Teams and drivers were stunned to discover how much quicker their cars lapped the Shanghai International Circuit last weekend following its resurfacing.
The result was a cagey, processional sprint race followed by a grand prix which drivers started tentatively, then pushed their cars harder once they realised the untried hard tyres would go the distance.
It was a weekend for stand-out performances of the positive and negative kind. Some drivers responded well to the uncertain conditions but others struggled to extract performance of their cars or avoid incidents with rivals.
Here’s RaceFans’ verdict on the entire field.
Lando Norris
Sprint race start: 6th
Sprint race finish: 8th
Qualified: 3rd (2 places behind team mate, +0.152s)
Start: +1 place
Strategy: One-stop (M-H)
Finished: 2nd (1 place behind team mate)
▼ Two sub-par runs in SQ3 left him sixth instead of on the front row
▼ Ran wide at turn six at the start of the sprint race and gave away three places
▲ Gained one place from Stroll to finish eighth
▼ Couldn’t improve on Q2 time and took third on grid
▲ Passed Russell at start and re-passed him after pit stop
▶ Had to manage brake problem at end of race
5/10: Made up for a scrappy couple of days with a cool-headed performance in the grand prix
Oscar Piastri
Sprint race start: 3rd
Sprint race finish: 2nd
Qualified: 1st (2 places ahead of team mate, -0.152s)
Start: Held position
Strategy: One-stop (M-H)
Finished: 1st (1 place ahead of team mate)
▼ Also slipped up in SQ3, but not as badly as his team mate
▲ Passed Verstappen easily for second place in sprint race
▲ Off Norris’s pace to begin with in qualifying but breakthrough in Q3 secured pole
▶ Controlled the race from the front for third career grand prix win
7/10: Took full advantage of his team mate’s slip-ups in qualifying
Charles Leclerc
Sprint race start: 4th
Sprint race finish: 5th
Qualified: 6th (1 place behind team mate, +0.094s)
Start: +1 place
Strategy: One-stop (M-H)
Finished: Not classified
▼ Struggled with tyre overheating more than team mate in sprint race qualifying
▶ Joined Hamilton on third row of grid
▼ Clipping Hamilton at the start could have had far worse consequences for both
▲ Strong race pace despite front wing damage
▼ Couldn’t keep Verstappen behind for fourth
▼ Pace dropped off noticeably at end of second stint
▶ Disqualified when car was found to be underweight
6/10: Ferrari’s mid-weekend balance shift seemed to suit him better than Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton
Sprint race start: 1st
Sprint race finish: 1st
Qualified: 5th (1 place ahead of team mate, -0.094s)
Start: +1 place
Strategy: Two-stop (M-H-H)
Finished: Not classified
▲ Claimed pole position for sprint race with clean single run in SQ3
▲ Controlled sprint race for first win as a Ferrari driver
▶ Less happy with car after set-up changes
▼ Suggested he let Leclerc passed, then took several laps to do so
▶ Disqualified due to plank wear
6/10: Early signs the new relationship is working, but still problems to iron out
| Become a RaceFans supporter and
Max Verstappen
Sprint race start: 2nd
Sprint race finish: 3rd
Qualified: 4th (16 places ahead of team mate, -0.75s)
Start: -2 places
Strategy: One-stop (M-H)
Finished: 4th (8 places ahead of team mate)
▲ Came very close to denying Hamilton pole for sprint race
▶ Knew defending from Piastri was a lost cause in sprint race
▼ Passed by both Ferraris at start
▲ Pace improved in second half of grand prix, re-passed Leclerc for fourth
7/10: Rare to see him lose places off the start, but otherwise solid as ever
Liam Lawson
Sprint race start: 19th
Sprint race finish: 14th
Qualified: 20th (16 places behind team mate, +0.75s)
Start: +2 places
Strategy: Two-stop (H-M-H)
Finished: 12th (8 places behind team mate)
▼ 0.4s off Verstappen on first run in sprint race qualifying but couldn’t cool tyres back down
▶ Passed five cars for 14th in sprint race
▼ Qualified last for grand prix, half a second off making the cut for Q2
▼ Couldn’t keep the hard rubber working in the race and lost a significant amount of time
▶ Bearman’s eighth represents the minimum he should have had from the grand prix
2/10: About as bad as it gets without crashing
Andrea Kimi Antonelli
