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Formula 1

The Bulls conquer the Red Dragon

DRC’s race review of the returning Chinese Grand Prix

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The Bulls conquer the Red Dragon

The Formula One circus brought their parade to Shanghai for the Chinese Grand Prix, returning after five years and the excitement in the air was quite visible as the Chinese public gathered in masses to see the Grand Prix weekend that lay ahead of them. And there’s no doubt as to why they were gathered up in such high numbers.

The Shanghai International Circuit has been home to a lot of enthralling moments in Formula One racing. Be it Hamilton’s pit lane screw up which made the 2007 world championship more exciting, Schumacher’s 91st and last win, Buemi’s self-destructing car, or the pit Lane racing between Vettel and Hamilton.

After four non-racing years, the track was resurfaced a bit. More specifically, there has been an additional layer of Tarmac and Bitumen added to ā€˜re-surface’ the track. No additional changes were made to the track.

Regulations had changed over four years, the new ground effect cars would post at different times and would have different aero configurations compared to the previous cars. This meant that the teams and drivers we going blind into the race weekend, only relying on Simulator data and projections.

The Chinese Grand Prix Weekend was the first sprint weekend of the ā€˜24 season, with the format being a Free Practice session and a Sprint qualifying session on Friday, followed by the sprint race and a Qualifying session for the main race on a Saturday, with the Race on Sunday.

Free Practice


Free Practice began a small fire on the trackside grass which saw a slight delay in the commencement of the sessionthe drivers were all over the track, trying to get information and understand the dynamics of the track. As mentioned before, the regulations have been changed so each driver felt like a rookie, trying to find cheat codes and grip wherever they could find them.

At the end of the session, Lance Stroll topped the chart with a 1:36.302 followed by Oscar Piastri (+0.327) and Max Verstappen (+0.358).

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Sprint Qualifying


Sprint Qualifying saw the first hints of rain over the entire weekend. The Sprint Qualifying sessions didn’t see any action per se.

SQ1

Eliminated: Pierre Gasly, Esteban Ocon, Alex Albon, Yuki Tsunoda, Logan Sargent.

SQ2

Eliminated: George Russell, Kevin Magnussen, Nico Hulkenberg, Daniel Ricciardo, Lance Stroll.

SQ3

The drivers found no grip on the track due to the clouds giving way. Intermediate tyres seemed to be the choice for the teams.

Lando Norris posted a time of 1:57.940 which bagged him his first sprint pole. Hamilton followed with a 1:59.201 which got him second place. The top three was completed by Fernando Alonso with a lap that clocked in 1:59.915.

Norris’ lap was deleted by the stewards for exceeding track limits which gifted Hamilton Pole Position. A happy Hamilton was soon left dejected as Norris’ lap was re-instated which dropped the 7x World Champion back to P2.

Sprint Race


As the lights went out for the Sprint race in Shanghai, Norris shot off the line with Hamilton following close behind. As the duo reached Turn 1, Norris ran wide and dropped down to P6 as the field went past him and his McLaren. By Lap 3, Hamilton led from Alonso then Verstappen then Sainz and Perez. Lap 7 saw Verstappen overtake Alonso for P2. As Alonso dropped, he upped his defence as on Lap 15, he kept both the Ferraris and Perez at bay.

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But on Lap 16, his defence was thwarted by Carlos Sainz who went wheel to wheel with his fellow Spaniard. Perez took advantage of this skirmish and shot past which was quite reminiscent of the ā€˜Through goes Hamilton’ moment from Silverstone 2022. Alonso suffered a puncture during the skirmish he had with Carlos which saw him come into the pits and retire.

The Sprint race came to an end with Verstappen taking the chequered flag with Hamilton and Perez filling out the podium positions.

Qualifying


Q1 saw home hero Zhou Guanyu, Kevin Magnussen, Lewis Hamilton, Yuki Tsunoda, and Logan Sargent drop out and get eliminated. Hamilton had a disastrous qualifying, only able to do as good as P18. The last time Hamilton was knocked out of Q1 was in Jeddah at the Saudi Arabian GP in 2022.

