Did Red Bull build an undriveable car? Questions from the Chinese Grand Prix.
Formula 1 spent this past weekend in Shanghai for the 2025 Chinese Grand Prix. There was a little something for everyone: entertaining racing on-track, different winners for the sprint and Grand Prix, some driver and team intrigue, rumors of a potential technical shake-up happening soon, and a bit of an argument that exposes the entertainment side of the sport.
Once out in the countryside, skyscrapers are starting to fill in the backdrop behind the Shanghai International Circuit. One of the mid-2000s crop of race tracks designed by Hermann Tilke, it’s characterized by the neverending decreasing radii that are turns 1 and 2, plus the longest straight on the calendar. It was freshly resurfaced for this year, eliminating the bumps and increasing the grip level to fix a botched job performed ahead of last year’s F1 race.
China was home to the first sprint weekend of the year, with a 19-lap race on Saturday in place of that morning’s practice session ahead of the 56-lap race on Sunday. Lewis Hamilton, now clad in bright Ferrari red, led from start to finish, showing the kind of ability that has led him to 105 race wins. Hamilton’s last year with Mercedes was better than the winless 2022 and 2023, but his new Ferrari already appears to suit him better.
A smiling Lewis Hamilton after Saturday’s sprint race.
Bryn Lennon – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images
A smiling Lewis Hamilton after Saturday’s sprint race.
Bryn Lennon – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images
F1 has only gotten more popular in the last year, and much of that growth has been in China.
Mark Sutton – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images
F1 has only gotten more popular in the last year, and much of that growth has been in China.
Mark Sutton – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images
A smiling Lewis Hamilton after Saturday’s sprint race.
Bryn Lennon – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images
F1 has only gotten more popular in the last year, and much of that growth has been in China.
Mark Sutton – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images
This was very much the high point of Ferrari’s weekend. Both Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton were disqualified from the race results, Leclerc due to his car being 1 kg underweight and Hamilton for having worn away too much of the wooden “legality plank” underneath the car, which is a telltale sign that the car is running too close to the ground.
Red Bull’s growing problem
Red Bull, by comparison, has not built a car that suits its drivers well. Yes, Max Verstappen finished second in Australia, but he needed all of his generational talent to do so in a car that is clearly not the fastest (and also has a tiny operating window). Verstappen wants a car with an immense front grip, and Red Bull has gone down that design direction with much past success.