strategy muck-up last week? Yeah, that hurts both drivers, especially after Hamilton’s Sprint win.
High - Alex Albon’s Lively Start to the Season
After finishing fifth in Australia, the Williams driver finished seventh place (post triple disqualification) in the Chinese Grand Prix. He, by the way, qualified P10 for the race. He has so far earned 16 points in the driver rankings, which is more than the 12 points he had at the end of last season. This might not mean much to a Big Four team (McLaren, Ferrari, Red Bull, and Mercedes), but to a team that has had the prime epitome of a flop era, this is HUGE. I want to predict playfully that he will have at least one podium finish this season. Williams has been scheming too much for this not to come to fruition.
Low - Liam Lawson in the Red Bull
As someone who strongly felt that Red Bull needed up their mind about Sergio Perez before it costed them the 2024 Constructors’ Championship (which it did at a third place finish) let me clear the air on my stance about Liam Lawson’s performances so far - his inability to get past Q3 in Qualifying seasons and his inability to seize points compared to Verstappen’s top five finishes is going to be even more costly Red Bull’s standings in the Constructors’ Championships if they fail to either resolve the issue with Lawson’s performances or replace him as soon as possible.
At least Perez was doing well in the first rounds of last year’s season before everything went downhill. Following his DNF in Australia, Lawson qualified P20 and finished P14 for the Sprint. He went on to qualify P20 for the race and finished 12th (after adjusting for the disqualifications). For any Big Four team, Red Bull especially, this is beyond a terrible start to the season.
Will Red Bull switch him out for Yuki Tsunoda in time for the Japanese Grand Prix, as the rumor mill suggests? It’s hard to say. I wouldn’t be surprised if they insisted on waiting a few more races, as Red Bull seems stubbornly insistent that Lawson was and still is the better choice over Tsunoda for the second seat. If the New Zealander continues to struggle in upcoming races while Tsunoda does well in the VCARB seat, the team can’t and shouldn’t be shocked at the side eye that everyone is giving them.
Coralie's Addendum: As of March 25th, 2025, online reports indicate that Yuki Tsunoda may very well replace Liam Lawson at the Japanese Grand Prix. My fingers, and everyone else's, are crossed that this is true. Expect a follow-up once an official announcement is made.
Special Mentions
High: Points for Haas! Esteban Ocon finished in fifth place (considering disqualifications), and Ollie Bearman finished in eighth place (same note as before), giving the team a sixth place in team rankings with a total of fourteen points. Not bad for spoons in a gunfight, eh?
Low: Fernando Alonso retiring from a race for the second time in a row due to very concerning issues with his brakes.
High: Lance Stroll finished in the back-to-back races in the top ten without any crashes or hiccups. He finished sixth in Australia, ninth in the Sprint (just outside points, but oh so close), and brought in all of Aston Martin’s ten team points. This is a silver lining to Aston Martin’s shaky start to the season.
Low: Jack Doohan finished P13 in the race and P20 in the Sprint. He’s not exactly having a great time… And those Franco Colapinto replacement rumors aren’t going to quiet down soon.
Another Look At The Rankings
Lando Norris still leads the Driver Standings at 44 points. Max Verstappen is still in second place at 36 points. While the Red Bull driver is only eight points behind Norris, he will have to put up quite a fight for second place in Japan. And who, exactly, are Verstappen’s contenders? George Russell, in third, has 35 points, and Oscar Piastri, in fourth, has 34 points. Eight points may be a slight gap, but surpassing each other by one or two points in rankings will have a ripple effect that can make a massive difference in both the Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships.
Speaking of Constructors, McLaren still leads with 78 points. Mercedes is in second place with 57 points, while Red Bull is in third place with 36 points (mind you, these are solely Verstappen’s points). Here’s the kicker that is quite bemusing - Williams and Ferrari are tied at 17 points, though the British team is technically in fourth place. I should point out that Williams' points are mostly Alex Albon (he’s currently sixth in the driver rankings)... Carlos Sainz seems to be working through vehicular pains and an old chassis.
So, here are some of my questions as we advance: Can Lando Norris keep the lead in the Drivers’ Championship standings? Who will emerge as his immediate challenger for second place? Can Williams keep up the good work with Albon and, hopefully, Sainz? Will Ferrari recover? And what on earth will Red Bull do with Liam Lawson?
Perhaps the Japanese Grand Prix will have the answers.
Take a deep breath. Take two if you’re part of the Tifosi. I’ll see you all in Round Three.
