McLaren dominates race in Shanghai with Mercedes driver Russell finishing third and Ferrari’s Hamilton sixth.
George Russell secured third place for Mercedes, surpassing Red Bull’s reigning champ Max Verstappen, while Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and sprint race winner Lewis Hamilton placed fifth and sixth respectively.
Piastri’s victory prevented Norris from securing a third consecutive win, yet it maintained McLaren’s unbeaten streak in the season.
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Piastri expressed satisfaction, noting, “It’s been an incredible weekend; the car performed excellently. We thought the hard tyre might not last, but it did, which was a pleasant and successful surprise.”
Meanwhile, Norris faced a late brake issue, necessitating a second-place finish instead of battling for the top spot against his McLaren teammate.
Norris maintains the championship lead with 44 points over Max Verstappen’s 36.
Despite starting second, Russell struggled against Piastri on the first corner, allowing Norris to take second place.
Both Ferraris overtook Verstappen on that same corner, dropping the world champion from fourth to sixth place.
Hamilton encountered a more challenging time on the hard compound tyre, pitting early for replacements and further hastening Leclerc, who also had a brush with Hamilton’s rear wheel which cost him part of his front wing.
Hamilton eventually had to make another stop for new tyres on lap 38, falling behind to Verstappen.
Attempting to make the hard tyres last for the race, only the front five drivers opted to change tyres late into the race, with Verstappen exploiting his conserved tyres for a late challenge on Leclerc.
Haas achieved two cars in the points with Esteban Ocon seventh and rookie Ollie Bearman tenth, while Kimi Antonelli of Mercedes and Alex Albon on his 29th birthday in a Williams bagged eighth and ninth places respectively.
