Piastri wins in China as Hamilton, Leclerc and Gasly Disqualified

The Australian Formula 1 driver Oscar Piastri converted his Maiden Grand Prix pole position into the victory, while three of his rivals were amazingly disqualified after the race.

The McLaren driver was flawless in Shanghai to win the Chinese Grand Prix, for teammate Lando Norris and Mercedes driver George Russell.

The victory means that McLaren, last year’s constructors champions, have been triumphed in the first two Grands Prix of the season, after Lando Norris had demanded the victory in Melbourne last Sunday.

In the meantime it was a disastrous afternoon for McLaren’s Rivals Ferrari, in which both Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton were disqualified from the race, after the end of the fifth and six.

At the front of the schedule, Piastri was completely smiling when he was embraced by McLaren CEO Zak Brown after his great performance.

After making a mistake that cost him a stage finish in his hometown a week earlier, Piastri was excellent in Shanghai the entire weekend.

“Mega Job, Boys. Mega, Mega Job,” Piastri said through his team radio after the checkered flag.

The Australian did not get the fastest start of the line, but he was able to press Russell and maintain the lead in the first corner and Norris Sprong in second place when Russell was jeopardized in the top.

World champion Max Verstappen fell from the fourth to the sixth of the start and was jumped by both Ferraris.

Piastri made full use of clean air in the opening rounds, where a lead over Norris was maintained, because all drivers managed tire wear on a trail that causes a high relegation.

At the end of 14 laps of the lead, Piastri took third place together with Russell, while Norris had to wait until the end of the next round for new tires.

Piastri maintained the net lead of the race, while Norris was overtaken by Russell, who made full use of an extra round with fresh rubber.

Norris was able to resume Russell’s position a few laps later.

But by the time he had achieved that and had overtaken the Williams of Alex Albon, who had not set up, Piastri had set a lead of more than four seconds on round 20 of 56.

It became clear that I stopped once was the right strategy, when many believed that two stops would be needed on Sunday.

Hamilton, before his disqualification, took the second time with the expectation that he could chase his rivals on older ties.

That did not happen and the world champion turned out to be one of the fastest on the right track in the race, causing Charles Leclerc to catch up to claim fourth.

In the meantime, Piastri was cool and measured at the front. The advantage of the Australian has never fallen under two seconds for Norris.

The Brit started to struggle in round 43, with his lap times delayed and achieved the pressure from Piastri.

Norris complained about a braking issue, so Piastri could control his pace and lead his way to victory.

Both Ferrari drivers and Gasly Disqualified

The cars from Leclerc and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly both turned out to be one kilogram under the minimum weight requirement of 800 kg.

In the meantime, Hamilton was removed from the classified finishers after it was determined that the rear slip block on his car was under the minimum thickness that was needed for the technical regulations of the sport.

The report of FIA F1 Technical Representative Jo Bauer for Leclerc and Gasly discovered that both cars were legal when they were first weighed, but after two liters of fuel were removed – according to the regulations – the cars fell under the 800 kg benchmark.

For Hamilton, his rear slip block was thinner than nine millimeters during inspection.

The rear slip block, also known as a shelf, is a mandatory part at the bottom of the car that regulates the riding height of an F1 car.

The rear slip block often comes into contact with the ground during a Grand Prix, who wears out at its thickness.

But it can’t wear up to less than nine millimeters thick, which Hamilton’s plank had done.

“The shelf assembly of Car 44 was measured and turned out to be 8.6 mm (LHS), 8.6 mm (car agent) and 8.5 mm (RHS). This is lower than the minimum thickness of 9 mm specified on the basis of Article 3.5.9 of the technical regulations,” said the Steward’s report.

“During the hearing, the team representative confirmed that the measurement is correct and that all required procedures were performed correctly.”

The team also acknowledged that there were no mitigating circumstances and that it was a real fault of the team.

“The stewards determine that Article 3.5.9 of the FIA ​​Formula 1 has been violated technical regulations and therefore the standard punishment of a disqualification must be applied for such an infringement.”

Leclerc crossed the line on the fifth, for teammate Hamilton in the sixth, while Gasly was outside the points in the 11th.

The change in classification now means that Esteban Ocony Fifth finished for Haas, a remarkable result for the team.

Mercedes Rookie Kimi Antonelli finished sixth, then Alex Albon (Williams), Ollie Bearman (Haas), Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) and Carlos Sainz (Williams).