Sprint race start: 7th
Sprint race finish: 7th
Qualified: 8th (6 places behind team mate, +0.38s)
Start: +1 place
Strategy: One-stop (M-H)
Finished: 6th (3 places behind team mate)
▼ Couldn’t find a way past Tsunoda in the sprint race
▼ Said his two Q3 laps weren’t his strongest after qualifying almost four tenths of a second off Russell
▶ Damaged his floor on lap one running over Leclerc’s front wing
▶ Passed by Ocon for fifth
5/10: Workmanlike performance at unfamiliar track, unlucky to pick up damage
George Russell
Sprint race start: 5th
Sprint race finish: 4th
Qualified: 2nd (6 places ahead of team mate, -0.38s)
Start: -1 place
Strategy: One-stop (M-H)
Finished: 3rd (3 places ahead of team mate)
▲ Opportunistic pass on Leclerc on first lap of sprint race, closed on Verstappen towards end
▲ Superb Q3 lap, improving his time in all three sectors, netted unlikely second on grid
▶ Couldn’t keep Norris’s quicker McLaren behind after start or pit stop
▶ May have eased off pace too soon at the end, preventing a run at brake-troubled Norris
9/10: At a consistently high level all weekend
| Become a RaceFans supporter and
Lance Stroll
Sprint race start: 10th
Sprint race finish: 9th
Qualified: 14th (1 place behind team mate, +0.085s)
Start: Held position
Strategy: One-stop (H-M)
Finished: 9th
▲ Out-qualified Alonso for sprint race
▶ Ran eighth for much of sprint race but Norris eventually got by
▼ Out in Q2 but car had the pace for Q3
▶ Ran longest opening stint of any driver on hards
▼ Fell behind Bearman who was on same strategy
▶ Promoted to ninth by disqualifications
6/10: Collected points but it looks like there was more pace in the Aston Martin
Fernando Alonso
Sprint race start: 11th
Sprint race finish: 10th
Qualified: 13th (1 place ahead of team mate, -0.085s)
Start: +1 place
Finished: Not classified
▼ Didn’t figure in sprint race after being out-qualified by Stroll for once
▼ Just like his team mate, the AMR25 was quick enough for Q3 but he didn’t make it
▶ Retired early in the race with brake failure
5/10: Got it together for the main event, then misfortune struck
| Become a RaceFans supporter and
Jack Doohan
Sprint race start: 16th
Sprint race finish: 20th
Qualified: 18th (2 places behind team mate, +0.1s)
Start: +1 place
Strategy: One-stop (M-H)
Finished: 13th
▶ Unable to do soft tyre run in sole practice session due to car fault
▶ Like his team mate, blamed traffic in SQ1 for his first-round elimination.
▼ Lunged into Bortoleto on final lap of sprint race
▼ Spun and eliminated in Q1
▼ Penalised for forcing Hadjar off in the grand prix and fortunate to avoid another penalty for late change of line while defending
3/10: Clumsy wheel-to-wheel racing could easily have left him on six penalty points instead of four
Pierre Gasly
Sprint race start: 17th
Sprint race finish: 12th
Qualified: 16th (2 places ahead of team mate, -0.1s)
Start: +3 places
Strategy: One-stop (M-H)
Finished: Not classified
▶ Said traffic spoiled his SQ1 run, like Doohan
▼ Dropped out in Q1 but had the pace to reach Q2
▶ Used same strategy as most drivers and made no progress
▲ Pulled off some good passes in the sprint race and grand prix
▶ Disqualified when car was found to be underweight
6/10: Frustratingly shy of the pace needed to compete in tight midfield
| Become a RaceFans supporter and
Esteban Ocon
Sprint race start: 18th
Sprint race finish: 16th
Qualified: 11th (6 places ahead of team mate, -0.142s)
Start: +1 place
Strategy: One-stop (M-H)
Finished: 5th (3 places ahead of team mate)
▼ Final corner error in SQ1 cost him chance to progress
▲ Great qualifying effort: 11th on grid despite being 15th on best combined sectors
▲ Passed Albon at the start
▲ Aggressive early pit stop paid off
▲ Gutsy pass on Antonelli for eventual fifth place
9/10: Superb recovery after Melbourne, great qualifying lap and pass of the race
Oliver Bearman
Sprint race start: 12th
Sprint race finish: 15th
Qualified: 17th (6 places behind team mate, +0.142s)
Start: +1 place
Strategy: One-stop (H-M)
Finished: 8th (3 places behind team mate)
▲ Qualified a decent 12th for sprint race
▼ Slipped back to 15th with degradation towards the end of the race
▶ Tried to do three timed runs in qualifying but ran out of time to complete the last one
