What comes next after F1 calls off multiple Middle East races <\/a><\/p>\nAlonso retires with vibration issues | 00:23<\/p>\n
\u2018HERE WE GO, KIMI. VICTORY.\u2019<\/p>\n
Toto Wolff keep receipts; all the great powerbrokers do.<\/p>\n
He redeemed them all at once after Antonelli took the chequered flag.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s too young. We shouldn\u2019t put him in a Mercedes. Put him in a smaller team. He needs experience. Look at the mistakes he makes,\u201d Wolff said, rattling off the criticisms levelled at team and driver last year.<\/p>\n
\u201cHere we go, Kimi. Victory.\u201d<\/p>\n
This result is in many respects personal for Wolff, who deep down smarts at being beaten to Max Verstappen\u2019s signature by Red Bull.<\/p>\n
Antonelli, he hopes, is the answer to his missed Verstappen chance, and he was willing to take the flack for the call last year, as the teenager predictably struggled to adapt to life in Formula 1, particularly as the team lumbered through another generally uncompetitive campaign in the ground-effect era.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s maybe come earlier than I thought,\u201d Wolff told Sky Sports nonetheless. \u201cLast year we said it was going to be a difficult year with many ups and downs and mistakes, and then bang, second race \u2014 he\u2019s controlled it at the front.<\/p>\n
Mercedes’ Austrian team principal and CEO Toto Wolff (L) congratulates third-placed Ferrari’s British driver Lewis HamiltonSource: AFP<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s driven very well today. He\u2019s probably a little bit better than the trajectory I thought.\u201d<\/p>\n
There was a second important thread that was impossible to ignore too.<\/p>\n
Putting Antonelli into a Formula 1 seat in 2025 wasn\u2019t the original plan. Lewis Hamilton had an option on his contract to continue with the team until the end of last year, but the Briton famously decided against activating it to join Ferrari instead.<\/p>\n
Part of the reason for that was that Mercedes was no longer willing to offer him long-term deals as he hurtled towards his 40s.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re in a sport where cognitive sharpness is extremely important, and I believe everyone has a shelf life,\u201d Wolff said in the book Inside Mercedes.<\/p>\n
The Antonelli plan was fast-tracked to fill the gap left by Hamilton.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have to say a huge congratulations to Kimi,\u201d Hamilton said, sharing the podium with the teenager. \u201cHe took my seat, obviously, at this great team.\u201d<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t the first time Hamilton used that phrase, and he appeared to be using it with genuine warmth.<\/p>\n
It nonetheless served to emphasise that Mercedes really does believe that, given enough time, it really could have the next Hamilton on its hands \u2014 and that sometimes generational change can\u2019t be held back.<\/p>\n
Electrical issue ends Piastri’s race | 00:59<\/p>\n
THERE\u2019S LIFE IN \u2018OLD DOG\u2019 HAMILTON YET<\/p>\n
Hamilton holds the unenviable record of most Ferrari starts without a podium, at 23, but the Briton got it done at the 24th time of asking.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s fitting that it should have come in China. Not only was this the scene of his previous Ferrari highlight \u2014 sprint pole and victory last year \u2014 but he shared in a Mercedes one-two finish, almost as if formalising the changing of the guard.<\/p>\n
When he stood on the podium, he was standing alongside his successor, Antonelli; his former teammate, George Russell; and, perhaps most importantly, his former race engineer, Peter Bonnington.<\/p>\n
Bono, as he\u2019s known, had been the voice in Hamilton\u2019s ear for his entire Mercedes career, playing a role in the six world titles he won with the team, but elected not to follow him to Ferrari, instead taking on the project of transitioning Antonelli into Formula 1.<\/p>\n
For Wolff, who has been decisive in guiding all three drivers, it was an emotional moment.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been in Formula 1, but that podium was one of the best moments I\u2019ve ever had,\u201d he said. \u201cThe three of them with Bono right in the middle, who had been with Lewis forever then basically taking over Kimi and making Kimi into what he is today \u2014 to be honest, it is rare that I\u2019m overwhelmed, but this is such a moment.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hamilton was similarly moved by the moment.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo see George come through the sport and then get to Formula 1, and now to see Kimi come through and to be able to be here with them \u2014 especially as Kimi took my seat \u2014 and then Bono, whom I\u2019ve worked with for so long, it\u2019s like sitting here with my whole family,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
But Hamilton wasn\u2019t happy just because he was sharing in an important moment for a team he chose to leave.<\/p>\n
This was also an important race for him.<\/p>\n
Hamilton has turned a corner.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s hard to be definitive about how close Hamilton is to peak from and whether he\u2019s still good enough to fight for the title with Charles Leclerc as his teammate, but it\u2019s clear the seven-time champion is much happier and much more effective in the 2026 Ferrari.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been pushing for a podium,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s the hardest thing just to get a podium compared to a lot through my career and it was the biggest challenge to get that, and I just had to bide my time.<\/p>\n
