The McLaren Mastercard Formula 1 Team suffered a frustrating Sunday with separate electrical faults on the power unit side, which prevented both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri from taking the start of the 2026 Chinese Grand Prix.
During routine race preparation, a problem was identified on the electrical side of the power unit for Lando's car. Despite intense investigations and hard work in collaboration with our colleagues at HPP to fix the issue, there was no way to resolve the fault before the race start, resulting in the first time Lando has missed a Grand Prix start in his eight-year career.
In a separate scenario, following Oscar lining up to the grid, a separate issue was discovered on the electrical side of the number 81 car's power unit. Following significant work and effort by the entire team alongside HPP to find a resolution, unfortunately, we were left with no option but to bring back the car to the garage prior to the race start.
This resulted in an extremely unfortunate scenario with seemingly different terminal power unit electrical faults occurring for both HPP-powered McLaren Mastercard cars at the same time. This forced the two papaya cars to withdraw before the race start for the first time in over 20 years. This concludes a frustrating and unfortunate end to our weekend after a strong build-up across the opening days of running at Shanghai International Circuit.
As one team, attention now turns to a joint investigation together with HPP to see what learnings can be made to make sure that this doesn't happen again, as well as preparations before heading to Suzuka for round three of the 2026 season, where McLaren Mastercard will look to bounce back stronger.
Andrea Stella: "A Formula 1 race weekend is built from the effort and energy of many team members, both trackside and in Woking at the factory, not to mention our technical and commercial partners alongside the incredible McLaren Mastercard fans who invest in getting up early or staying up late to support us.
"We are here to go racing, and today we were not in condition to do so because of separate electrical problems on both power units, which is extremely frustrating and disappointing for the team, the drivers, our technical and commercial partners, and of course our fans. We are sorry for that and will make sure we bounce back as one team in Suzuka.
"Nothing had changed between Saturday's Qualifying and the fire-up in the garage pre-race, but as we prepared Lando's car to leave the garage an electrical problem was discovered on the power unit. We tried to fix it alongside our partners at Mercedes HPP, but there was no way to do so which resulted in the first prevention of a Formula 1 Grand Prix start in his career.
"Then on the grid we found another electrical issue on Oscar's power unit which couldn't be resolved, resulting the car being required to return to the garage for further investigation. They look to be separate electrical faults on the power unit occurring at the same time, an extremely unfortunate coincidence which meant there was simply no way to start the race with either car this afternoon. We'll investigate together alongside our partners at HPP to understand what happened.
"We move forward as one team both trackside and in Woking with our partners at HPP. We'll learn from today together and make sure it doesn't happen again before coming back stronger for the next race in Japan. Finally, we would also like to congratulate Andrea Kimi Antonelli on his first Formula 1 Grand Prix victory, a special achievement he will never forget."
Kimi Antonelli became the second youngest Grand Prix winner as he claimed his maiden F1 victory in today's Chinese Grand Prix. Teammate George Russell came home second as the team brought home another 1-2 to begin the season.
It was an all-Mercedes front-row with Kimi on pole and George alongside, both drivers starting on the Medium tyre. As in Australia, the fast-starting Ferraris got the best launch with Lewis Hamilton taking the lead and Charles Leclerc jumping up to P3, with Kimi second and George fourth. Kimi and George kept cool though and cycled through to P1 and P2 ahead of the Ferraris before a Safety Car intervention neutralised the field. Opting to take a cheap stop, both drivers swapped to the Hard compound but found it difficult to switch on the tyre in the cool conditions. That enabled the Ferraris to once again put pressure on our duo and George found himself once again having to battle back past both Hamilton and Leclerc. He was able to do that after several laps whilst Kimi stretched his legs at the front. Both drivers managed their cars and their tyres to the end, Kimi thus securing his first win in F1, George taking P2, and Lewis Hamilton rounding out the podium in P3. The team was represented on the podium by Head of Race Engineering and Kimi's race engineer, Peter 'Bono' Bonnington. George continues to lead the Drivers' World Championship with Kimi four points behind in P2.
Toto Wolff: This moment was never in doubt for Kimi. Right from his days in karting, we have known that he has all the talent necessary to develop into a Grand Prix winner. His family, along with the team, have done a brilliant job nurturing that talent and today shows that. There have been so many doubters writing him off, saying it was too early, that he doesn't have the composure necessary, and Kimi has proven them all wrong. This is just the start for him; he will keep his feet on the ground and keep working hard but he can definitely enjoy himself this evening.
Despite the result, it wasn't an easy afternoon for the team. The Ferraris kept us honest and George did a good job to battle back and finish ahead of them. It was also great to see Lewis (Hamilton) up on the podium with Kimi, George, and Bono. All four of them are such a big part of this team's history and it was brilliant to see them all up there together.
We've made a good start to the season but there is much work ahead. We will keep focused, keep pushing on and hopefully can continue to fight for victories as the season progresses.
