F1 news: McLaren star Oscar Piastri makes up for Melbourne misery, Haas impress and more

The 2025 Formula One season is already heating up, and McLaren’s Oscar Piastri has made an early statement by clinching his third F1 victory at the Chinese Grand Prix.

McLaren now leads both the Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships, signalling that they may be serious contenders this season.

With plenty of predictions swirling before the season kicked off, Sports News Blitz writer Harrison Pearce takes a closer look at five teams and how they fared at the Chinese Grand Prix.

McLaren’s dominance

After Melbourne’s misery, Oscar Piastri won the Chinese Grand Prix, securing a crucial one-two finish for McLaren and valuable points in the title race.

Piastri was brave from the very first lap defending against George Russell at Turn 1. He maintained the lead at the start and went on to claim this third F1 race win.

Lando Norris, meanwhile, had to battle hard to reclaim third position after a tough fight with Russell.

Though Norris is chasing every point he can get, his Australian team-mate seems determined to mount a serious challenge for the World Championship.

Right now, it feels like McLaren’s fiercest competition could come from within, as Piastri and Norris may find themselves locked in a tense fight to see who comes out on top.

McLaren have also executed their strategies to perfection so far, helped in part by their rivals struggling to find form.

The big question now is whether McLaren can maintain this momentum when the other teams start to catch up.

Mercedes are what Ferrari want to be

While much of the spotlight is on McLaren, Red Bull, and Ferrari, it’s Mercedes who might just be the team to keep an eye on.

Russell has been flying slightly under the radar, but his performance in China speaks volumes.

He finished just 1.349 seconds behind Norris, securing his second podium of the season as Mercedes’ clear number-one driver.

After an impressive debut, for Andrea Kimi Antonelli, it wasn’t the smoothest start to the race.

After slipping down to 15th place by Lap 18, the Italian rookie showed resilience and fought his way back to finish a respectable 8th.

With two races now in the books, Mercedes find themselves only 21 points behind McLaren in the Constructors’ Championship.

It’s still early days, but if they keep this form up, they could soon be right in the thick of the title race.

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Haas wave past the competition

Estaban Ocon and Oliver-Ollie-Bearman seemed to have learned from their mistakes from the last race, with both drivers finishing in the top ten and earning valuable points.

Rookie Bearman had some fun along the way, letting the excitement of the race get to him not once, but twice.

After pulling off daring overtakes and leaving rival cars in his wake, Bearman cheekily said “ciao” over team radio - a moment that captured just how confident he was feeling.

The adrenaline must have been flowing, as both Ocon and Bearman delivered solid, respectable performances in China, giving Haas something to celebrate.

Meanwhile, at the halfway mark of the race, all six rookies on the grid found themselves stuck in the bottom ten, struggling to match the pace of the more experienced drivers.

It’s clear they still have a long way to go to compete with F1’s elite.

Disastrous start for Red Bull

One team that isn’t off to the best start this season is Red Bull, who look miles off the pace compared to their usual dominant form.

Defending world champion Max Verstappen has fallen short of his sky-high expectations so far and seems to be struggling more than even he might have anticipated.

After failing to secure a podium finish in China, questions are already swirling about whether this could turn out to be a transitional season for Red Bull.

Adding to their troubles, Liam Lawson is slowly letting his team down.

The New Zealand driver needs to get to grips with the team sooner rather than later if Red Bull want to challenge for the Constructors’ championship - especially with McLaren and Mercedes currently looking stronger.

The question on everybody’s lips would be how long Red Bull will stick with Lawson if he doesn’t turn things around.

With a reputation for dropping drivers mid-season, if they can’t match Verstappen’s level, it will be fascinating to see how the situation unfolds in the next few races.

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Ferrari off the Boyle

There was plenty of excitement around Ferrari this season, with fans eager to see how the new driver pairing of Charles Leclerc and seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton would perform.

Many fans are touting them to win a trophy for the Constructors’ championship this season, but so far, they have failed to impress.

Their weekend in China ended in disaster, with Leclerc disqualified due to his car being underweight, while Hamilton was disqualified due to excessive skid wear.

That said, Ferrari haven’t been awful by any means - perhaps people were simply expecting instant results.

In reality, it may take a bit more time for the Italian team to find their rhythm and adapt to the changes.

You would expect, at some point seven-time world champion Hamilton to kick into gear and get the team strategy right.

However, in both races so far, there have been moments of questionable decisions that have worked against them.

The Prancing Horse are currently P5 in the Constructors championship, and they will have to get those indecisive moments spot on if they want to fulfil their exciting potential.

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