\u201cComing into the season I really cultivated that really positive mental attitude and I\u2019m taking that forward with me.<\/p>\n
\u201cI definitely feel like I\u2019m back to my best both mentally and physically.<\/p>\n
\u201cI do think there\u2019s more to come.\u201d<\/p>\n
Or, as Bono put it to Sky Sports: \u201cThere\u2019s life in the old dog.\u201d<\/p>\n
F1 makes call on Middle East races | 00:21<\/p>\n
McLAREN IN HISTORIC DISASTER AS MERCEDES UNRELIABILITY COUNT MOUNTS<\/p>\n
McLaren collected a historic first of its won this weekend, though it was a deeply unwanted one.<\/p>\n
The Chinese Grand Prix was the first race in 21 years, since 2005, that both cars didn\u2019t take the start.<\/p>\n
And it\u2019s worth mentioning that the team withdrew both its cars on safety grounds at the infamous 2005 United States Grand Prix.<\/p>\n
China, then, was the first time in the team\u2019s two-car history that it failed to have at least one of its cars on the grid when the lights went out.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously a disappointing day,\u201d McLaren boss Andrea Stella said. \u201cIt\u2019s quite frustrating, because we go racing to be on track, and today we saw two McLarens in the garage while the other cars were racing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Norris\u2019s car was the first to be withdrawn, with the reigning champion unable to even leave pit lane. Piastri made it to the grid but was wheeled off at the final moment \u2014 while the opening credits of the broadcast were playing \u2014 and didn\u2019t make it out again.<\/p>\n
Stella explained that, remarkably, both cars suffered terminal failures to the same part but for totally different reasons.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn Lando\u2019s car, in preparation for the laps to the grid, we saw that there were problems with the electrical side of the power unit. We couldn\u2019t communicate with this component.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe tried to rectify the problem. We tried to change as many parts as possible without having to change that part specifically, because it would take a long time and we couldn\u2019t have made it to the start of the race.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe reprogrammed, but there was no way to fix the problem, and Lando\u2019s car was simply just not in a condition to leave the garage.<\/p>\n
Formula 1 driver Oscar Piastri of the McLaren Mastercard Formula 1 Team participates in the Formula 1 China Shanghai sprint race at the Shanghai International Circuit in Shanghai, China, on March 14, 2025. (Photo by Marcel van Dorst\/EYE4IMAGES\/NurPhoto via Getty Images)Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
\u201cOn Oscar\u2019s side \u2026 once on the grid, the car wouldn\u2019t fire up again \u2014 in a similar manner to Lando, but actually on Oscar\u2019s side it was easier to diagnose the problem, and it appears to be a problem with the same power unit component on the electrical side but a problem of a different nature.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s quite exceptional and uncharacteristic that you have two terminal problems pretty much at the same time on the same component, which in this case is on the electrical side of the power unit.\u201d<\/p>\n
McLaren buys customer Mercedes power units, and Stella said that all the evidence suggested the failure was in \u201can area of the car which is not under McLaren\u2019s control\u201d \u2014 that is, in Mercedes\u2019s jurisdiction.<\/p>\n
McLaren\u2019s double failure follows the Mercedes works team having an as-yet unexplained systems failure during qualifying on Saturday that almost prevented Russell from contending in Q3. In Australia last weekend, Carlos Sainz failed to qualify due to a Mercedes power unit problem too.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s too early to say there\u2019s a definite trend here, and every team and power unit manufacturer has a story of at least some unreliability this year given the dramatically changed regulations.<\/p>\n
But for all the strengths of the Mercedes package, there certainly appears to be some weaknesses too.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s galling for McLaren, the defending constructors champion, which still believes it can get its season back on track.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe most detrimental aspect of not being able to participate in this race is the points in the championship,\u201d Stella said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe obviously race with the ambition to compete for important results, and we are just losing ground.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s painful for Norris, who must be wondering whether he\u2019ll have a chance to defend his championship at all.<\/p>\n
But it must be most frustrating for Piastri, who is yet to even start a grand prix this year, never mind finish one, with his only points coming from Saturday\u2019s sprint race.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is a tough moment, that\u2019s for sure,\u201d Stella said. \u201cIf we consider that Oscar has not been able to start a race in this start of the 2026 campaign, that\u2019s pretty difficult for Oscar to process.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut at the same time, and this was testified and witnessed in the conversation with Lando and Oscar after the race, both remain quite positive.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kimi Pole makes Grand Prix HISTORY | 00:59<\/p>\n
HIGH ATTRITION LEADS TO MIXED RESULTS<\/p>\n