Q2 saw Sainz take a dip into the gravel trap at the final corner and spin out, hitting the barrier and damaging his car. He lost his Front wing and was forced to pit.

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As the session ended, Lance Stroll, Daniel Ricciardo, Esteban Ocon, Alex Albon, and Pierre Gasly were eliminated.

Q3 saw Oscar Piastri almost replicate Sainz’s collision in his #87 McLaren. Q3 ended with Max Verstappen taking Pole with a banker lap of 1:333.660. This is Red Bull’s centenary pole position and also the track where they scored their first Pole Position in the Hands of Sebastian. The other Red Bull of Sergio Perez locked out the front row. Fernando Alonso placed his Aston Martin in P3, with both McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri sitting comfortably in P4 and P5.

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Race


The race was contested on the 21st of April, 2024 through 56 laps. little drizzle over the track before the race meant that grip would be scarce. A two-stop strategy would be optimal with more emphasis on the hard tyres.

As the lights went out for the main race, Verstappen and Perez went off the line swiftly but Alonso reacted quicker than the Mexican. This caught him off guard which allowed Alonso to pass him around the outside to take P2. At the back, Hulkenberg made big moves in his Haas by overtaking both the Ferraris.

By Lap 5, Perez started inching closer to Alonso to gain back his position, everything stayed the same until Lap 20. The yellow flag was brought out as Valterri Bottas crashed out. A virtual Safety Car was put into effect which turned into a Full Safety Car.

By Lap 27, The Safety Car was brought in but was redeployed again as both RBs Tsunoda and Ricciardo crashed out due to a spin and a collision with Stroll respectively.

Lap 33 had Hamilton recover to P10 which showed his immense understanding of the track. With the second Safety car, a lot of cars pitted which handed the lead to Norris. As Lap 40, came by, Verstappen overtook Norris for the lead and built an 8 sec lead over him. Alonso kept an eye for Sainz at the back and overtook Hamilton and Piastri to seal the deal.

On Lap 54, Verstappen had built a 12-second lead on Norris and as the chequered flag dropped on at the end of Lap 56 he coasted away for a beautiful Chinese Grand Prix. Lando Norris finished a strong P2 with the third spot getting occupied by Sergio Perez.

The Bulls conquer the Red Dragon

Home Hero Zhou Guanyu shared a wholesome with his countrymen as he was given his spot on the grid after the race. He shed a tear and waved proudly at his fans who showed him support and love throughout the weekend.

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Here is the Final Race Classification after the scintillating 56 laps:

The Bulls conquer the Red Dragon

Championship Standings


The Bulls conquer the Red Dragon
The Bulls conquer the Red Dragon

Verstappen extends his championship lead while His and Perez’s valiant efforts help Red Bull stay on the top of the Constructors Standings.


All in all, it was an amazing weekend for Formula One racing and it only goes to show that China deserves a spot on the F1 calendar for all its exciting track action. The next race is the Miami Grand Prix which will be contested from the 3rd of May to the 6th of May.

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Formula 1

Formula 1 British Grand Prix Review: The Race Of A Lifetime

The Formula 1 British Grand Prix was a story to tell for most drivers. A dream podium, a home race win, rain chaos, and multiple DNFs, the British GP had everything on offer.

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Lando Norris wins the Formula 1 British Grand Prix

Whenever Formula 1 visits Silverstone for the British Grand Prix, it always comes out with one hell of a weekend, and this race was no different. It had everything you would want when you’re sitting in front of the screen on a Sunday afternoon with a drink in hand. There was rain, there was chaos, there was even Nico Hulkenberg on the podium, a race full of uncertainties.

Controversial Home Race Win

Lando Norris made it two wins in a row on Sunday, beating teammate Oscar Piastri to the finish line. Oscar led most of the race until a 10-second time penalty for reckless driving was given to him after he slammed on the brakes aggressively, causing Max Verstappen to take evasive action. Soon after the restart, Mav was overtaken by Lando Norris, which put him in the net race lead. Which shortly after the pit stop onto slicks, turned into P1 on track as Oscar served his penalty.

