Mercedes secured another one-two finish at the Chinese Grand Prix as 19-year-old Kimi Antonelli won his first Formula 1 race from pole position ahead of George Russell.
Lewis Hamilton took his maiden podium for Ferrari, while constructors’ champions McLaren failed to even start Sunday’s race because of separate electrical issues for both drivers.
Here are my driver ratings for the second weekend in China:
Kimi Antonelli – 9 – A real moment for the young Italian this weekend. Youngest ever polesitter and first grand prix victory under his belt.
George Russell – 8.5 – Another strong weekend. Recovered well from qualifying troubles but got bogged down fighting the Ferraris in the race.
Lewis Hamilton – 9 – Lewis has his mojo back. Loves the track in Shanghai. Great battle with Russell and team-mate Charles Leclerc.
Charles Leclerc – 8 – Brilliant fights with Hamilton and great wheel-to-wheel race craft. Just doesn’t like the track very much and a mistake at Turn 14 allowed his team-mate through for the podium.
Oliver Bearman – 9 – I’m handing out the nines today but everyone needs to watch what Bearman is doing in a Haas right now. The Briton is fifth in the drivers’ championship.
Pierre Gasly – 8 – Another impressive run from the Frenchman, scoring back-to-back grand prix points.
Liam Lawson – 7 – Compared to this time a year ago, it’s like we have a different driver. Clear of team-mate Arvid Lindblad to deliver points in both the sprint and race.
Isack Hadjar – 6 – Hard to achieve much with the car and power unit combo. But was right there with Max Verstappen which will be encouraging. Marked down his score for spinning in the race.
Carlos Sainz – 7 – How Sainz managed to steal two points is beyond me and a testament to his skill (and reliability of others). But got the most out of qualifying too.
Franco Colapinto – 6.5 – Looked out of his depth in the sprint but only just missed out on Q3 and a very solid drive on Sunday to get his first points since 2024.
Nico Hulkenberg – 5 – Bit of an anonymous weekend for the German driver. Saw the chequered flag at least.
Arvid Lindblad – 5 – After the highs of Melbourne, it was very much a learning weekend for the British rookie.
Valtteri Bottas – 5 – Had the better of Cadillac team-mate Sergio Perez this weekend and finished the race in China.
Esteban Ocon – 4 – Cast into team-mate Bearman’s shadow for the second consecutive weekend and made a silly move on Colapinto in the race.
Sergio Perez – 4.5 – Plagued with car issues but couldn’t quite match Bottas this weekend.
Max Verstappen – 6.5 – Can only do so much with the car he has. Ahead of his team-mate Hadjar in qualifying, as you’d expect, but only just. Will be worried about two bad starts in a row.
Fernando Alonso – 6.5 – Another trying weekend for him and his Aston Martin car. Brilliant start in the grand prix to get inside the top 10. Engine limited and eventually retired.
Lance Stroll – 3 – Barely present on the track. Only visible when he conked out during the race. Out-qualified by the Cadillac of Bottas.
Oscar Piastri – 5 – Two races in a row the Australian has failed to start. Not his fault in China and out-qualified team-mate Lando Norris. Could not match his team-mate in the sprint, though.
Lando Norris – 5 – A non-starter in the race and the Briton was behind Piastri in Saturday’s qualifying, but did finish higher in the sprint.
Gabriel Bortoleto – 3 – Crashed out in Q2 and was unable to start Sunday’s race.
Alex Albon – 4 – Struggling with a poor car and did not make lights out – from the sprint and qualifying, he is very much lagging behind team-mate Sainz.