Practice 1 Report - Norris fastest as McLaren shines in China

Lando Norris, Australian GP 2025
© McLaren

Lando Norris topped the timesheets in the sole practice session for the Chinese Grand Prix, continuing McLaren’s strong early-season form.

After taking victory in Melbourne, Norris picked up where he left off by clocking a blistering 1m31.504s around a newly resurfaced Shanghai International Circuit, finishing nearly half a second clear of the rest of the field.

Charles Leclerc was the closest challenger in second for Ferrari, though still 0.454s behind the flying McLaren. His teammate Lewis Hamilton slotted into fourth, while Oscar Piastri showed further pace in the second McLaren to finish third despite a mistake on his final run.

Ferrari looked like McLaren’s closest rival over a single lap, although Leclerc spun into the gravel at Turn 2 with 20 minutes remaining, halting his progress.

The weekend marks the first sprint event of the 2025 season, leaving drivers with just this one hour of practice before heading into Sprint Qualifying.

That limited track time proved costly for the six rookies on the grid, especially Alpine’s Jack Doohan, who suffered a power steering failure that brought out a red flag and ended his session early.

Max Verstappen had a low-key outing, ending up 16th after running on medium tyres throughout. With Red Bull seemingly off the pace and rookie Liam Lawson running through the gravel again, questions continue to swirl around the team’s form and car setup. Verstappen’s time was more than two seconds off Norris’s benchmark.

George Russell took fifth for Mercedes, ahead of Nico Hulkenberg in the Sauber and Alex Albon in an encouraging outing for Williams. Carlos Sainz, still finding his feet at Williams, was one of the early front-runners but dropped to 15th by the end of the session. The final four spots on the timesheets were all occupied by rookies: Doohan, Gabriel Bortoleto, Lawson, and Isack Hadjar.

Shanghai’s new asphalt provided higher grip levels, but gusty tailwinds caught several drivers out, making for a tricky session overall. With conditions expected to stay dry, the stage is now set for Sprint Qualifying, where teams will have to make the most of limited data in what promises to be an unpredictable and tightly contested weekend.