Team Quotes - Sunday 23 March

Andrea Stella: "I'm very happy to come away from the 2025 Chinese Grand Prix with a 1-2, the 50th in McLaren's history. Oscar has been very impressive throughout the weekend, securing a well-deserved Pole and victory at a circuit he found tricky just 12 months ago. On Lando's side, he showed very strong pace throughout the race. We were managing an issue towards the end of the race which added some tension, but both Lando and the team managed the situation well and were able to bring home the 1-2.

"Overall, there are several learnings for us to take away from this weekend. We would have liked to have scored more points in the Sprint, but we must recognise how competitive the field is, and I'm pleased with how the team reacted as we transitioned into Qualifying and the Grand Prix, learning from the Sprint and making improvements which made today's result possible. My thanks as always go to the men and women at McLaren for their hard work and support, to our colleagues at HPP and to the team's committed partners, as well as our drivers for their teamwork both on and off the track. We now take some time to regroup back at Woking before heading to Japan for the first race of the triple-header."

Christian Horner: "That was a race of two halves from Max today, following up after a strong Sprint weekend here in Shanghai. We didn't have the straight line speed today as you could see, the Ferrari was properly quick on the straight. Max delivered when he needed to and made a great pass on Charles to finish fourth. It was a tough day at the office for Liam, he was struggling at points and had some issues with balance. We have plenty to look at after today, we gave away too much in the first stint and we need to understand the limitations that were there. We were competitive in the second half of the race but we had given up too much ground at that point. Lots of lessons to takeaway and we know where we need to improve, but we still managed to come away with 12 points and have kept it close with the top competitors these first two fly aways, and we'll look to do more with Japan up next."

Scuderia Ferrari HP leaves China with 30 points, the second highest team score of the weekend, although well aware that there is plenty of work to do to close the gap to the leaders. After a win for Lewis Hamilton and a fifth place for Charles Leclerc in yesterday's Sprint race, the Monegasque finished in the same position today, one spot ahead of his team-mate. They both did their best, but the SF-25's pace, in Leclerc's slowed with a damaged front wing was not capable of delivering more. However, it is just the start of the season and the gaps are all very close, so an improvement of just a few tenths could see big gains in terms of the results. It's a Formula 1 truism that if you can't win, then try and bring home as many points as possible and the team managed that today. It split the strategy between the two drivers to give them both the best possible chance.

Both Ferraris got off the line well, getting the jump on Max Verstappen to move up to fourth and fifth. Lewis and Charles were on two different lines going into the first corner and they came dangerously close into the following left hander, touching slightly. It left Charles without a left front wing endplate, but the team did not pit him for a new nose as car performance was still good and they did not want to waste the eight or so seconds required for the change. Lewis was the first of the pair to struggle on the Medium tyres, so he pitted on lap 13 to switch to Hards. Charles came in two laps later, after which the decision was taken to swap their positions, a choice Hamilton suggested given that Leclerc had better pace, which allowed him to finish fourth. Having pitted earlier, Lewis needed to pit again for another set of Hards, whereas Charles was able to go all the way to the flag. In the closing stages, Hamilton set off in pursuit of Verstappen, showing excellent pace. But the Dutchman defended brilliantly, before pushing on to overtake Leclerc with three laps remaining. Therefore, the Ferraris finished fifth and sixth, bringing home 18 points.

The team now heads home where it will analyse all the data from the first two races. So far, the SF-25 has only shown its true potential occasionally and it will be vital to ensure that in future it can do that consistently. Racing resumes in a fortnight in Japan, the first of a triple-header, followed by Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.

Fred Vasseur: It was tough today with strange situations. On one side of the garage there was the damage to the front wing for Charles and on the other side it was actually more difficult for Lewis, after yesterday when his tyre management was excellent, while today he struggled more. For him, the two-stop was definitely the right choice as tyre degradation was quite significant and if the others had to pit it would have made sense. Now we will have to look into it, to understand why we struggled more than expected. Tyre management was difficult for everyone with tyres struggling and then coming back. It's hard to read but we can take some positives, such as Charles' very good pace despite the damage to his front wing. In these conditions we finished 20 seconds behind McLaren and ten behind Mercedes. We just need to do a better job to make sure we always exploit the car's potential and we will focus on this immediately.