Andrew Shovlin: Well done to Kimi on his first win! His first test in an F1 car was less than two years ago and to win today shows how far he has come in a short space of time. He has always had the raw speed but both he and the team have worked hard to refine that and he continues to grow. Today is another step on that journey and we are all so pleased for him.
We're also delighted to take home our second 1-2 to begin the season. It's not been an easy weekend; we've had quite a few problems on the cars and we were really lucky to get George out in Q3 yesterday. Nevetheless, it has been a great example of how this team never gives up. Despite the setbacks, we've raced hard and come away with a maximum number of points.
We've got a week to regroup now before we head to Japan. There is lots of work to do and we know further challenges ahead. We will focus on that but as we leave Shanghai and finish this first double header, it's great to be able to enjoy the results of the last two weeks after the work that has gone into producing and racing the W17 across both Laura Drive and Morgan Drive.
Laurent Mekies: "The Chinese Grand Prix proved to be a very tough event for us from Friday onwards. Being on the back foot at the start of a Sprint weekend is the worst possible scenario as there is really little time to catch up and get on top of any difficulties. We knew that just getting onto the grid in Melbourne with our own PU was a major achievement in itself and it would have been naïve not to expect we would encounter reliability issues.
"Today, we had to retire Max because of a coolant fault. However, this was not our only issue as overall, performance wise, our package showed some significant shortcomings. However, we have learned so much over the past few weeks and I expect that we can be more competitive from the next round in Japan in a fortnight's time. After that, the unfortunate but inevitable cancellation of the races in April will give all of us a chance to catch our breath and work as hard as always in Milton Keynes.
"We have a great group of talented people on the campus and I have full confidence that we will get through our current limitations thanks to a massive push from everyone, and improve our package rapidly."
Scuderia Ferrari HP produced another solid performance at the Shanghai International Circuit, with Lewis Hamilton finishing third, one place ahead of Charles Leclerc. Combined with the result of yesterday's Sprint, the team consolidates its second place in the Constructors' standings with 40 points. Lewis' first podium for Ferrari, combined with Charles' in Melbourne, confirms the potential of the SF-26 even if it's clear there is plenty of work to do to close the gap to Mercedes. Lewis and Charles put on a great show for the fans, with a race long duel between themselves as well as others. It was a thriller that kept the crowd on its feet for much of the afternoon.
As the lights went out, once again the Ferraris got perfect starts with Hamilton taking the lead ahead of Kimi Antonelli and Leclerc getting the better of George Russell to take third place. On lap 10, the Safety Car came out when Lance Stroll stopped on track and the top four all pitted immediately to take on Hard tyres with the aim of going all the way to the chequered flag. At the restart, an aggressive Lewis immediately passed Russell to regain second place, a move repeated by Charles shortly after. However, the Mercedes driver had better pace and was able to retake second place. It was at this point that Hamilton and Leclerc really brought the race to life with a close but always fair duel for the final podium position, changing places almost a dozen times. In the end, it was Lewis who came off best, leading Charles across the line by three and a half seconds.
The championship resumes in a fortnight's time with another race in Asia, the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka Circuit, a real test of driver and car, which will also produce a more accurate idea of the hierarchy among the teams.
Fred Vasseur: It was a positive weekend overall and I'm happy for Lewis, as this first podium with Ferrari is an important step for him. Of course we are still a long way off Mercedes and we need to work very hard in the coming weeks. We are working on all elements of our package, although it is a bit more difficult on the power unit as it is frozen at the moment, so we need to make progress in different areas.
Charles also had a positive weekend and the duel between our two drivers was very exciting, to the point that I had to check my heart rate! I trust both of them and I didn't want to ask them to freeze the positions, because that would have been unfair. They are professionals and today's battle was good for the team and good for the sport.
I'm also very pleased for Kimi (Antonelli). He had a strong weekend from start to finish. The first win is always very difficult to get, so he did very well.
James Vowles, Team Principal: "Incredible drive from Carlos to bring the car home and secure our first points of the season. Well done to him. He was faultless from start to finish and deserved those points today. With Alex we suffered a hydraulic issue on the laps to grid which meant that ultimately the car was unable to start the race. We clearly aspire to be more. We know we're not where the car needs to be performance-wise and we have plans across the next few months to remedy that. We know what we need to do reliability-wise and those are items that we need to get on top of with immediate effect because we have two top drivers and I believe both could have been in the points today."
Alan Permane: "To come away with a total of 8 points from a weekend where we clearly weren't quick enough is an exceptional result for the team. It was a very well executed race. We were unlucky with the Safety Car as we pitted Liam the lap before, but he drove a really great race. He was under a lot of pressure at one stage from Hadjar and didn't put a foot wrong, delivering a solid result. Starting on the Hard tyre, the Safety Car came at the wrong time for Arvid, which comprised his race and all the cars that started on the Hard tyre. A tough weekend for him, but the learning continues. A sprint weekend at a new track was always going to be tricky and especially where he didn't get much track time in FP1.