Lando joined the club of 8 time race winners, an A-list with some great names, and what a way to do it by winning your home race.

Embed from Getty Images

Hulkenburg Counters The Odds


Nico Hulkenberg writes a story of his own, 239 Race Starts, and the man in green has gotten himself and Sauber a podium. After 15 long years, the wait came to an end, and the stars finally aligned. Following the rainy chaos, Nico made all the right calls to propel himself up the order. He was running P4 behind Lance Stroll, where an overtake on the Aston followed shortly after.

In the dying laps, he was being chased by a desperate Lewis Hamilton in Scarlet Red. However, he kept his cool and achieved what everyone thought was impossible.



The Streak Ends With Ferrari

Lewis Hamilton had a 13-year-long streak of scoring podiums at his home race. However, the tale must come to an end. Lewis Hamilton fell one position short of the podium, a valiant effort from the Brit. He expressed his disappointment in a post-race review, saying he was not at all happy about the race.


Charles Leclerc, on the other side of the garage, had a worse day. Jumping the gun on the slick tires early was a gamble he made, but it was a gamble that did not work. Later on, he struggled with tires following a series of VSCs, he even had an off at Beckets, cutting across the grass to add to his dismay. At the end, no points were scored by the Monegasque, a day to write off for him.

Mercedes Missed Out On An Opportunity

Following reports of talks between Max and Mercedes, they were in the spotlight coming into this weekend. A decent qualifying from the pair of George Russell and Kimi Antonelli gave them a fighting chance on Sunday. George called the change onto slicks at the end of the formation lap, and Kimi was rear-ended by Isack Hadjar, causing heavy damage to his diffuser, resulting in a retirement. George kept being in the wrong place at the wrong time, ultimately crossing the line in P10, scoring one singular point.

Formula 1 British Grand Prix Review: The Race Of A Lifetime
British Grand Prix, Sunday. Photo: Glenn Dunbar

Verstappen Struggles On Track

Red Bull ran a low downforce setup for the race, which cost them when a rain shower had showered on the track. Max was caught sliding on multiple corner exits due to the lack of downforce. Despite this, he held a strong challenge for the starting half of the race. However, at the Safety Car restart, he had a spin on the entry of the Vale chicane.

Formula 1 British Grand Prix Review: The Race Of A Lifetime
NORTHAMPTON, ENGLAND – JULY 06: Max Verstappen of the Netherlands driving the (1) Oracle Red Bull Racing RB21 on track during the F1 Grand Prix of Great Britain at Silverstone Circuit on July 06, 2025 in Northampton, England. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool

A good recovery by the Dutchman limited damage and placed him P10. From there, a decent effort to fight back moved him up into P5, scoring decent points. Teammate Yuki Tsunoda found it difficult, saying he did not know why the pace of the car disappeared in the race. He finished P15, last of the classified drivers.

Williams Return To Points

After a treacherous recent few rounds for the Williams outfit, finally, some luck struck with a points finish. Although Carlos missed out on points by a slim margin, teammate Alex Albon scored a respectable P8 in changing conditions

Aston Get Two Cars Into The Top 10

Both Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso secured a points finish on Sunday, even though both of them complained about the car and the package after the race.

Lance, at one point, was running in the podium positions, but he was overtaken by Nico shortly after. He ended up crossing the line in P6. Tire degradation was a prominent issue in the car, according to him in a post-race interview.

Fernando scored P8, but he showed frustration at the team’s strategy and how they always get it wrong for him.

Race Results



Standings




Next Round In Spa

For the next race weekend, we head to the hilly forest of Spa-Francorchamps. A part home race for Lando and Max. The high-speed spectacle is sure to put on a show, the longest track on the F1 Calendar includes many overtaking spots and iconic corners such as Eau Rouge and Radillon

Desi Racing Co. is dedicated to bringing the latest updates and insights from the world of motorsport. Whether it’s Formula 1, Formula 2, WEC, MotoGP, Indian motorsports, or other racing series, we’ve got you covered! Stay connected with us for in-depth motorsport coverage. Follow us on Twitter/XInstagram, and LinkedIn to keep up with the latest motorsport news and updates.