George Russell finished third and Kimi Antonelli battled home to P8, despite floor damage, in Sunday's Chinese Grand Prix.

George Russell lined up on the front-row alongside the McLaren of Oscar Piastri for the 56-lap race. As the lights went out, George made the better start but couldn't quite pass the Australian; as he backed out, Lando Norris was able to get ahead. Kimi meanwhile, starting P8, gained one position by passing the Racing Bull of Isaac Hadjar. Unfortunately, he suffered significant floor damage that compromised his entire race, likely from running over debris.

Nevertheless, the Italian battled on gamely. After switching to the Hard compound, he fought the other Racing Bull of Yuki Tsunoda and ultimately used a one-stop strategy to finish P8. George meanwhile controlled his pace throughout before deploying the undercut to regain Norris for P2. Ultimately, the pace of the McLarens was too strong and Norris retook second position in the second stint. Nevertheless, George drove a faultless race to maximise the result and take P3 and make it back-to-back podiums to start the year and an all Mercedes-powered top-three.

George's P3 marks Mercedes-Benz's 300th podium in F1 as a works team, and his own best start to an F1 season after two races. The team now returns to Brackley after this opening double-header before kicking off the Japan/Bahrain/Saudi Arabia triple-header in two weeks' time.

Toto Wolff, Team Principal & CEO: That was a solid afternoon's work. A podium felt like the realistic best-case scenario for us ahead of the race and that is what we were able to achieve. We knew that the McLarens were going to be very strong, and that the Ferraris and Verstappen were also going to be a threat. I don't often give 10 out of 10s as I think there is always room to improve but George was faultless today. He extracted the maximum from the car and for me, that was a 10 out of 10 drive. He has started this season incredibly well and is performing exactly as we knew he would as the senior driver.

Kimi's race was unfortunately compromised by floor damage he sustained on the first lap. He kept his head down though and fought really hard, despite the sizeable performance deficit he was carrying, to come home a creditable P8. He didn't complain throughout the race, just kept focused on the job, and that's exactly what we want to see.

Overall, it's been a good start to the new season. The ambition is to win but we don't feel any entitlement that we should. The car is not quite as fast as the McLaren as the moment, but the team are working hard to close that gap. For now, we are maximising the performance we have and to leave China second in the Constructors' Championship, having taken two podiums for the first two races, is satisfying.

Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director: We're very pleased to get our second podium of the year with George. He lost one place in the first corner, which meant that McLaren could control the race and realistically, third was the best we could achieve today. There was still a threat to defend from behind with the Ferraris and Verstappen, but it was encouraging that we had the pace to keep them at arm's length today.

Kimi was unlucky to pick up debris damage to his underfloor on lap one when he likely ran over some bits of the Ferrari front wing. That really hurt his performance today. We're nevertheless pleased that he could bring home some points, but it's a shame as he would have had fun racing with Verstappen and the Ferraris had it not been for that damage.

Overall, we're pleased with how the first two races of the season have gone. The car is working well over a range of conditions and whilst we'll always hope for more, the performance we've seen is encouraging as we can certainly improve from here. This is the most solid start to a season that we've had for three years. We have a big task ahead of us to catch McLaren but we're not short of motivation and very excited for the season ahead.

Mike Krack, Chief Trackside Officer: "It was a challenging day for us here in Shanghai and points were out of reach. Lance was one of a few drivers to start on the Hard tyres and managed them well for 36 laps before switching to the Mediums. In the end, both the Hard and Medium tyres held up well today, allowing the majority of cars to stop only once and it was difficult for us to exploit a tyre advantage in the final stint. Fernando's race ended early because we saw some very high temperatures on the rear brakes and retired his car as a precaution. Our attention now turns to Suzuka in a couple of weeks' time. We tried a lot of different experiments on our car set-up here in Shanghai and we will crunch the data back at base to be more competitive next time out."