▶ Started on hards and ran long, passing Lawson when he started to struggle on mediums
▲ Passed Gasly for final point, then promoted by disqualifications
7/10: Not quite as together as his team mate but did well with ‘alternative’ strategy
| Become a RaceFans supporter and
Isack Hadjar
Sprint race start: 15th
Sprint race finish: 13th
Qualified: 7th (2 places ahead of team mate, -0.559s)
Start: -2 places
Strategy: Two-stop (M-H-H)
Finished: 11th (5 places ahead of team mate)
▶ Faster than Tsunoda in SQ1 but punished for minor error in SQ2
▲ Out-qualified Tsunoda – and Antonelli’s Mercedes
▼ Passed by Tsunoda and Antonelli at start
▶ Poorly served by team’s two-stop strategy
▶ Frustrated by Doohan’s up-to-and-over-the-limit defending
6/10: Clear flashes of speed and potential
Yuki Tsunoda
Sprint race start: 8th
Sprint race finish: 6th
Qualified: 9th (2 places behind team mate, +0.559s)
Start: +1 place
Strategy: Three-stop (M-H-H-M)
Finished: 16th (5 places behind team mate)
▶ Tow from Hadjar helped him reach SQ3
▲ Gained two places at the start of the sprint race and held them to finish a fine sixth
▼ Might have been on the third or even second row but error in Q3 cost him better grid position. Got slower in each successive stage in qualifying
▼ Strong pace from sprint race was not apparent in grand prix
▶ Pitted on the same lap as Ocon – but coming in a second time spoiled his race
▶ Front wing failure, seemingly not caused by the driver, added insult to injury
▼ Received a warning for practice start position in the grand prix
6/10: Strong sprint race but driver and team errors compromised his grand prix
Alexander Albon
Sprint race start: 9th
Sprint race finish: 11th
Qualified: 10th (5 places ahead of team mate, -0.245s)
Start: -1 place
Strategy: One-stop (M-H)
Finished: 7th (3 places ahead of team mate)
▶ Dropped two places from ninth in the sprint race with more graining than rivals
▲ Reached SQ3 and Q3
▶ Ran the joint-longest first stint of anyone on the medium rubber and briefly led
▶ Never looked like being able to pass Antonelli
▼ Received a warning for practice start position in the grand prix
8/10: Emerged from the hectic midfield to claim valuable points
Carlos Sainz Jnr
Sprint race start: 13th
Sprint race finish: 17th
Qualified: 15th (5 places behind team mate, +0.245s)
Start: Held position
Strategy: One-stop (M-H)
Finished: 10th (3 places behind team mate)
▼ Dropped out in SQ2 and Q2, admitted he still can’t get the last few tenths out of the car over a single lap
▶ Pitted during sprint race to test set-up change
▶ Couldn’t match Albon’s race pace and slipped back
▼ Passed by Bearman and Stroll during his second stint
▶ Promoted to final point by disqualifications
5/10: Tidy, but still trying to wring the last few tenths from the Williams
Nico Hulkenberg
Sprint race start: 20th
Sprint race finish: 19th
Qualified: 12th (7 places ahead of team mate, -0.22s)
Start: -7 places
Strategy: One-stop (M-H)
Finished: 15th (1 place behind team mate)
▶ Started sprint race from the pit lane after set-up change
▶ Did well to reach Q2 and came close to reaching Q3 before making a slight mistake
▼ A snap of oversteer put him in the gravel on lap one, damaged his floor and ruined his race
▼ Poor pace on hard tyres – likely a result of his damage – meant he dropped behind Bortoleto
5/10: Decent qualifying performance but costly first-lap error ruined his grand prix
Gabriel Bortoleto
Sprint race start: 14th
Sprint race finish: 18th
Qualified: 19th (7 places behind team mate, +0.22s)
Start: -1 place
Strategy: Two-stop (M-H-H)
Finished: 14th (1 place ahead of team mate)
▲ Out-qualified team mate again on Friday
▶ Hit by Doohan at end of sprint race
▶ Said traffic compromised his out-lap as he failed to progress beyond Q1
▼ Spun off on the first lap, had to pit immediately
▼ His pace also faded early on the hard tyres
▼ Received a warning for practice start position in the grand prix
4/10: Core pace looked good but like his team mate it all went wrong on lap one
Over to you
Vote for the driver who impressed you most last weekend and find out whether other RaceFans share your view here:
2025 Chinese Grand Prix
Browse all 2025 Chinese Grand Prix articles
