F1 news: Lewis Hamilton plotting Chinese GP ‘masterplan’ as McLaren refuse FIA request

It's an early-ish start for tomorrow's Chinese Grand Prix.

Make sure you follow our coverage of the season's second race, but in the meantime, here's a reminder of how the drivers will line-up.

See you tomorrow!

2016 - Nico Rosberg

2017 - Lewis Hamilton

2018 - Daniel Ricciardo

2019 - Lewis Hamilton

2024 - Max Verstappen

Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur has been left confused as to why the car performed so differently in the sprint race compared to qualifying.

Lewis Hamilton won the sprint race but could only muster a fifth-placed finish in qualifying, whereas team-mate Charles Leclerc will start in sixth.

Responding to Ferrari's performance, he said: “This morning’s 19 laps demonstrated that tyre management will be absolutely crucial tomorrow, given the characteristics of the new track surface in Shanghai. Today’s qualifying was really difficult to read and several teams, including ourselves, experienced a swing in performance.

"We were strong in Q1 before struggling in Q2 and in Q3 we came within three tenths of pole, most of the time lost in the final sector. Of course, we would have preferred to have qualified better, because even if you have good pace, we saw in the Sprint that running in dirty air, your tyres suffer a lot more.

"The race will be all about strategy and we must be ready to take advantage of any situations that arise. The field looks very close and overnight, we will work on ensuring we are in the best possible shape to bring home another good points haul to add to the 12 from today.”

Ferrari ace Charles Leclerc has reacted to another mixed day behind the wheel.

Speaking about his performances this season, he said: "I wouldn’t really blame the car as Lewis is doing a great job.

“I really struggle with this track historically, and there’s no exception this weekend. But it’s not an excuse, and I need to react, and qualifying will be a good start to turn things around."

Both the Drivers' and Constructors' Championship tables ahead of week two.

Ted Kravitz has shared a theory as to why he feels Lewis Hamilton was frustrated.

It comes after he told his race engineer during the first race of the season to only feed him information when necessary.

Discussing the incident on his ‘Notebook’ for Sky Sports F1, Kravitz mused: “I’ve got to tell you a story. When he came to the pen on Thursday, I was, as it happened, the first person who spoke to him. I could tell he was annoyed about something. I asked question about what was on his to-do list.

“It was only until later when an Austrian journalist, who was doing a feature about engineers, asked Lewis a question. Then I knew what Lewis was annoyed about. He was annoyed that people, and we were as guilty as anybody, had put together the radio messages between him and Riccardo Adami, and some people were interpreting that as if they have a bad relationship.

Kravitz concluded: “He said after he won the Sprint race ‘I came here with a bit more aggression’. I could tell that on Thursday. He was annoyed, and he used that to motivate himself.”

Helmut Marko has discussed Red Bull’s feelings about Liam Lawson’s miserable start to the 2025 campaign. The New Zealander has been eliminated in Q1 in all three qualifying sessions, Grand Prix and sprint, this year.

Speaking to Motorsport.com about Lawson’s performance, Marko said: "It was disappointing, and we have to go through and analyse everything, and then we see. It's all depending on performance, and he didn't deliver."

The Red Bull advisor added: "If you looked at Liam at Racing Bulls, actually he was quite similar with Yuki. There was not a whole lot of difference between them, I thought. Otherwise, of course, the team wouldn't make that choice to put Liam in. And now suddenly that gap is very big, and they are also very close to me, so that tells you something. When I talk to Liam, the Racing Bulls car is definitely easier to drive than our car."

Lando Norris has outlined the tyre issues that the field will face during the Chinese Grand Prix, suggesting that Mercedes could benefit from the unique Shanghai conditions.

He explained: "The car is good, it's quick, not easy but that's the price you pay sometimes. As long as we keep things clean and don't squabble too hard, we can have a good race.

"We saw how tricky it was in the Sprint to look after the front tyres, knowing when to push, how much to push. A lot of question marks that we won't know until we start driving tomorrow. Tyre management here is not like normal tyre management. It's graining, not temperature.

"It's different to Australia where it was just about managing the inters and the temperatures. This is how much you can save the front tyres.

