McLaren's Oscar Piastri claims commanding victory in Shanghai while Ferrari disqualified

Oscar Piastri - Photo by Damian Hall

McLaren's Oscar Piastri stormed to victory at the Chinese Grand Prix, securing the third win of his Formula 1 career and leading a dominant one-two finish for the Woking-based outfit. Teammate Lando Norris followed in second, with Mercedes’ George Russell completing the podium in third.

“Very proud of what we were able to pull off,” said Piastri. “It wasn't an easy one, and I’m just proud of the whole team and the weekend I was able to deliver.” Reflecting on his disappointing outing in Australia, the rising star added, “This is what I feel I deserved from last week. I'm extremely happy—a one-two, obviously. Very, very happy.”

The 18th running of the Chinese Grand Prix delivered plenty of drama from the outset.

Starting from pole position for the first time in his Formula 1 career, Piastri was immediately under pressure from Russell, who started second. Piastri cut across to defend his lead into Turn 1, while Norris managed to lunge past the Mercedes for second. Further back, Ferrari’s Sir Lewis Hamilton surged forward into fourth, followed by teammate Charles Leclerc—until the two Ferraris made slight contact. Leclerc suffered front wing damage after the left endplate of his wing made contact with Hamilton’s rear-right tyre.

Moments later, Gabriel Bortoleto spun off but managed to rejoin at the back of the field. On lap 4, the first retirement came as Fernando Alonso was forced to retire his Aston Martin due to brake failure—just after Pierre Gasly reported seeing the Spaniard’s rear brakes on fire.

Hamilton opted for an aggressive strategy, making his first pit stop on lap 14, ultimately becoming the only driver among the frontrunners to stop twice. The pit cycle saw a shuffle in the midfield, with Yuki Tsunoda successfully undercutting Andrea Kimi Antonelli—an undercut being when a driver pits earlier than their rival to use fresh tyres and gain time on track before the rival makes their own stop.

Russell also temporarily benefitted from an undercut, pouncing on Norris while the McLaren driver was still bringing his tyres up to temperature. However, Norris wasted no time reclaiming the position on the following lap with the aid of DRS into Turn 1.

Ferrari’s team orders came into play on lap 20, when Hamilton was asked to swap positions with Leclerc to allow the Monegasque a shot at attacking Russell. In the closing stages, Leclerc found himself locked in a tense battle with Max Verstappen, who was able to make the pass and regain fourth place—the position he had started in. Leclerc settled for fifth.

Ultimately, Piastri never relinquished control of the race. Norris pushed hard in the second stint but couldn’t close the gap.

“George got me on the pit stop, I was a little bit nervous,” said Norris. “But the pace was a little bit better in the second stint. Tough race just for the management, and I don't think a lot of people expected a one-stop today. It was good, and Oscar drove well—he was quick the whole race. I tried to get close, but in the end I just couldn't.”

Russell, satisfied with third, said: “We knew the McLarens were a smidge quicker than us. We got a few crucial points, but well done to those two.”

Sir Lewis Hamilton initially crossed the line in sixth, without enough laps remaining to fully exploit the advantage of his second pit stop and fresh tyres. However, post-race disqualifications shifted the order. After the race, the FIA confirmed that Hamilton, Charles Leclerc, and Pierre Gasly were disqualified following technical inspections.

Hamilton’s Ferrari was found to have breached Article 3.5.9 of the FIA Formula One Technical Regulations, which stipulates that the plank assembly under the car must maintain a minimum thickness of 9mm. The post-race check revealed thickness readings of only 8.6mm on the left and center, and 8.5mm on the right—rendering the car non-compliant and leading to disqualification.

The plank assembly, often referred to simply as "the skid block", is a strip of material fitted to the underside of the car's floor. It’s designed to prevent teams from running their cars too low to the ground, which would offer a significant aerodynamic advantage by increasing downforce. The FIA mandates its thickness to ensure fairness and safety.

Interestingly, this plank is also part of what creates those dramatic sparks you sometimes see flying from underneath the cars during races. As the car bottoms out and the plank or titanium skid plates make contact with the track surface at high speeds, it produces that distinctive shower of sparks—a spectacular byproduct of F1's high-speed engineering.

Despite confirming that all technical procedures were followed correctly, Ferrari acknowledged it was a genuine team error, and the stewards ruled that there were no mitigating circumstances to prevent the standard penalty from being applied.

Leclerc and Gasly, meanwhile, were both disqualified for breaching Article 4.1, which requires cars to meet a minimum weight of 800kg post-race. Both their cars were found to be under the threshold during the standard post-race weighing procedures​.

As a result of the disqualifications, Esteban Ocon was promoted to sixth, and all drivers below moved up one position in the final classification.

Final Classification:

1.  Oscar Piastri – McLaren

2.  Lando Norris – McLaren

3.  George Russell – Mercedes

4.  Max Verstappen – Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT

5.  Kimi Antonelli – Mercedes

6.  Esteban Ocon – Haas

7.  Alexander Albon – Williams

8.  Oliver Bearman – Haas

9.  Lance Stroll – Aston Martin Aramco

10. Carlos Sainz – Williams

11. Isack Hadjar – Racing Bulls Honda RBPT

12. Liam Lawson – Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT

13. Jack Doohan – Alpine

14. Gabriel Bortoleto – Kick Sauber

15. Nico Hülkenberg – Kick Sauber

16. Yuki Tsunoda – Racing Bulls Honda RBPT

DNF. Fernando Alonso – Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes (Retired – 4 laps)

DSQ. Lewis Hamilton – Ferrari (Plank assembly non-compliance)

DSQ. Charles Leclerc – Ferrari (Car under minimum weight)

DSQ. Pierre Gasly – Alpine (Car under minimum weight)

McLaren's Oscar Piastri claims commanding victory in Shanghai while Ferrari disqualified by Damian Hall