McLaren’s shock 1-2 and unexpected tyre strategies left Pirelli rethinking everything after a surprising Grand Prix in Shanghai.
The surface of the Shanghai International Circuit caught everyone off guard during this year’s Chinese Grand Prix — especially Pirelli.
The race ended in a strong one-two finish for McLaren, with Oscar Piastri taking the win ahead of teammate Lando Norris. It marked the Australian’s third career victory and the 191st for McLaren. This was also the team’s third win in a row and their first in China since Lewis Hamilton triumphed back in 2011. For Piastri and Norris, it was their second 1-2 finish together, the first being in Hungary last season.
Russell’s P3 seals Mercedes’ 300th F1 podium
Mercedes also had something to celebrate — George Russell claimed his second straight podium, finishing third and securing the team’s 300th podium in F1 history (including 129 wins, 98 second places, and 73 third places). Ferrari still leads the all-time podium count with 829, followed by McLaren (527) and Williams (313).
At lights out, 17 drivers started on medium tyres, while only Lance Stroll and rookie Oliver Bearman opted for the hard compound. Liam Lawson, starting from the pit lane due to a penalty, also went with hards. Pre-race predictions leaned toward a two-stop strategy being the most likely, but as the laps unfolded, teams quickly adjusted plans.
The hard tyre — which hadn’t been used all weekend — performed much better than expected, leading most of the field to switch to a one-stop race. Drivers who started on mediums swapped to hards between laps 10 and 20. Pierre Gasly was the first to pit, followed by Alex Albon and Nico Hülkenberg.
Among the few who began on hards, Lawson came in on lap 18, Bearman on lap 26, and Stroll stretched his stint until lap 36. Gabriel Bortoleto, who had to pit on lap 1, ran a long second stint on hards as well.
As the race progressed, the hard tyres showed low wear and delivered strong, consistent pace — even allowing for some late-race attacking. Only a few drivers, including Hamilton and both Racing Bulls, made a second stop. Those who started on hards, like Bearman and Stroll, switched to mediums for their final stints.
Hard tyres shock Pirelli in China’s evolving race
Pirelli’s F1 boss Mario Isola reflected on what turned out to be a surprising race from a strategy perspective:
“One of the key unknowns was how the hard tyres would behave on this track. The data from the first two days, especially from the Sprint, helped teams adjust their setups to protect the front tyres, which were most prone to graining.”
“As the track evolved, medium tyre wear dropped compared to the Sprint, though it remained an issue for some. The hards, meanwhile, had minimal graining and delivered consistent performance — even on long stints. That allowed drivers like Verstappen to push right to the end.”
Isola also noted that the C2 compound — heavily revised for 2025 — was still a bit of an unknown coming into the weekend, which made its strong performance even more interesting.
“Overall, it was an eye-opening weekend, largely thanks to how the track surface developed. The pace gain was huge — this year’s fastest lap in the race was 2.7 seconds quicker than last year’s, set on a similar lap by Hamilton this time and Alonso in 2024.”
Now that the season’s first double-header is complete, Formula 1 takes a short break before heading into a triple-header — starting with Suzuka in early April. With three very different circuits on the way, fans can expect more strategy twists and plenty of on-track drama.
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Pirelli stunned by bold tyre calls in China GP twist
Pirelli stunned by bold tyre calls in China GP twist
