Winner: Oscar Piastri

After spinning out in front of his home crowd in Melbourne, Oscar Piastri came to China with something to prove. And he did just that. He was quick not just in the race, but also in qualifying, where he took his first-ever F1 pole position. He even finished second in the sprint race, missing out on the maximum points by just one.

On Sunday, Piastri drove a calm and clever race. While others made mistakes, he stayed cool under pressure. His McLaren teammate Lando Norris had brake problems later in the race, which prevented him fromany potential fight with the Australian, but even before that, Piastri looked like the faster driver.

This win moves Piastri up to fourth in the championship standings, and more importantly, it shows that he’s ready to fight at the front. After a mixed 2024 season, he now looks more confident, more consistent, and more dangerous than ever. If he keeps this up, 2025 could be the year he becomes a serious title contender.

Loser: Ferrari

What started as a weekend full of promise for Ferrari quickly turned into a disaster.

On Saturday, things looked bright. Lewis Hamilton, now driving for Ferrari, won the sprint race from pole position, giving fans hope that the team was ready to fight for wins. But by Sunday, that hope had faded fast.

In qualifying for the main race, both Ferraris struggled. They couldn’t match the speed of the McLarens, and ended up starting further back. Charles Leclerc and Hamilton both had a tough time during the grand prix itself. Leclerc even touched Hamilton at the start – luckily without major damage – and later Ferrari had to let Leclerc pass Hamilton, even though Leclerc had a broken front wing.

The team didn’t have the pace to fight for the podium, and things only got worse after the race. Both Ferrari drivers were disqualified. Leclerc’s car was underweight and Hamilton’s had too much wear on the plank underneath, meaning Ferrari lost all their points from Sunday.

READ MORE: Why was Lewis Hamilton disqualified from the Chinese Grand Prix?

Winner: Haas

Just a bit over a weeks ago in Australia, Haas looked like they were in big trouble. They were slow, out of the points, and sounding the alarm. But in China, everything changed.

Esteban Ocon had a brilliant drive, finishing in fifth place. He made great overtakes, including one with two wheels on the grass on Kimi Antonelli, and the team’s early pit stop strategy worked perfectly. His speed was solid all race long.

Even more good news came from rookie Oliver Bearman. After a tough first race in Melbourne, he stayed calm in Shanghai, using a different tyre strategy to work his way through the field. He finished eighth on the road, and thanks to Ferrari’s disqualifications, he was later promoted to fourth in the final points tally.

With both drivers scoring, the American team now sit sixth in the team standings.

Loser: Red Bull

Max Verstappen, couldn’t hide his frustration with the RB21. The car looked difficult to handle all weekend and lacked the usual Red Bull speed. Verstappen managed to fight back later in the race, but the fact that he had to fight at all says a lot about the team’s struggles.

Things were even worse for Liam Lawson. The young driver, who recently stepped up to replace Sergio Pérez, had a weekend to forget. He qualified last for both the sprint and the main race, and even after three disqualifications helped him move up, he could only finish 12th. There are already rumours that Red Bull might replace him as soon as the next race in Japan.

Reports suggest the team may have used Lawson’s car for extreme set-up experiments, which could explain some of the poor performance. But even with that in mind, his future with Red Bull is clearly under pressure. The team is holding meetings this week, and it seems they may already be losing patience.

Winner: George Russell

George Russell may not have grabbed headlines like some others, but he’s quietly becoming one of the standout drivers of 2025.

The British driver finished third in China, just like he did in Australia, and now sits third in the Drivers’ standings with 35 points. That’s only nine behind Lando Norris, who has made more mistakes so far. Russell might not have the fastest car, but he’s getting the most out of it.

In Shanghai qualifying, he managed to split the two McLarens after Norris made a small mistake. In the race, Russell knew he couldn’t beat them on raw pace, but he stayed calm, raced smartly, and finished well ahead of Red Bull and the Ferraris. It was another strong and steady performance.

Russell is also doing a great job leading the Mercedes team this season. With Lewis Hamilton now at Ferrari, all eyes are on Russell and he’s handling the pressure well. While others around him are taking risks or making errors, Russell’s consistency is proving valuable. If he keeps this up, he could even be involved in the title fight.

Loser: Racing Bulls

Racing Bulls might just be the most frustrated team leaving China. Once again, they showed great speed, but poor strategy cost them badly.

Both Yuki Tsunoda and rookie Isack Hadjar started the grand prix inside the top 10 and were running well in the early stages. At one point, they were in seventh and ninth, looking set for solid points. But the team made the wrong call by choosing a two-stop strategy, while most other teams made only one stop. That decision dropped both drivers out of the points.

To make matters worse, Tsunoda’s front wing failed mid-race due to heavy vibrations, forcing an extra stop. He ended up in 16th, and Hadjar, who had outqualified Tsunoda on Saturday, just missed out on points in 11th. That’s especially painful when rival teams like Haas made the right calls and scored big.

There are still some positives. The car looks quick on different types of tracks, and Hadjar bounced back well after a rough weekend in Australia. Tsunoda also picked up a few points in the sprint race, so it wasn’t a complete disaster.