McLaren\u2019s double DNS was representative of the high attrition rate in Shanghai that reflects fears about unreliability late last year more than it does what looked like a rock-solid pre-season testing campaign for most teams.<\/p>\n
The demands of competition are always harsher than those of practice.<\/p>\n
Only 15 of the 22 drivers saw the chequered flag.<\/p>\n
Norris and Piastri were joined by Gabriel Bortoleto and Alex Albon in abortive pit-lane starts, the latter two due to hydraulic issues.<\/p>\n
Lance Stroll retired after only nine laps with a suspected battery problem, with teammate Fernando Alonso retiring after 32 laps due to extreme vibrations in the car that left his arm number \u2014 team boss Adrian Newey, who was not in China, said last week that the Spaniard though he would suffer permanent nerve damage if he completed a race in the car.<\/p>\n
Max Verstappen then retired 11 laps from the finish with what he called an energy recovery system cooling problem, ending the Dutchman\u2019s miserable, scoreless weekend early.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think this weekend was particularly bad,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are more problems than we expected and also balance-wise it\u2019s not where we want to be. A lot of stuff that hopefully after Japan \u2014 we have a bit of a bigger break now \u2014 we can make some good steps.\u201d<\/p>\n
But having so many drivers out of the mix \u2014 combined with Isack Hadjar being spun off the road and dropping to last on the first lap \u2014 opened the door to some surprises scorers.<\/p>\n
Oliver Bearman was an excellent fifth, which was enough to put his Haas team a remarkable fourth in the constructors championship. All 17 of the team\u2019s points are his; teammate Esteban Ocon failed to score again after crashing into Franco Colapinto and copping a 10-second penalty to contribute to the shifting power dynamic against him inside the team.<\/p>\n
Pierre Gasly was superb to finish sixth for Alpine, getting the sort of result the team expected in pre-season testing but was shocked to be nowhere near in Australia. He was backed up by teammate Franco Colapinto, who snuck home in 10th for the first point of his Alpine career and first F1 score since his Williams reserve days of 2024.<\/p>\n
Liam Lawson doubled down on his sprint points in seventh for Racing Bulls, the Kiwi keeping his head down and doing the job.<\/p>\n
And Carlos Sainz gave Williams some tiny bit of relief by getting the team on the board when previously it had been among only Aston Martin and Cadillac as the non-scorers.<\/p>\n
If unreliability is going to be a significant part of the 2026 story, these sorts of races are going to count when the prize money is doled out in December.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Andrea Kimi Antonelli is the 116th person to win a grand prix. New winners are the lifeblood of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":542523,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[573],"tags":[268807,2074,51051,12295,13273,268805,1724,268811,64,63,689,48781,268814,268803,4971,13275,49522,512,264166,268809,2055,254589,11539,268804,9239,268797,268808,268812,81095,22304,259935,817,845,114490,813,816,1802,267877,3875,2105,867,841,268815,224633,941,268806,825,268810,677,5242,31301,264306,68795,18923,268799,223944,77365,51043,31307,43359,194719,268798,22305,4933,81217,2643,85,18905,22784,268813,268800,268816,268801,268802,55620,38453,45683,16198,2798,9020],"class_list":["post-542522","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-formula-1","tag-abortive-pit-lane-starts","tag-adrian-newey","tag-alex-bierens-de-haan","tag-andrea-kimi-antonelli","tag-andrea-stella","tag-arm-number","tag-asia","tag-attrition-rate","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australia-and-new-zealand","tag-bono","tag-buys-customer","tag-car-vibrations","tag-carlos-sainz","tag-charles-leclerc","tag-chequered-flag","tag-china","tag-chinese-grand","tag-claims-chinese","tag-constructors-championship","tag-defending-constructors-champion","tag-disappointing-day","tag-double-failure","tag-eastern-asia","tag-electrical-issue","tag-electrical-issue-ends","tag-electrical-side","tag-energy-recovery-system","tag-esteban-ocon","tag-extreme-vibrations","tag-f1","tag-fernando-alonso","tag-final-moment","tag-formula-1","tag-formula1","tag-franco-colapinto","tag-generational-change","tag-george-russell","tag-getty-images-inc","tag-giancarlo-fisichella","tag-grand-prix","tag-historic-achievement","tag-horror-campaign","tag-japan","tag-leave-pit-lane","tag-max-verstappen","tag-mercedes-unreliability","tag-oceania","tag-oliver-bearman","tag-one-two-finish","tag-permanent-nerve-damage","tag-peter-bonnington","tag-power-unit","tag-power-unit-component","tag-power-unit-manufacturer","tag-power-unit-problem","tag-pre-season-testing","tag-race-engineer","tag-race-winner","tag-safety-grounds","tag-second-youngest-driver","tag-seven-time-champion","tag-shanghai","tag-shelf-life","tag-sky-sports","tag-sports","tag-sprint-points","tag-sprint-pole","tag-surprises-scorers","tag-suspected-battery-problem","tag-terminal-failures","tag-terminal-problems","tag-unexplained-systems-failure","tag-ups-and-downs","tag-winners-circle","tag-wolff","tag-works-team","tag-world-titles","tag-young-gun"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/542522","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=542522"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/542522\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/542523"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=542522"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=542522"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=542522"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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