Pierre started from P16 on Used Mediums, finished P11 [Post-race DSQ for a technical infringement]. Pit-Stop on Lap 10 for New Hards. Fastest Lap: 1min 36.425secs.

Jack started from P18 on Used Mediums, finished P16 [P13 in the Final Classification]. Pit-Stop on Lap 11 for New Hards. Fastest Lap: 1min 36.424secs.

Oliver Oakes, Team Principal: "Today was a better day in comparison to Qualifying with both Pierre and Jack able to move forwards in the race. After the high degradation and graining we saw in the Sprint yesterday, the question was whether it was between a one or two-stop and, with the track improving, we quickly converged to a one-stop part way through the race and ran with the Hard tyres to the end. Pierre did well making up three positions on the opening lap again [same as the Sprint] and ended up 11th at the flag but was unfortunately disqualified for a technical infringement after the race. Jack had comparable pace to those around him and put up some good fights. Ultimately, we lacked a little here and we need to understand why we weren't as competitive at this track and see where we can improve for future races."

MoneyGram Haas F1 Team claimed a double points finish in the Chinese Grand Prix on Sunday, with Esteban Ocon seventh and Oliver Bearman 10th after 56 laps around the Shanghai International Circuit.

Ocon started from 11th on Pirelli P Zero Yellow medium tires and made up a spot at the start to run in 10th place, before pitting on lap 11 for White hard tires. Strategy allowed the Frenchman to work his way past Racing Bulls' Isack Hadjar, before pouncing to pass Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli along the back straight, dipping a wheel onto the grass in the process. Ocon held seventh position and maintained his set of hard tires through to the checkered flag to collect his first points, six in total, with MoneyGram Haas F1 Team.

Bearman took the start from 17th on the grid on hard tires and made up two spots through the opening phase of the race. Bearman ran a lengthy first stint, gaining positions as rivals pitted, before stopping on lap 26 for medium tires, re-emerging towards the rear of the midfield. The British rookie completed a series of moves across his second stint to work his way back into the top 10 to capture his first point of the season - with one point earned for 10th - duly cementing a double points finish for the team.

MoneyGram Haas F1 Team now holds seventh position in the Constructors' Championship on seven points.

Ayao Komatsu, Team Principal: "It's been an amazing day. We reacted to our change of circumstances very well. Like I said before, the reaction after the Sprint yesterday to change the car set-up, it really worked for qualifying and the race. Communication and execution in the race today was really good. I think it's the best reaction I could have asked for, everyone has just gotten on with the work after Melbourne. I wasn't expecting to score seven points today, if somebody had told me would could have scored one point I'd have been happy. It's an amazing result. I'm looking forward to working together as a team and improving this car."

James Vowles, Team Principal: It's great to walk away from the first two races of the championship with points on the board. I'm proud of how the team worked together to deliver a good car today considering the problems we had in the Sprint Race. With Carlos, he has won a race more recently than anyone else in this team and he knows how to do this; it's our responsibility to make sure we keep working with him and adapting to get the best out of him.

Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber saw the race in Shanghai unfold differently than anticipated, as early incidents disrupted both drivers' chances of a strong result. Gabriel Bortoleto was forced to pit at the end of lap one for a new set of tyres after spinning into the gravel, while Nico Hulkenberg picked up significant damage on lap one that hampered his performance from the start.

With the Chinese Grand Prix weekend complete, the team now looks ahead to Japan and will aim to make the most of the break to analyse learnings and focus on returning to the points fight for the upcoming triple-header.

