The Formula Ones returned to China after a five-year hiatus, but that didn’t change the marching order. Red Bull Max Verstappen was still the overwhelming number one. Valtteri Bottas fought for the first points of his F1 season, but had to stop before the middle of the race with engine failure.
Urheilu’s F1 expert Jukka Mildh review the hottest topics of the race weekend.
What solved it?
Due to the long break, tire wear control was established at the Shanghai F1 circuit. Red Bull was in a class of its own here Max Verstappen.
McLaren unexpectedly took second place Lando Norris before another Red Bull driver Sergio Perez. The Mexican suffered from safety car situations in the race and was unable to keep second place.
In the race, the safety car had to be used first after Bottas’ suspension. The scrappy restart after that brought a new safety car to the track.
– For some, the pit stop hit the button in these moments and for others it didn’t, Mildh assesses the most decisive moment in the race.
With the safety car episodes, Mildh also thought the Shanghai race was the most interesting of the season.
– The Shanghai circuit is also very challenging. This turned out to be an entertaining competition, says Mildh.
What speaks?
The safety car after Valtteri Bottas’ suspension and the resulting restart will haunt Porina for a long time after the race. Lance Stroll shook the Australian hero on the restart Daniel Ricciardo after. Ricciardo, on the other hand, hit McLaren Oscar Piastr. This is how the younger Australian colleague also became a surrogate sufferer.
Stroll received a ten-second time penalty for the situation. The Canadian, who is known to be prone to mistakes and a noisy driver, thought the penalty was a joke and felt that the whole situation started well ahead of Fernando Alonso’s lock braking.
Mildh also saw the situation as a chain reaction that started with Alonso.
– We will certainly talk about the distances of the cars behind the safety cars when we approach the restart. Now we saw many situations where drivers were not awake. This situation will certainly cause a discussion, because the destruction was great compared to what happened, Mildh estimates.
Haas too Kevin Magnussen after the restart crashed the Racing Bulls Yuki Tsunoda with. Magnussen received a 10-second time penalty from the jury for the situation and ended up in 15th place in the race. Tsunoda’s race ended with a hit by Magnussen.
The expert did not flatter the Danish driver.
– He is a good driver and a nice guy, but now you can see despair about the future. The impression remained that Magnussen is starting to be a security risk during the Games, Mildh referred to the Dane’s expiring contract.
What about Bottas?
Like Magnussen, Valtteri Bottas is driving for his future. Bottas hinted before Sunday’s race that he should have the best chance of reaching F1 points this season so far. Bottas had run a good qualifying session and made it into the top ten for the first time in the last section.
Bottas fought for the points before having to stop on the 21st lap due to an engine failure.
– Driving into the top ten was a really good performance. In the race, he really took a super start again. Bottas’ driving shows fire and grit, Mildh assessed and also saw Sauber’s better direct pace as a positive development step.
According to the expert, Bottas would have driven from the points before his independent suspension.
Dark clouds gathered around the Finn, however, when he once again took longer than his competitors to make a pit stop. Bottas had time to drop Haas during his pit stop Nico Hülkenberg’s back and into 11th place before retiring.
On top of the pit stops, the car now had a technical fault.
– Operations are still slow. Even the basics don’t work. The pit stop problems started with a tire nut problem. The team’s design department should have come up with solutions much faster. There has also been uncertainty in the operation of the pit team, Mildh describes.
It has long been thought that Sauber’s change to Audi’s factory team for the 2026 season will cause problems. Mildh sees that those fears have come true in a weak early season. Change status would explain the problems.
– It can be seen in the operation of the team and the performance of the drivers, Mildh reflects.
A flop?
The biggest flop of the Chinese F1 weekend was still Bottas’ former Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton. Britti managed only 18th place in qualifying. The seven-time champion finished ninth in the final results of the race, but the expert reminds that Hamilton cannot be satisfied with the result.
Hamilton explained his weak qualifying session on Saturday by saying that he had wanted to try different adjustments compared to his teammate to George Russell. Hamilton had been second in the sprint race, but had thought that, looking at the poor races earlier in the season, the timing adjustments could not go in a worse direction. However, this is what happened.
– It’s incomprehensible that a driver and team of that level can’t make it work. Hamilton has a lot to do. However, teammate George Russell managed well (sixth in the final results). The impression remains that Mercedes has fallen far behind McLaren, for example, in its development, Mildh describes.
Surprise?
As a surprise, Mildh brings out McLaren and Lando Norris in the bigger picture. McLaren has surprisingly been able to challenge its bigger rivals after last year’s rise. China was the most recent example of that.
– Lando Norris is starting to become a strong driver. It’s really refreshing and surprising that McLaren, which is considered a private team, is doing such a good job. They’re just developing, says Mildh.
Score
Drivers’ point standings
Points standings of the teams