Chinese GP: Winners and Losers featuring Max Verstappen’s dismal outing

The Chinese GP was an eventful race. Unlike the season-opener in Australia, the Shanghai weekend was less chaotic with no cars crashing out from the Grand Prix. Nevertheless, it remained an exciting sight for fans as McLaren’s Oscar Piastri brought home an impressive 1-2 finish for the team on Sunday, after defeating teammate Lando Norris.

Across the grid, there were some exciting performances. Mercedes prodigy Kimi Antonelli had another scot-free weekend as the Italian driver crossed the line in eighth place. While Esteban Ocon turned things around for Haas with a seventh place finish.

Lewis Hamilton had a rollercoaster of a weekend. The seven-time world champion dominated the Sprint on Saturday but was nowhere close on Sunday. Now, let’s delve in to find out the winners and losers from the second round of the 2025 Formula 1 season.

Here are the winners and losers from the Chinese GP:

Winner – Oscar Piastri

Oscar Piastri was under scrutiny after a disastrous weekend at his home race in Melbourne. The Australian driver lost out on a definitive podium finish due to a mistake in tricky conditions. However, Piastri seemed to have been motivated even more to perform this time around.

The 23-year-old secured pole position after outperforming Norris. In the race on Sunday, Oscar Piastri retained his lead at Turn 1 and simply did not look back. The McLaren star was in a league of his own as he comfortably took the third win of his career. Once again, Piastri has shown that he is ready to battle it out for the world title.

Loser – Max Verstappen

Max Verstappen had a rather underwhelming weekend in Shanghai. The four-time world champion was close to potentially battling Lewis Hamilton at the start of the Sprint, but simply did not have the pace to challenge the Ferrari driver.

The main race was not any better. Verstappen lost two positions at the start and fell to sixth place. The RB21 was not quick enough to be a real challenger for the podium. Ultimately, the Red Bull star could only salvage fourth place, further raising concerns over his campaign this season.

Winner – George Russell

George Russell might’ve been the most under-the-radar driver at the front this season. However, this has allowed the Mercedes driver to remain consistent and take home a second podium in a row this weekend.

Russell has not really been in the fight for victory at the past two weekends. Yet, the British driver has managed to stay in the mix and bag crucial points for Mercedes. His two podiums have allowed the Silver Arrows to stand at second place in the standings, right behind McLaren.

Loser – Lando Norris

Lando Norris won the Australian GP last weekend. However, the 25-year-old seemed to have a complete turnaround in Shanghai. The McLaren star was nowhere close in the Sprint on Saturday, and qualified third for the main race.

Norris did make up a place right at the start after overtaking George Russell. However, from then on, he was stuck in second place. The 25-year-old blamed a faulty brake pedal for his struggles. Though, it seemed that he was not really on par with Piastri in Shanghai.

Winner – Alex Albon

Alex Albon makes another entry to the winners list this weekend. The British-Thai driver headed to China after an impressive outing at the Australian GP. The 29-year-old carried momentum to the Shanghai weekend and finished in ninth place.

Albon was confident throughout the race, as heard on team radio. The Williams driver was even far ahead of his new teammate Carlos Sainz. This will further bolster his position within the British team and ensure he doesn’t lose influence to Sainz.

Loser – Liam Lawson

The infamous Red Bull second seat has not been kind to Liam Lawson. The Kiwi driver crashed out in Australia during his debut for Milton Keynes. This time around, things were not any better. Lawson was a no-show in the sprint race, failing to break into the points-scoring positions.

The main race on Sunday was not any better. Lawson started from the pitlane and barely made any progress. He was even outperformed by Racing Bulls driver Isack Hadjer. This has further raised questions over Liam Lawson’s future at Red Bull.

Honorable mentions: Winners – Esteban Ocon, Kimi Antonelli, Oliver Bearman

Honorable mentions: Losers – Fernando Alonso, Carlos Sainz, Nico Hulkenberg