It’s less than a week since the F1 2025 season opener in Australia, and we are back racing in the Chinese Grand Prix. The major question on everyone’s mind is whether the other teams can catch up to McLaren. This dry weekend, we’ll get a better understanding of how the order is stacked.
The one thing I’m certain is that we’ll get lots of overtakes. In 2016, the Shanghai International Circuit saw 162 overtakes in the dry, which is an F1 record. So, there will be some nail-biting action this weekend. Let me head straight to some of the important talking points and look into what to expect.
Can Lando Norris and McLaren Win Again?
Lando Norris had an incredible weekend in Australia. As things look, McLaren has a dominant car and has a chance of winning every race this season. This was the sentiment I had when Red Bull started well last year but their form faded after the initial races.
The only thing that is different from the Red Bull team is that McLaren has a strong second driver. And with Oscar Piastri finishing 9th after spinning from second position, he’ll be hungry to win. Another key point to note is that Piastri looked faster in Australia but had to back off due to McLaren’s papaya orders.
Will Ferrari Bounce Back?
Ferrari had a miserable weekend and both their drivers weren’t impressed by the team. Both the drivers had some hilarious and angry outbursts on their team radios. However, the Chinese GP may just turn out to be their saving grace. With delayed shipment of most of its rivals to China, they certainly have an edge.
Don’t get your hopes high though, in over 17 years that I’ve been supporting them, they always find ways to mess up. However, hopes are high that Frédéric Vasseur and the team can get things back on the road.
How will the Rookies Fare in China?
Most of the rookies had a horror show in the Australian GP. Kimi Antonelli managed to get the bragging rights; however, he had a horrendous qualifying session. Oliver Bearman was the other driver who finished the race, but he was quite poor during the practice sessions. The rest of the rookies crashed in the rain-hit Australian GP.
The Chinese GP offers a great opportunity for the rookies to showcase their talents in the dry. This is the weekend when they can prove that they have the pedigree needed to be in Formula 1. However, eyes will be on Liam Lawson to see whether he can break the second-seat curse at Red Bull.
First sprint weekend
The Chinese GP will have the first F1 sprint race in 2025. This reduces the time teams would get in practice and makes things more unpredictable. Also, with the ramping of testing on the rear wings, things will be quite interesting.
My Predictions for the Chinese Grand Prix
For the first sprint race of 2025, I feel Oscar Piastri will take the win. However, in the main race, Lando Norris will win, followed by Oscar Piastri for a Mclaren 1-2.
Biggest Winners: I think the biggest winners of the weekend along with Mclaren will be the Williams Racing Team.
Biggest Losers: I feel Ferrari’s struggles will continue. Their customer team, Haas, will also have a poor weekend at the back of the field.
Chinese Grand Prix Weekend Schedule
The Chinese Grand Prix 2025 weekend starts on the 21st of March and concludes with the race on the 23rd of March. The schedule for the weekend goes like this:
Friday
- Practice 1: 9 am
- Sprint Qualifying: 1 pm
Saturday
- Sprint Race: 8:30 am
- Qualifying: 12:30 pm
Sunday
- Main Race: 12:30 pm
Tune in tomorrow where I’ll share my views of the sprint qualifying and the first practice session.
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