"Mercedes have been strong here in the past. 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 just need to focus on myself and go out and do a good job."

Liam Lawson has admitted that he is finding life at Red Bull ‘really tough’ after suffering a third successive Q1 exit at the Chinese Grand Prix.

"It's really tough, honestly," he said. "The window's really small, that's known, but honestly it's not an excuse. I've got to get a handle of it. It was a messy session and had we not dealt with traffic we might have been OK, but to be honest it's still not good enough. I just need to get a top of it."

Asked about the specific issues, he explained: "I think it's just time. Unfortunately I don't really have time but it's just one of those things. You need 100 per cent confidence in what you're doing and it's not that I don't feel confident, but at the moment the window is so small that you can miss it. It's that I need to get a handle of. It's just not good enough."

Charles Leclerc was feeling downbeat after qualifying in Shanghai, admitting that Ferrari are ‘lacking potential’ in terms of qualifying trim.

The Monegasque racer was only sixth-fastest, with team-mate Lewis Hamilton one place ahead of him. The Brit won the sprint race in commanding fashion earlier in the day.

“The potential was just not there, he confessed to Sky Sports F1. "The overall grip was just not there. In Australia I felt like we didn't do a great job in qualifying and we were further away than we thought but if we had put everything together I think we were expecting to be three tenths off.

"I think these three tenths that we see today are generally where we are. Lewis did a great, great job yesterday but I feel like today I did a good job, I'm sure Lewis did a good job as well, and that's the potential of the car. Is there a little bit more in the car? Maybe. Three tenths I don't think so. We need to look forward to tomorrow.”

Max Verstappen admitted that Red Bull are likely the fourth-fastest team on the grid after qualifying fourth for the Chinese Grand Prix on Saturday. His team-mate, Liam Lawson, was the slowest car in the field, making it three successive Q1 eliminations to start the year.

"That's what it feels like for me at the moment,” Verstappen said. "I've been feeling really good and relaxed in the car, also in qualifying. I've been able to maximise it, but it's just too slow."

He continued: "Last year we also had a lot of tyre degradation here on the fronts, but now it's a bit more extreme. But it's clear we're just not in a very good position, especially compared to McLaren but also the other teams."

Lewis Hamilton is plotting a ‘masterplan’ to turn P5 into victory at the Chinese Grand Prix. The Brit struggled in qualifying but has significant pace around the Shanghai International Circuit, where he has the most wins of any driver in F1 history.

"We made a couple of changes to the car to rectify some of the problems we had, and I don't know if it is the wind, but the car became quite snappy," Hamilton said after qualifying.

"The changes were to improve race performance, but it was definitely harder on the single lap, so it is going to be interesting. How you use the tyres is going to be key, but I feel optimistic for tomorrow, I'll try to get a good start and jump at least one car and slowly make my way up.

"Tonight, I am just going to make a masterplan of how to win and I'm going to try and execute it, that's the mindset I have. There are going to be swings and roundabouts, right, there are going to be ups and downs and we didn't expect to be fifth and sixth, or I didn't expect to be where I am, but it is what we are going to be faced with through the season. So we've just got to try and stay calm."

It's a first ever pole position for Oscar Piastri in F1 in China.

The top 10 is as follows...

1. Oscar Piastri

2. George Russell

3. Lando Norris

4. Max Verstappen

5. Lewis Hamilton

6. Charles Leclerc

7. Isack Hadjar

8. Kimi Antonelli

9. Yuki Tsunoda

10. Alexander Albon

Jack Doohan received a 10-second post-race penalty at the Chinese Grand Prix sprint race after a clumsy collision with Gabriel Bortoleto.

The Alpine driver was battling for 17th position but dropped to the back after his spin. He also picked up two penalty points for the collision.

Read more about this story here...

Lewis Hamilton called out his critics after storming to a sprint race victory at the Chinese Grand Prix. The Brit finished over seven seconds clear of Oscar Piastri following a commanding drive in Shanghai.

"I woke up feeling great today. The first race [in Australia] was difficult," he said. "I really do feel a lot of people underestimated the steep climb it is to get into a new team, become acclimatised within the team, understanding and communication - all sorts of things.

