Oscar Piastri excels in China as Ferrari are disqualified

Arguably the most dramatic moment of the weekend happened after the race, with the Ferrari duo both disqualified for excessive wear on the plank underneath the car (which means it had been run too low, gaining an advantage) as well as Leclerc’s car being 1kg underweight. Pierre Gasly also suffered a similar fate, meaning he was disqualified from P11 in his Alpine.

However, this drama doesn’t detract from the excellent job Piastri and the McLaren team have done all weekend. Finishing the sprint race in P2, he claimed his maiden pole position and never looked back. Using all of his acumen and awareness, he was able to fend off the charge of George Russell in the Mercedes into Turn 1 and controlled the race from there. An area where he has criticised before is his tyre management, but today’s performance further demonstrates his consistent improvement, proving an equal challenger to his teammate.

As for his teammate, Lando Norris finished in a fine P2 after starting from 3rd on the grid. He capitalised on the Piastri-Russell tussle into Turn 1, sweeping around the outside of the Mercedes and slotting in behind Piastri. At a track like China, which has been newly resurfaced, the undercut is extremely powerful, meaning Russell, who pitted just a lap before Norris, was able to overhaul a two-second advantage and retake P2. This didn’t last for long, though, as Norris slipped past at Turn 1 and extended this gap to over seven seconds. It was not all plain sailing, though, as with 10 laps to go, he was experiencing a deteriorating brake issue, which in the final two laps saw Russell gain over five seconds. He was, however, able to hold onto second, with the Mercedes driver rounding out the podium for a second week running.

Just behind in 4th place was the Red Bull of Max Verstappen. He yet again drove well, but the car simply lacked the pace of the leaders. In the latter stages, he demonstrated excellent speed, capitalising on Leclerc’s declining pace to take 4th. Max remained positive after the race, insisting he was happy with the team and believes they can turn their fortunes around. But what is for certain is that the reigning champion may have his toughest challenge yet to reclaim his title for the fifth year running.

Next on track were the Ferrari duo of Leclerc and Hamilton, finishing 5th and 6th before their disqualification. The Monegasque’s race almost unraveled immediately after making contact with Hamilton in Turn 1, causing permanent damage to his front wing for the rest of the race. As for his teammate, Hamilton started the weekend extremely well, claiming pole in the sprint race and charging to the win on Saturday. His pace on Sunday was just a shade of Saturday, struggling for grip and consistently slower than Leclerc. He pitted for another set of hard tyres with 20 laps to go, but this proved ineffective, resigning him to his P6 finish.

But as we now know, both Ferraris dropped out of the top 10 after being disqualified, so who were the major beneficiaries?

Esteban Ocon now finds himself in a scarcely believable 5th place, with his rookie teammate Bearman promoted up to 8th place. Haas’ turnaround from last weekend in Australia has been nothing short of sensational. In Melbourne, they were consistently the slowest team, but their hard work and perseverance saw them execute the one-stop strategy perfectly, with Bearman navigating his way back through the field after pitting for mediums. This leaves Haas just three points behind Ferrari in the Constructors' Championship, a result that seemed impossible at the start of the weekend.

Behind Ocon was Mercedes rookie Antonelli, who didn’t quite perform the same heroics as he did last time out in the wet but still showed enough consistency to bring the Mercedes home in 8th place (now 6th). A further three seconds behind was the Williams of Alex Albon, who once again has had an extremely impressive weekend. He toughed out the medium tyre for longer than anyone else and was able to utilise the fresher rubber to propel himself back up the order. His teammate Sainz, who finished in 13th but was later promoted to 10th, has had a troublesome start to the season, especially compared to Albon. He seems to be struggling to get to grips with the Williams, lacking the overall pace to fight for the top 10. However, there is no doubt that when Sainz is able to handle the car in the manner he would like, it will be an extremely impressive pairing, fighting at the top of the midfield.

Once again, Lance Stroll was able to find his way into the scoring positions, arguably with more fortune this weekend, but this doesn’t detract from the fact that it has been an extremely positive start to the season for the Canadian. His two-time world champion teammate, Alonso, retired from the race in the early stages with a brake fire, meaning Aston Martin’s hopes were pinned on Stroll. Like Bearman, he was able to use the fresh medium rubber to carve his way through the pack, being effective and efficient in his overtakes.

Heading out of the points now, and it was another disappointing weekend for Racing Bulls. With two cars starting in the top half of the grid, they had an excellent opportunity to secure strong points for the team. However, as in Australia, poor strategic decisions saw them drop down the order, unable to recover from their errors. Yuki Tsunoda then was a victim of a front-wing failure, seeing him tumble to the rear of the field in a race that had so much promise. His rookie teammate, Hadjar, found himself caught in a tussle with the Alpine of Jack Doohan, who at one stage locked up and ran wide, earning a 10-second time penalty for his troubles. For RB, it was another weekend of 'what ifs.' They could have easily finished in the top five with the chaos after the race.

Behind Hadjar was Liam Lawson in the Red Bull, with China faring no better than Australia for the Kiwi. Qualifying last and starting from the pit lane, he demonstrated very little pace, highlighting how uncomfortable he is in the car. Immediately after the race concluded, rumours began circulating that he may swap seats with Tsunoda, meaning a return to the Racing Bulls team for Lawson. In my opinion, this would be a fantastic move for both parties, as not only would it save his career, but I believe he would perform far better than he currently is in the Red Bull. Either way, for his sake, I hope he can figure out that Red Bull soon, as his current form is extremely troubling.

The final driver to finish on the lead lap was Jack Doohan, son of motorcycling legend Mick Doohan. It was a scrappy weekend for the Alpine driver; a clumsy collision in the sprint race with Bortoleto earned him a 10-second time penalty, with a similar story playing out on race day, dropping him down the field. He was able to show strong defensive driving, but he finished over 20 seconds behind his teammate Gasly, who was later disqualified for being underweight, like Leclerc.

After the disqualifications of the Ferrari drivers, one of the main takeaways from this weekend is the already large gap to McLaren in the Constructors' standings. The Woking team sits at the top of the table on 78 points, with Ferrari languishing in 5th with only 17 points. I don’t want to be as dramatic as to say that this is already the championship over for the Prancing Horses, but in a season as tight as this, where McLaren appear to be the strongest team, this 61-point deficit could be crucial.

Formula One returns in two weeks' time at the Suzuka Circuit in Japan. The fast and flowing ribbon of tarmac is a fan favourite and is certain to provide excellent racing. You won’t want to miss it!