Piastri wins in China as Hamilton and Leclerc disqualified
Oscar Piastri claimed victory at the Chinese Grand Prix on Sunday, leading a McLaren one-two ahead of Lando Norris, in a race later overshadowed by the disqualifications of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc for technical infringements.
Piastri dominated from pole position at the Shanghai International Circuit, controlling all 56 laps to secure his third career win. Norris followed him home, with George Russell completing the podium for Mercedes.
Post-race inspections saw Ferrari’s Leclerc and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly disqualified for their cars weighing below the 800kg minimum limit, while Hamilton was penalized for excessive plank wear. The ruling stripped Ferrari of crucial points, with Esteban Ocon moving up to fifth and Kimi Antonelli to sixth.
“It’s been an incredible weekend, the car has been pretty mega,” Piastri said. “The hard tyre was much better than expected, so to go all the way to the end was a happy surprise.”
Norris, who briefly considered challenging his teammate, had to manage a late brake issue. “I was lucky. Lucky to finish the race today and that’s not something you want to be saying,” he admitted.
Max Verstappen fought back to take fourth, executing a decisive late pass on Leclerc. “The first half of the race was tough, but we set out to do our own pace,” the Red Bull driver said.
Norris now leads the championship on 44 points, ahead of Verstappen (36) and Russell (35). The next race takes place in Japan from April 4-6.
(Source: AFP)
