Oscar Piastri hails mega McLaren after dominant China one two

SHANGHAI – Oscar Piastri hailed his “mega” McLaren after leading from pole to win the Chinese Grand Prix on March 23 ahead of teammate Lando Norris, while Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton were disqualified after their cars failed post-race checks.

The cool-headed Australian bounced back perfectly from his disappointing spin in the closing laps of last week’s season-opener in Melbourne, as he took his third career grand prix win.

From the moment he fended off George Russell’s Mercedes at the first bend, Piastri was in total control for all 56 laps around the 5.451km Shanghai International Circuit.

Norris darted past from third on the grid at the same turn and the two McLarens then sped away, leaving Russell alone for most of the race to take his second third-place finish of the season.

It made it two victories out of two grands prix for McLaren, after championship leader Norris won in Melbourne. It was the team’s 50th one-two finish in their long history.

Only Ferrari’s Hamilton, who beat Piastri to pole and chequered flag in the sprint race on March 22, denied McLaren a clean sweep.

“It’s been an incredible weekend, the car has been pretty mega,” said Piastri, 23, after McLaren made a one-stop strategy work to perfection. “Very, very happy.

“The hard was a much better tyre than everyone expected, so to go all the way to the end was a bit of a surprise, but a happy surprise.”

Norris had to cope with a late brake issue which forced him to settle for second – 9.748 seconds behind – rather than launch a challenge on his teammate.

“I was lucky. Lucky to finish the race today and that’s not something you want to be saying. Brakes are something you hate but something you really do