"The amount of critics and people I heard, yapping along the way, clearly not understanding maybe because they never had the experience or were unaware.

"It felt great to come here and be more comfortable in the car because in Melbourne I didn't feel great in the car. From Lap One this weekend we have been on it. The engineers and mechanics have done a great job to finetune the car and it felt great. It's hard to look after the tyres but everyone was struggling."

Lewis Hamilton claimed his first win as a Ferrari driver on Saturday, holding off Oscar Piastri with a masterful performance to win the sprint in Shanghai.

The results are as follows...

1. Lewis Hamilton

2. Oscar Piastri

3. Max Verstappen

4. George Russell

5. Charles Leclerc

6. Yuki Tsunoda

7. Kimi Antonelli

8. Lando Norris

9. Lance Stroll

10. Fernando Alonso

11. Alex Albon

12. Pierre Gasly

13. Isack Hadjar

14. Liam Lawson

15. Oliver Bearman

16. Esteban Ocon

17. Carlos Sainz

18. Gabriel Bortoleto

19. Nico Hulkenberg

20. Jack Doohan

Oscar Piastri says he is 'satisfied' after holding talks with McLaren chiefs regarding team orders at the Chinese Grand Prix.

The 23-year-old was left frustrated when he was instructed to 'hold position' behind Lando Norris in Australia last weekend.

Reflecting on what happened and the internal talks that followed, Piastri said: "We’ve had some good discussions through the week.

"I think I understand the circumstances, and of course, when you have two cars in the lead like that, it’s kind of natural to want to protect that.

"I think there’s been some very good discussions about how we can, you know, if we need to implement them in the future, how we can do a better job of that.

"So it’s been an encouraging week and I’m satisfied with the discussion we had."

Lando Norris has accused George Russell of playing mind games after the Mercedes driver made some eye-catching comments about McLaren.

Ahead of this weekend's Chinese Grand Prix, he said McLaren should win every race this season.

He also claimed their advantage is greater than the one Red Bull enjoyed when they won all but one of the 23 races two years ago.

In response, Norris said: "I thought he was a bit smarter than that but clearly not.

"I don’t even need to say anything. I think it’s obvious enough that it’s not.

"George thinks he can play a lot of games but I don’t fall for any of them. The car clearly is not [as strong as Red Bull in 2023].

"It’s very good saying we have got the best car but the fact he’s been so much ‘season’s over’ after one race is a bit weird.

"He can do whatever he wants. I am happy he thinks those things. It seems like I am in his head, as if they can’t catch up."

Former F1 driver Giedo van der Garde has jumped to the defence of Liam Lawson after his nightmare start to life at Red Bull.

The young Kiwi crashed out in Australia before finishing bottom of the pile in sprint qualifying at the Shanghai International Circuit.

When asked if he felt the pressure was getting to Lawson, Van der Garde told PlanetF1: "No, no.

"I think it’s more circumstances because we know also that he had the pressure last year.

"He had to jump in and show himself straight away and he did it. I think he has a capacity to do well and I don’t see any issue.

"I think it was due to circumstances that are not going his way. He’s still a rookie, and I’m sure that he will be there."

Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko was impressed with Lewis Hamilton setting the pace in only his second weekend as a Ferrari driver.

"I think they had an unlucky event in Melbourne," said Marko, reflecting on Ferrari’s struggles in Australia.

"But here, from the first session on, Ferrari was strong. And I mean, congratulations to Hamilton in his second race to be in pole position.

"It's against Leclerc, who is a fantastic qualifier. It means it's an unbelievable achievement."

Charles Leclerc has admitted that Lewis Hamilton has been one step ahead in Shanghai heading into the weekend.

"I’ve struggled on my side of the garage," said the Monegasque driver after sprint qualifying.

"From the beginning I felt I was a step back compared to Lewis and Lewis was just faster today.

“Struggled a lot in Turns 1-2-3, which was more or less the same struggles I had last year so that was a bit of a shame."

Carlos Sainz has admitted that he still doesn't feel at home in the Williams cockpit.

