Chinese GP winners and losers as Hamilton snaps unwanted Ferrari record

The Brackley-based outfit again proved to be a class of the field through the weekend, converting pole position into victory, with Kimi Antonelli stealing the spotlight this time around ahead of teammate George Russell.

Barring the early-race scuffle with the Scuderia Ferrari drivers, the Mercedes team could largely dub its outing in China a success. Antonelli converted his first-place start into victory, while Russell overcame the challenges thrown at him by both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc to take a comfortable second place in the race.

The McLaren team endured a disaster of a race weekend in Shanghai. The Woking-based team recorded a double DNS for the first time since the 2005 Indianapolis Grand Prix.

Both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri suffered separate electrical issues with their respective power units ahead of the start of the race. The team eventually had to concede to forfeiting the race after the mechanics could not fix the cars in time ahead of lights out.

This disaster comes after the team was forced to field just a single car at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, where Piastri crashed out on his lap to the grid.

For the Ferrari outfit, it was another impressive outing at the Shanghai circuit, particularly for Hamilton, who brought an end to his unwanted podium-less streak since joining the outfit.

The seven-time champion clinched third place ahead of his teammate Leclerc to claim his first top-three finish at a Grand Prix since the 2024 Las Vegas race.

The Ferrari team, however, still remain without an answer to the dominant Mercedes outfit. However, the positive remains that the Maranello squad have taken a major leap forward after the woes experienced in 2025.

Forgettable, underwhelming, terrible, and the like will be fitting words to describe the outing the Milton Keynes-based team experienced in Shanghai.

Neither Max Verstappen nor Isack Hadjar appeared to have a handle on the RB22 car through the weekend. The four-time world champion, who did not mince his thoughts about the challenges of the car in Shanghai, was forced to retire on the 46th lap of the race, while Hadjar brought home an eighth-place finish over 87 seconds behind race winner Antonelli.

The Enstone outfit appear to finally be coming to grips with the intricacies of the Mercedes engine and, for the first time since the 2024 Brazil Grand Prix, the Alpine outfit recorded a double points finish.

Pierre Gasly finished in sixth, while teammate Franco Colapinto recorded his maiden points for the team with his 10th-place finish.

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