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Formula 1

Formula One’s Constant: The British GP

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Formula One's Constant: The British GP

The F1 Paddock heads to Silverstone this weekend. The place where it all started. Silverstone is one of the most historic tracks on the Formula 1 Calendar.

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The 2025 Formula 1 British Grand Prix roars into Silverstone this weekend, bringing with it a fierce championship battle, homegrown heroes, and the electric atmosphere only this iconic circuit can deliver. As Round 12 of a tightly contested season, all eyes are on McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, currently locked in a close title fight as they look to extend their dominance on home soil. Meanwhile, seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton returns to his home Grand Prix in Ferrari red, adding another layer of drama for British fans. With sell-out crowds, unpredictable weather, and the historic weight of Silverstone, this year’s race promises to be one of the most thrilling yet.

About The Track

Formula One's Constant: The British GP

(credit – f1.com)

Silverstone Circuit is renowned as one of Formula 1’s most iconic and challenging tracks, blending high-speed straights with a technical mix of sweeping corners. Measuring 5.891 kilometers, the former RAF airfield is a true test of car balance and driver bravery, especially through legendary sections like Maggots, Becketts, and Chapel, where rapid directional changes demand razor-sharp precision. The track’s fast-flowing nature rewards aerodynamic efficiency and cornering stability, making it a favourite among drivers. With unpredictable British weather often playing a role, and overtaking opportunities at corners like Stowe and Vale, Silverstone delivers both strategic complexity and spectacular racing action year after year.

Pirelli’s Specifications



Stories This Weekend

Special Liveries


McLaren dropped a gorgeous livery for their home race in Silverstone. A lot of chrome on the car to keep them standing out on track. This is a throwback to their iconic Vodafone Chrome livery in the late 200s



VCARB also brought out a fancy spray paint livery after a good result for them in Austria.


Hamilton At Home In Red

Lewis Hamilton makes his first appearance at home for the Scarlet Outfit. He has a record of a 14-year-long streak of top 3 finishes at his home race. He will be looking to keep that going coming into this weekend.


Rumours Of Verstappen x Mercedes

Sky Sports Italy put out a post on X saying that talks are in advanced stages between Max and Mercedes, George Russel and Max’s future remains uncertain at this stage. George expressed his will to stay at Mercedes for the foreseeable future.


F1 Movie Release

The long awaited F1 Movie produced by Lewis Hamilton starring Brad Pitt and Damson Idris makes its first appearance in the big screens. With a lot of positive reviews, the movie is a recommended watch.

Weekend Schedule



Weekend Forecast

Friday: 22°C, Wind 29 km/h, 10% chance of rain
Saturday: 21°C, Wind 24 km/h, 45% chance of rain
Sunday: 21°C, Wind 24 km/h, 10% chance of rain.

It’s windier than usual, making cars unpredictable. Droplets of rain are expected during Qualifying

Desi Racing Co. is dedicated to bringing the latest updates and insights from the world of motorsport. Whether it’s Formula 1, Formula 2, WEC, MotoGP, Indian motorsports, or other racing series, we’ve got you covered! Stay connected with us for in-depth motorsport coverage. Follow us on Twitter/XInstagram, and LinkedIn to keep up with the latest motorsport news and updates.

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Formula 1

Austrian GP Review: Lando Withers The Storm, Piastri Falls Short, Sauber Double Points

A scintillating Austrian GP brought out the best of our Championship Leaders. From Lando and Piastri’s tussle on track, Antonelli misjudges his braking zone and takes out Verstappen, Lawson P6, and Sauber, getting both cars in the points! The race in Spielberg had a lot to offer.

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Austrian GP Review: Lando Withers The Storm, Piastri Falls Short, Sauber Double Points
Image Credit - McLaren


A scintillating Austrian GP brought out the best of our Championship Leaders. From Lando and Piastri’s tussle on track, Antonelli misjudges his braking zone and takes out Verstappen, Lawson P6, and Sauber, getting both cars in the points! The race in Spielberg had a lot to offer.