The former Ferrari driver had a debut to forget in Australia, crashing out in the early stages of last weekend's race.

After failing to reach SQ3 in China earlier today, Sainz explained that he is finding it hard to adjust in his new surroundings.

"I’ve struggled all day with the balance and both sessions have been quite tough," he said.

"In sprint quali we had a few issues, including a weird feeling with the seat that we’ll look into.

"But overall. it comes down to me still not feeling at home in the car."

Zak Brown has warned Christian Horner that he should be worried about his position at Red Bull.

It comes after Horner was roundly booed during the F1 75 launch event in London last month.

Brown also pointed to the recent departures of key staff members, admitting that he would feel 'vulnerable' if he was in Horner's position.

"I would think any of us would come under pressure when you are not performing at the highest level, on-track, off-track, with sponsors, relationships, and brands," said Brown.

"If I went to the F1 launch and I wasn't welcomed, and I came back to the table and I am sitting next to the CMO of our sponsors OKX and Mastercard, that is not a great look.

"You have got the Red Bull managing director [Oliver Mintzlaff] sitting there. And then you have got the Verstappens who don't seem to have a great relationship [with Horner], from the outside looking in.

"Adrian Newey, Rob Marshall and Jonathan Wheatley have all left and if I was in that position, I would feel vulnerable. When I go and meet my board, I would not be feeling great because they would be going, 'Well, why did he leave? Why did he leave? And why did he leave?

"Oh, and by the way, you didn't seem to get a very warm welcome at the launch'. I don't know how they feel. But I would feel vulnerable."

Johnny Herbert believes George Russell is channelling his 'arrogance' in the right way to establish himself as a team leader at Mercedes.

Russell is now the most senior driver at the Silver Arrows following the exit of Lewis Hamilton, who has been replaced by Italian teenager Kimi Antonelli.

Herbert said: "He’s super confident. Some people think it's arrogance. What’s wrong with being arrogant?

"Max [Verstappen] has got arrogance. Michael [Schumacher] had arrogance. [Ayrton] Senna too. They've all got arrogance, and you need a certain amount of arrogance.

"It’s about how you put it out to the world to see and George I think does it very well for the world to see."

Red Bull head-honcho Christian Horner has paid tribute to Eddie Jordan, after the Formula One icon passed away yesterday.

Horner said: "He was such a big character, an inspirational character to have taken his team from effectively Formula 4 to 'The Piranha Club'.

"He was just a larger-than-life character. He was always fun to have around. He was the heart and soul of any party."

Chinese Grand Prix schedule:

Saturday 3am (GMT): Chinese GP sprint

Saturday 7am (GMT): Chinese GP qualifying

Sunday 7am (GMT): Chinese Grand Prix

Lando Norris has admitted he made a mistake during qualification for the Chinese Grand Prix sprint race.

He said: "I made a mistake. I locked up in the last corner. We just struggled a bit more now, just not quick enough, simply.

"I struggled a lot with the car. Just our difficulties that we've been struggling with showed a lot more today. So, nothing more than that, honestly. Just too many mistakes but just too difficult of a car to drive."

Lewis Hamilton has reacted to finishing on pole position for tomorrow's sprint race.

He said: “The last race was a disaster for us and we knew there was more performance in the car but wasn’t able to extract it. We made some great changes, the team did a fantastic job in the break to get the car ready. I’m a bit in shock. I can’t believe we get a pole for the sprint race. It puts us in good stead for the race.”

Williams could be at risk of a penalty after they reportedly failed to report their 'onboard cameras within an hour of FP1 ending'.

How about that for a response from Lewis Hamilton? He'll lead the way ahead of tomorrow's sprint race.

Crisis? What crisis?

Charles Leclerc isn't having a great time of it out on the track...

Christian Horner has admitted he can't look past McLaren to take pole position for Sunday's Chinese Grand Prix.

Speaking to Sky Sports on Friday, he said: "It's going to be interesting, this new surface is very grippy. You can see the times are a lot quicker than last year.

