The Chinese Grand Prix was not a modern classic of a race with unusually low tyre degradation sapping the jeopardy out of what was set up to be a tense Shanghai contest
Martin Brundle lamented a key decision made at the Chinese Grand Prix which he felt “took the sting” out of the race. It proved to be a memorable day for those of a McLaren persuasion as Oscar Piastri took victory ahead of team-mate Lando Norris.
It marked McLaren’s 50th one-two finish in their history and cemented their status at the team to beat in 2025. Other than that, there wasn’t a great deal to write home about in terms of exciting racing action.
The safety car did not need to make an appearance while Fernando Alonso was the only driver to retire after an early brakes failure. And most drivers made fewer pit stops than expected with the tyres lasting longer than they did a day earlier.
Degradation was very high in the sprint race, which made overtaking difficult as drivers struggled to find grip. In response, suppliers Pirelli mandated higher pressures for the main Grand Prix.
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But that, combined with lower track temperatures, saw things swing too far in the other direction. It went from everyone having to make two pit stops at a minimum to most getting away with only having to make one trip to the pit lane, making strategies easier and reducing risk of mistakes which could have upset the order.
And in Brundle’s view, it took something away from the spectacle. Speaking with Sky Sports F1 commentator David Croft live on air after the conclusion of the Grand Prix, he said: “I think there was a lot of pacing going on, wasn’t there, in terms of getting to the end.
“But, in the end, those hard compound tyres were peachy, weren’t they? Forty-two laps Piastri did on his.” Croft replied: “[Kimi] Antonelli did 44, [Esteban] Ocon did 45.” And Brundle continued: “[Pierre] Gasly 46 laps so, blimey, they’ve done nearly the whole race on them.
“It kind of took the sting out of it a little bit, didn’t they? They were a bit too good today weren’t they, those tyres?” And Croft added: “Maybe – we’ll go a step softer for next year but the cars will be very different, the engines will be very different, the fuels very different in 2026.”
In the end, most of the excitement of the day came long after the chequered flag had flown. It was hours after the race that the stewards confirmed that Ferrari pair Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, along with Alpine driver Gasly, had all been disqualified from the classification.
Leclerc and Gasly were both found to have an underweight car by one kilogram, in violation of the technical regulations. And Hamilton’s machine also failed post-race checks, which found an illegally high level of wear to the plank underneath the car indicating that the ride height was too low.
