2025 Chinese Grand Prix

The 2025 Chinese Grand Prix (officially known as the Formula 1 Heineken Chinese Grand Prix 2025) was a Formula One motor race that was held on 23 March 2025 at the Shanghai International Circuit in Shanghai, China. It was the second round of the 2025 Formula One World Championship and the first of six Grands Prix in the season to utilise the sprint format.
Lewis Hamilton in the Ferrari took sprint pole position and kept the lead to win the sprint ahead of Oscar Piastri in the McLaren and Max Verstappen in the Red Bull. Piastri took his maiden career pole position for the main race, ahead of George Russell in the Mercedes and teammate Lando Norris.
In the main race, Piastri converted his pole position to a win ahead of teammate Norris and Russell. Following the race, Charles Leclerc, Lewis Hamilton and Pierre Gasly were disqualified from fifth, sixth and eleventh respectively. Leclerc and Gasly were disqualified due to their cars being underweight, whilst Hamilton was disqualified due to excessive plank wear. This marked the first time in Formula One that both Ferraris were disqualified from a Grand Prix.
The event was held at the Shanghai International Circuit in Shanghai for the 18th time in the circuit's history, across the weekend of 21–23 March. The Grand Prix was the second round of the 2025 Formula One World Championship and the 18th running of the Chinese Grand Prix. It was also the first of six Grands Prix in the season to utilise the sprint format and the second time overall that the Chinese Grand Prix featured it.
Prior to the event, teams and tyre supplier Pirelli faced what the FIA referred to as logistical issues regarding the transportation of equipment from Melbourne, venue of the preceding Grand Prix, to Shanghai. As a result, the FIA gave special dispensation to reduce the night curfew period on Wednesday before this event only from 11.5 hours to just six hours in order to minimise the impact of these issues on the event.
Going into the event, Lando Norris led the Drivers' Championship with 25 points, 7 points ahead of Max Verstappen in second, and 10 ahead of George Russell in third. McLaren and Mercedes, both holding 27 points, entered this round as the leaders of the Constructors' Championship from Red Bull Racing, who are third with 18 points.
The drivers and teams were the same as published in the season entry list, with no additional stand-in drivers for the race. The Grand Prix marked the last for Liam Lawson at Red Bull Racing and Yuki Tsunoda for Racing Bulls; from the Japanese Grand Prix onward, both drivers would swap teams.
Tyre supplier Pirelli brought the C2, C3, and C4 tyre compounds designated hard, medium, and soft, respectively, for teams to use at the event.
The DRS zone leading in to turn 14 was lengthened by 75 metres (246 ft).
The sole free practice session was held on 21 March 2025, at 11:30 local time (UTC+8), and was topped by McLaren driver Lando Norris, ahead of Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc, and Norris' teammate Oscar Piastri. A red flag was observed after Jack Doohan's Alpine A525 lost power steering, stranding him on track.
Sprint qualifying was held on 21 March 2025, at 15:30 local time (UTC+8), and determined the starting grid order for the sprint.
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The sprint was held on 22 March 2025, at 11:00 local time (UTC+8), and was run for 19 laps.
Lewis Hamilton in the Ferrari took pole position and held a lead throughout the sprint to take his first and also Ferrari’s first ever sprint victory. The remaining podium positions were secured by Oscar Piastri in the McLaren and Max Verstappen in the Red Bull. Early championship leader Lando Norris in the McLaren finished eighth having lost places at the start of the race.
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Qualifying was held on 22 March 2025, at 15:00 local time (UTC+8), and determined the starting grid order for the main race.
Oscar Piastri in the McLaren took his maiden Grand Prix pole position ahead of George Russell in the Mercedes. Piastri's teammate Lando Norris qualified third having topped Q1 and Q2.
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The race was held on 23 March 2025, at 15:00 local time (UTC+8), and was run for 56 laps.
Polesitter Oscar Piastri in the McLaren kept the lead on the first lap, while his teammate Lando Norris moved up to second. Lewis Hamilton in the Ferrari tagged with teammate Charles Leclerc, causing the left endplate of Leclerc's front wing to come off. On the fifth lap, Fernando Alonso in the Aston Martin retired from the race due to overheating on his rear brakes, while Gabriel Bortoleto of Sauber spun into the gravel on the same lap, though he was able to keep going.
Piastri and Norris, the latter suffering from a worsening brake issue, completed their 50th 1-2 finish for McLaren ahead of George Russell in the Mercedes.
Following the race, Charles Leclerc of Ferrari and Pierre Gasly of Alpine were disqualified due to their cars being underweight, while sprint winner and Leclerc's teammate Lewis Hamilton was disqualified for excessive skid wear. This marked the first double disqualification for a team since Renault's double disqualification at the 2019 Japanese Grand Prix, the first Grand Prix to see more than two disqualifications since the 2004 Canadian Grand Prix, and the first time in Formula One history that both Ferrari cars had been disqualified from a Grand Prix.
In the days that followed the Grand Prix, Red Bull announced that Liam Lawson would undergo a driver swap with Racing Bulls' Yuki Tsunoda, with the latter taking his seat at Red Bull from the Japanese Grand Prix onward.
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