"McLaren look strong, they look properly strong on this circuit, certainly over a single lap. I think Mercedes, Ferrari, ourselves [Red Bull] are all in that group, but I think that McLaren have got a few tenths on us at the moment."

Welcome to your second race weekend of the season. Here's how things look so far...

Liam Lawson says he 'couldn't care less' what Zak Brown says after the McLaren CEO suggested that he should not have been called up to race for Red Bull.

Brown believes that Racing Bulls star Yuki Tsunoda was more deserving of a promotion - particularly after Lawson's nightmare Red Bull debut at the Australian Grand Prix.

But the Kiwi responded: "I couldn't care less what Zak says. I haven't spoken to him, I don't think really ever, and I haven't read any social media for the last two weeks."

Max Verstappen could not believe that Lando Norris had complaints about this year's McLaren.

The MCL39 is currently the strongest car on the grid but Norris says he 'very rarely' has what he wants from the front end at the apex, adding that he is driving according to the car's strengths rather then waiting to have one tailored to his own.

Dutch journalist Ronald Vording told the Autosport YouTube channel: "The funniest part is, afterwards, I went to the media session with Max Verstappen.

"He got asked about Lando’s comments and then he said, 'wait, what, what did Lando say?' We told him he doesn’t like the car. He said 'which car, the McLaren?' So he was quite surprised."

As we head into our first sprint weekend, there will be plenty to keep on top of at the Chinese Grand Prix.

Here are all the important timings you should make a note of...

Friday 3am (GMT): FP1

Friday 7.30am (GMT): Sprint qualifying

Saturday 3am (GMT): Chinese GP sprint

Saturday 7am (GMT): Chinese GP qualifying

Sunday 7am (GMT): Chinese Grand Prix

Oscar Piastri has branded George Russell's recent McLaren comments 'far-fetched' and 'funny'.

Mercedes star Russell has spoken repeatedly about the size of the pace advantage McLaren have over the rest of the field.

He even said they should win every race this season.

Piastri called the statements 'pretty far-fetched', adding: "George, he's come up with some funny things in the last couple of weeks. We'll see."

Johnny Herbert is one of the numerous big names to have worked with Eddie Jordan during his career.

And he has paid tribute to the former F1 team owner, who passed away earlier today.

Herbert told Autosport: "It didn’t matter to him if a deal was £1.50, it was a deal. What he achieved was impressive and he was refreshing when he came into F1.

"He had a strength – the people he had were a part of the family. He was part of theirs and they were part of his. He had an ability to get the best out of people. It was all the little ingredients that he took all the way to F1.

"He’s left a wonderful legacy. It was a lovely period and it was beautiful to have Eddie in F1."

Carlos Sainz says he is going through the same thing as Lewis Hamilton after the Brit had a frosty run-in with his new race engineer, Riccardo Adami, at the Australian Grand Prix.

Hamilton had spent years working with Peter Bonnington at Mercedes but he now has a new voice guiding him through races at Ferrari.

And Adami is no stranger to a Grand Prix, having spent three years helping Sainz at the Scuderia.

Now, Sainz is going through his own period of transition at Williams.

Reacting to Hamilton's team radio trouble, the Spaniard said: "No, no, this is the same. It's exactly the same.

"The only difference is that unfortunately for me, I didn’t get to drive such a demanding race from communications side in Australia, and I’ve missed that experience to build with my engineer."

Fernando Alonso says there are 'clear rules' that he must stay in front of the driver he manages, Gabriel Bortoleto, this season.

Bortoleto is making his F1 bow with Kick Sauber and he could find himself in direct battles with his manager in future races.

But they have a solid relationship and are choosing to make light of the situation.

"I think there are clear rules that I stay in front," joked Alonso. "That’s my understanding!"

Bortoleto chimed in: "Regarding the rules, I have in my contract that I need to give him a slipstream every time I see him in quali!"

Guenther Steiner has 'no words' to describe the performance of his former employers at the Australian Grand Prix.

The Italian, who headed up Haas from 2016 to 2023, was not impressed by what he saw last weekend, when Oliver Bearman and Esteban Ocon crossed the line last out of the finishers.

"What can you say? Speechless," he told the Red Flags podcast. "No words.

