Oscar Piastri MCL60 secured a stunning first win for McLaren at the Chinese Grand Prix, leading from pole position to flag. The exciting race saw the disqualification of Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton. Those two drivers’ cars both failed post-race inspections, changing the outcome of the race and disqualifying them from finishing where they did.
Ferrari’s stroke of bad luck started with Charles Leclerc’s car failing a post race inspection. Likewise, Lewis Hamilton was disqualified as a result of his car not passing the mandatory checks. These disqualifications cleared a path for Mercedes’ George Russell to take third. Max Verstappen came home fourth for Red Bull and immediately lost that position to Lewis Hamilton at the start. Ferrari’s cars overtook him on the very same corner, only to be disqualified hours later.
In a twist that would add further drama to the race, the disqualification also applied to Pierre Gasly of Alpine. His car was determined to be under the minimum weight, disqualifying him from his initial 11th-place finish. The chaos in the order at the top of the race worked out to Haas’s benefit. Esteban Ocon jumped to fifth place following the disqualifications.
Lando Norris, Piastri’s teammate at McLaren, came home second, having developed a brake problem late in the race. His performance bolstered McLaren's dominance in this race, highlighting the team's strength on the circuit.
“It’s been an incredible weekend, the car has been pretty mega.” – Oscar Piastri
“Very, very happy. The hard was a much better tyre than everyone expected, so to go all the way to the end was a bit of a surprise, but a happy surprise.” – Oscar Piastri