Beat Zehnder, Director Signature Programs & Operations: "It's unfortunate that our race was effectively decided on the first lap. Nico had a big snap in turn three and nearly spun: he was able to save it but ended up running over the kerb and gravel. Telemetry showed he lost a major amount of aerodynamic performance immediately afterwards and that made it a very challenging race for him: to Nico's credit, he brought the car to the end despite such difficult conditions. Gabriel's race was also compromised in the opening stages: he was battling Bearman when he lost downforce and spun, losing considerable time and requiring an early stop for new tyres. From there, it was always going to be difficult to make it back. On a positive note, Gabriel's pace in the final stint on hard tyres was strong, matching our direct competitors. The encouraging takeaway is that both cars completed the race, our overall pace throughout the weekend was encouraging and the operations went smoothly, even with the added challenge of yesterday's incident in the Sprint. There's still plenty of work to be done, of course: the field is tight, and every marginal improvement counts on track. Whichever team brings those tenths first will gain the advantage, so we must keep pushing hard."

The Chinese Grand Prix ended with a one-two finish for McLaren, with Oscar Piastri ahead of Lando Norris, the Australian taking the third win of his career. For the English team, it was win number 191, it's third in a row and the fourth at this event, the first in 14 years, since Lewis Hamilton won in 2011. Piastri and Norris secured McLaren's 50th one-two finish, the second for this driver pairing after they finished in the same order in Budapest last year.

For the second consecutive time this season, George Russell stood on the third step of the podium to secure Mercedes' 300th podium finish (129 wins, 98 second places and 73 thirds). This particular list is headed by Ferrari on 829 ahead of McLaren with 527 and Williams with 313.

On the starting grid, 17 drivers opted for the Medium for the first stint with only Lance Stroll and Oliver Bearman going for the Hard, while Liam Lawson also opted for the C2, but he started from the pit lane because of a penalty. While all the indications going into the race were for a two-stop strategy being clearly the most plausible, the way the race went and the tyre behaviour, especially in the case of the Hard that had not been used at all over the previous two days, steered the majority of the field towards a one-stop the more the cars ran on track.

Those who started on the Medium pitted to take on the C2 in a window between laps 10 and 20, Pierre Gasly the first to stop and Alex Albon and Nico Hulkenberg the last. Meanwhile, the three drivers who started on the Hard ran a variety of stint lengths: Lawson came in on lap 18, Bearman on 26 and Stroll stayed out until 36. Apart from these three, Gabriel Bortoleto had to pit on the opening lap to go straight onto the Hard, before coming in for another set of C2s after 25 laps.

In the second part of the race, it became clear that the Hard tyre was working very well, with only slight degradation. Three drivers (Hamilton and the two Racing Bulls) nevertheless went for a second stop, leaving the rest of the field to go all the way to the chequered flag. Of those who started on the Hard, Stroll and Bearman did their second stint on the Medium.

Mario Isola: "One of the key points of this Grand Prix was finding out how the Hard performed at this track. Clearly, data gathered over the first two days here, especially from the Sprint, gave the teams indications of how to change the car set-up in order to protect the front axle as much as possible, as it was the one most susceptible to graining. Track evolution meant it decreased on the Mediums compared to what was seen in the short race, even if for some teams, the wear was still significant. For its part, the Hard displayed only limited graining and more significantly, it performed very consistently including over very long stints, even allowing drivers to attack in the closing stages, as was the case with Verstappen for example. When evaluating C2 behaviour, one should bear in mind that it is the compound that has undergone the biggest changes of any in the 2025 range and therefore was something of an unknown quantity for all the teams.

"All things considered, it was quite an interesting weekend on a track, or specifically on a track surface, that produced very significant performance gains. For example, even today, the fastest race lap was 2"741 quicker than last year's set on a very similar lap to last year, with Hamilton on lap 41 today and Alonso on lap 45 last year. With the first double-header now done and dusted, Formula 1 takes a short break before tackling a triple-header on tracks that are very different to each other, even if they all hold the promise of exciting racing, starting with the round in Suzuka over the first weekend in April."