Papaya one-two finish at the 5.451-kilometre Shanghai International Circuit
Two races, two McLaren victories with two different drivers. The 2025 Formula 1 season has started this way, and it feels like the head-to-head battle between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri will last for a long time. Today, it was the Australian who stepped onto the top step of the podium, redeeming himself after his mistake in Melbourne and dominating the race from start to finish, securing the 50th one-two finish in the history of the Woking team.
A masterful management
Watching the race, which was rather uneventful, it seemed like Oscar Piastri was controlling the rest of the field without much effort. A feeling that, between the lines but not too subtly, the #81 driver of the ‘papaya’ confirmed after the GP in an interview with Sky Sport F1. “I think I managed when necessary,” the winner admitted. “It was a very different race from what we expected, with only one stop. The first stint was very conservative, but I pushed just enough to create a small gap. Then, with the hards, not pushing too early was very important. I’m very satisfied with how I managed the race and with the way the whole team operated. It was a great result.”
Oscar Piastri also spoke about the growing rivalry with Norris, which this year could be a fight for the title: “I obviously don’t want to finish second. I’m here to win, and I believe Lando is an incredibly strong teammate. The rest of the grid? We have a very fast car, but this weekend we had to work hard to make it easier to drive. It wasn’t behaving perfectly, and I think that was visible. However, our pace was still incredibly fast. We managed it well. There are still things to improve, but in the end, I’m very happy with the level of the entire team,” he concluded at the end of the 2025 Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix.
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