"It’s pretty clear. After Bahrain, they didn’t look strong, but they didn’t look like they do at the moment. They are quite a bit behind Sauber, who are second last."

Bernie Ecclestone has revealed he doesn't intend on going to Eddie Jordan's funeral.

Speaking to The Daily Mail, he said: “I would have given him an open cheque because I trusted him totally. I won’t be going to his funeral. I don’t go to funerals. I may not go to mine. He certainly won’t go to mine. So, it’s all fair. It always was with Eddie.”

Who's excited to see this again at the weekend? Race two of the season is coming from the Shanghai International Circuit. 

Who's taking P1 this weekend? 

The official Formula One X account has released a touching Eddie Jordan tribute video.

Lewis Hamilton has defended his decision to ask for fewer radio inputs. 

Speaking ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix, he reflected: "Naturally, everyone overegged. It was literally just a back-and-forth. I was very polite in how I had suggested it. I said: 'Leave it to me, please'. I wasn't saying 'f*** you'. I wasn't swearing.

"At that point, I was really struggling with the car, and I needed full focus on this couple of things. We're getting to know each other. He's obviously had two champions or more in the past and there's no issues between us still."

Following the death of the F1 icon, tributes for Eddie Jordan have been flooding in from across the sport. 

READ MORE

Eddie Jordan urged fans to get tested for cancer before he passed away.

He said on the Formula For Success podcast: "Go and get tested, because in life, you've got chances. We've kind of alluded to it over the shows, way back in March and April, I was diagnosed with bladder and prostate cancer, and then it spread into the spine and the pelvis, so it was quite aggressive.”

Referencing cycling hero, Sir Chris Hoy, he continued: "We've all heard about our wonderful friend, Sir Chris Hoy, who's an absolute megastar, and he is coming out and talking about illnesses like what I've got, but he's a far younger man."

Before finally adding: "Go and do it. Don't be stupid. Don't be shy. It's not a shy thing. Look after your body, guys."

READ MORE

Formula One icon Eddie Jordan has passed away aged 76.

A family statement confirmed that Jordan died in South Africa on Thursday while surrounded by his family. It read: "Eddie passed away peacefully with family by his side in Cape Town in the early hours of 20th March 2025 at the age of 76, after battling with an aggressive form of prostate cancer for the past 12 months."

READ MORE

Williams driver Carlos Sainz has shared his verdict on the Shanghai International Circuit ahead of this weekend's Chinese Grand Prix. 

The Spanish driver said: "I haven't talked about it yet because I arrived only an hour ago, but I can tell you I did some lap cycling yesterday just to see it and train. And it looks good, looks high grip.

"Turkey also looked high grip. And then there was a thing on the surface creating low grip, but I can tell you it looks high grip, it looks well resurfaced, it looks smooth, so yeah, very common with all the new resurfacing that has been done all around the world."

Ferrari are set to be without technical director Loic Serra for this weekend's Chinese Grand Prix. 

Serra, according to a report from Italian media outlet Corriere Della Sera, will link back up with the team ahead of next month's Japanese Grand Prix. 

But Serra won't be in China, as he has returned to the team's base camp to try and "solve the mysteries" surrounding Ferrari's disappointing start in Australia. 

McLaren are adamant they won't need to make any modifications to their car following the FIA's clampdown. 

Following the Australian Grand Prix, the FIA has moved to tighten up the tests for flexing rear wings and has cut the tolerance of slot gap movement from 2mm to 0.75mm for this weekend's race. 

However, McLaren remains steadfast they won't be changing their wings following the FIA request. 

Speaking in China, Norris said: "Nope, we don't have to change anything. 

“Ours is fine. In fact ours is probably too good and we probably are not pushing the limits enough honestly.

“If this technical directive was applied for last weekend we'd also be fine so it's not directed at us it seems.

“It's directed at other teams, which probably means we need to push it even more."

Good morning! Who's ready for another dramatic race weekend? 

The Chinese Grand Prix has entertained in the past and we've got our fingers crossed that it will be the same again this time around. 

Stick around as we bring you all the latest coverage from the build-up to this weekend's action.