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McLaren Top The Charts

Austrian GP: Lando Norris
SPIELBERG, AUSTRIA – JUNE 29: Race winner Lando Norris of Great Britain and McLaren celebrates on the podium with Champagne during the F1 Grand Prix of Austria at Red Bull Ring on June 29, 2025 in Spielberg, Austria. (Photo by Joe Portlock/Getty Images)

Lando Norris scored a near-perfect weekend, topping every session he participated in. Formula 2 rookie Alexander Dunne got a taste of Formula 1 in FP1, setting a lap just two-tenths away from the top time that session.

Lando topped the sheets in Qualifying, landing him a clear road ahead for the start of the Austrian GP. Lando got away well at the beginning, maintaining his lead. A 21-lap-long attack from his teammate Piastri for the lead of the race was long and intense. It brought out the best that the Leaders had to offer, with no room for error; maintaining the lead was crucial for a strategic advantage.

Lando was holding off his teammate, giving him priority in the pit stops. Piastri employed an overcut strategy and attempted an attack on Lando in the dying stages of the Austrian GP. However, passing backmarkers who were in a battle of their own wasn’t as easy as it seemed.

At the line, the McLarens crossed the line P1 and P2, scoring maximum points for the team and making the WDC Battle a whole lot more interesting.


Ferrari Scores Valuable Points

The team in P2 of the Constructors scored big points on Sunday, with Charles Leclerc scoring P3 and Lewis Hamilton falling short of the podium in P4. However, it was not sunny days for the Scarlet Outfit. Once again, another miscommunication and strategy blunder by the Ferrari team ruled out any opportunity for Lewis to move up the field. With 20 laps to go in the race, Lewis Hamilton was on the Hard compound tires and wanted to run to the end on that set, possibly. Ferrari ignored that call and brought Lewis into the pits anyway.

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Two Sides Of The Coin for Mercedes

Rookie Kimi Antonelli got into trouble early on in the Austrian GP, misjudging the braking point in T3 and running into the back of Max Verstappen and ending both their races prematurely on Lap 1.

George Russell was our race winner last race weekend in Canada; however, this time, the package wasn’t present. He was 60s off the leading pair, finishing P5.

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Sauber Scores Double Points

For the first time in a while, Sauber dragged both their cars into the points, with Gabriel Bortoleto in P8 and Nico Hulkenberg in P9. The upgrade package seems to be working for Sauber.

Sauber has outscored Red Bull over the last 3 races. Sauber has scored 20 points, whereas Red Bull has scored 19.

Williams Faces Issues

Williams has not had the most incredible run of races in the most recent rounds. This round, however, was much worse—a double DNF for the prestigious British outfit. Carlos Sainz was on the back foot all weekend long. A stalled car on the formation lap was the cherry on top. Even though he was able to get the car running, an early retirement led to disappointment.
His teammate had no better luck, facing a DNF as well.


Other Notable Performances

Liam Lawson scores his best result of the season, earning a well-deserved P6 for the VCARB driver, which secures him some much-needed points.

Fernando Alonso crossed the line in P7, making it points scored in 4 consecutive races for the Spaniard. It was a massive comeback after what was considered his career-worst start to the season.

Esteban Ocon landed Haas a single point; a very well-run, under-the-radar race brings home a valuable point.

Austrian GP Results

Standings

Next Race In Silverstone

Its Lewis Hamilton’s first home race in red! He’ll be looking to continue his 11 year long record of finishing in the top 3 in Silverstone.
The WDC gap closes and gets tense.
Mercedes and Verstappen look for redemption.
Williams look for solid ground.

Desi Racing Co.Ā is dedicated to bringing the latest updates and insights from the world of motorsport. Whether it’s Formula 1, Formula 2, WEC, MotoGP, Indian motorsports, or other racing series, we’ve got you covered! Stay connected with us for in-depth motorsport coverage. Follow us onĀ Twitter/X,Ā Instagram, andĀ LinkedInĀ to keep up with the latest motorsport newsĀ andĀ updates.

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