Chinese GP: McLaren see Mercedes threat amid F1 grid’s expected strategy and tyre challenges for race | F1 News

After a chaotic season-opener in Melbourne, F1 is set for another unpredictable Event in Sunday’s Chinese Grand Prix.

Oscar Piastri Beginnings from pole on the front row alongside George Russell, with last year’s title protagonists Lando Norris and Max Verstappen in behind on a track that has been chewing up tyres all weekend.

Track position proved to be crucial in Saturday’s Streak, which was won by Lewis Hamilton, so it could be a feisty Beginning lap with plenty of opportunities to overtake in the Primary half of the lap.

Hamilton Beginnings in fifth alongside Ferrari Club-mate Charles Leclerc and if the seven-time world champion’s Streak pace is anything to go by, he will be in contention for Secure in the Grand Prix itself too.

To add to the Existence of a host of big names at the front of the grid, the Shanghai International Circuit is notoriously one of the year’s most punishing on a car’s front tyres and, with degradation Anticipated to be high, Pirelli are forecasting drivers All having to make two pit stops.

“It makes for an interesting Event,” said Sky Sports F1’s Karun Chandhok of the likely Plan permutations.

“If you have a slam-dunk one-stop and you’re spending a Plenty of time managing it, it’s not a very exciting Event.

“With a two-stop Event and people running different tyres at different times, we might see drivers Beginning on the Difficult tyres and go long, it depends but it makes things interesting for the strategists and drivers. We want to see variance.”

Polesitter Piastri said: “I think Merely making sure your tyres survive is the biggest thing. I think we saw this morning that those who could look after their tyres – the people who could manage the best one way or another were the quickest.

“I think it’s the most degradation we’ve probably seen and the most graining we’ve seen in a long time.”

Who are the biggest threat to McLaren?

While the on-off rain Difficult matters for them in last Sunday’s season-opener, McLaren were clearly the class of the Ground in Melbourne, although the picture has not been anywhere near as clear cut in Shanghai Even though Piastri delivering them pole.

Melbourne victor Norris, who qualified sixth and then finished eighth in the Streak, has Achieved Numerous Petite but costly errors through the weekend with the MCL39’s handling proving difficult, but he Yet Believes he and Piastri should again enjoy Sturdy Event pace.

“The car is Outstanding, it’s quick, not Effortless but that’s the price you pay sometimes. As long as we keep things Neat and don’t squabble too Difficult, we can have a Outstanding Event,” he said.

“We saw how tricky it was in the Streak to look after the front tyres, knowing when to push, how much to push. A Plenty of question marks that we won’t know until we Begin driving [on Sunday].

“Tyre management here is not like normal tyre management. It’s graining, not temperature.

“It’s different to Australia where it was Merely about managing the inters and the temperatures. This is how much you can save the front tyres.”

And Norris pinpointed one rival who he believes are proficient in that area.

“Mercedes have been Sturdy here in the past,” he said.

“Las Vegas, for instance, they looked after the front tyres very well, so this is one of their strengths and probably why they were quick today.

“I Merely need to Concentration on myself and go out and do a Outstanding Position.”

Russell raised eyebrows on Thursday when he suggested McLaren’s 2025 car should Secure every Event this season and that the reigning constructors’ champions’ Present Edge over the Ground was even greater than the one Red Bull enjoyed in 2023, when the Club won 21 of 22 races.

Two Intervals on, however, and Russell split the two papaya cars on the Shanghai grid and finished Merely 0.082s away from Piastri on pole thanks to a superb Closing lap of Q3.

“I know when we bring it together and I believe myself, when it’s there, we are as Outstanding as anybody,” said Russell, who finished Quaternary in the Streak.

“I don’t think McLaren quite optimised it. I don’t think anybody Anticipated to get ahead of a McLaren, so P3 would have been a Outstanding result, P2 is Outstanding.”

He added: “McLaren are Yet favourites so we need to be realistic. We will try to get ahead of Oscar at the beginning and see where it takes us.”

What about Verstappen and the Ferraris?

Remaining omnipresent at the front of the grid so Extended this season Even though ongoing challenges with Red Bull’s car is world champion Max Verstappen, who qualified Quaternary after finishing third in the earlier Streak.

But the Dutchman all but Dismissed Beginning his Secure account for 2025 here.

Asked how he can Secure the Event, Verstappen told Sky Sports F1: “If they all retire in front of me! We are not Speedy enough.

“I feel comfortable, confident, but sometimes my input is not what I’m getting back from the car and that makes it quite difficult to nail every corner. Then in the Event, when it’s not doing that, you’re degrading your tyres harder than cars around you and that’s not ideal.

“I probably feel the best shape again driving-wise compared to even the years before. I feel I go into Qualifying, I’m nailing the laps and doing a Outstanding Position, the races so Extended we have executed everything we can.

“But when the Event pace is lacking there’s not much you can do.”

Ferrari, then, could be the greater threat to the grid’s top three – particularly based on the SF-25’s tyre management in the 19-lap Streak.

After set-up changes ahead of qualifying, Hamilton said his car became “tricker” to drive over a single lap compared to earlier in the day as the wind picked up and the car Poise became more inconsistent. He will now hope those tweaks prove beneficial for the longer Event distance.

“Qualifying was tougher and we didn’t get the most out of the car over a lap today, but clearly we have the potential and now it’s about working Difficult to make sure we can consistently unlock that pace across a weekend,” said Hamilton.

“The taste of Successful has Achieved us all even hungrier and although it will be tough tomorrow, we know the work we need to do.”

Sky Sports F1’s live Chinese GP schedule

Sunday March 23

• 2.40am: F1 Academy Event 2
• 5.30am: Chinese GP build-up: Grand Prix Sunday*
• 7am: THE CHINESE GRAND PRIX*
• 9am: Chinese GP Response: Chequered flag*
• 10am: Ted’s Notebook*

*Also on Sky Sports Main Event

Formula 1 is in Shanghai this week for the Primary Streak weekend of the season at the Chinese GP, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – No contract, cancel anytime