"It's a quick turnaround now, back to Europe for a week before heading out to Japan. It's a circuit that presents very different configurations and challenges compared to the last two races, and one we're looking forward to taking on."
Mike Krack: "Neither car completed today's race. Lance's car experienced a suspected battery issue and stopped on lap 10. Fernando's race ended on lap 34 when we retired the car due to discomfort from vibrations. That's something we are working with Honda to improve. We take away a lot of data and learning from this race, which we will apply as we prepare for Japan."
TGR Haas F1 Team finished with Ollie Bearman fifth and Esteban Ocon 14th at the Chinese Grand Prix, held Sunday at the Shanghai International Circuit.
Bearman took the start from P10 on Pirelli P Zero Yellow medium tires and surged up to sixth through the opening lap, but had to take evasive action against Isack Hadjar's spinning Red Bull, and dropped down the order. Bearman recovered across the opening stint, moving by Max Verstappen, before pitting on lap 10 for White hard tires under a safety car period. Bearman re-emerged in seventh place and passed yet-to-pit Esteban Ocon and Franco Colapinto to slot into fifth place. Bearman preserved the position across the remainder of the grand prix to collect 10 championship points, continuing his strong start to the new campaign.
Ocon started from P13 on hard tires and moved into the points-paying positions through a frenetic opening lap, and stayed out under the safety car to move into third place. On older and hard tires Ocon relinquished positions but remained firmly in the hunt for points, before pitting on lap 29 for medium tires. Ocon battled Colapinto through the first sequence of corners but unfortunately made contact with the Alpine driver and was issued a 10-second time penalty. Ocon pitted again on lap 48 for Red soft tires, serving his time penalty in the process, and took the checkered flag in 14th place.
TGR Haas F1 Team holds fourth position in the Constructors' Championship on 17 points.
Ayao Komatsu, Team Principal: "I'm almost speechless, but what an amazing performance and team effort. We've always said, in Melbourne as well, keep it simple. We need to focus on our own race and get the best out of it in case something happens in front, and that's exactly what we did. Ollie was very unlucky with Hadjar, so having that safety car nullified that bad luck, so to speak. I really believe we got that P5 absolutely on merit, and that doesn't happen overnight. That's an accumulation of effort from previous years, the parallel development of cars last year, hitting shakedown, and we're learning every day.
"Esteban also had a very good race, but he was unlucky in his pit stop, where we had a mistake that put him in a position that he shouldn't have been in, but without that, he would've been in the points as well. Double points would've been the icing on the cake, but we've shown what's possible, and that's what we're going to aim for in Japan.
"I'm so proud to see the daily improvement this team is making together to understand the car and get the most out of these regulations. I'm so happy we can get these results to be able to give them back to everyone who is pushing like crazy."
Audi Revolut F1 Team went one place away from scoring back-to-back points, as Nico Hulkenberg finished in 11th place at the Chinese Grand Prix. It was a gritty performance from the German, who started just outside the top ten and fought for a place in the points from start to finish: ultimately, a wheelgun issue at his pit stop meant he couldn't complete his comeback for what would have been a deserved reward.
For Gabriel Bortoleto, Sunday was a frustrating affair as a technical issue sidelined him while on the grid: the Brazilian never had the chance to show the pace of which he had given glimpses earlier in the weekend. The team will investigate the problem to ensure it is fixed ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix.
Jonathan Wheatley, Team Principal: "First of all, congratulations to Emma Felbermayr, who delivered a very confident and assured drive this weekend. After some excellent overtaking on Saturday, she followed it up with a fantastic victory today - her first win of 2026 and the first win for Audi in F1 Academy. Congratulations as well to Kimi Antonelli on a commanding performance to secure his first Grand Prix victory, which is a special moment for him.
"On our side, it was unfortunately a difficult day for Gabi. I would like to apologise on behalf of the team for the issue that resulted in him being unable to start the race. It must be extremely disappointing for him, and it is something we need to understand quickly and address as a team.
"Nico's race was also challenging. We know that getting the car off the line is still an area we need to improve, and we lost several places at the start. From there, Nico drove a strong race and showed excellent pace and energy management. Unfortunately, a wheelgun failure resulted in a 16-second pitstop, which effectively took him out of contention for the points.
"There is a lot for us to review and improve as we head towards Japan. The team will regroup, learn from the weekend and focus on coming back stronger at the next race."
Flavio Briatore: "To come away with nine points and both Pierre and Franco scoring is a great result for the team. Both drivers did a super job and got a nice reward for the team to take back to Enstone after a tough double-header to start the season. It's the first double-points scoring finish for the team this season and shows the team can be competitive and regularly fight for points. We know it will be a development race, and the hard work doesn't stop here. We'll keep pushing ahead of Japan and the coming races to keep in the right direction. Also, congratulations to Kimi [Antonelli] on his first win in Formula One. It's the first win from an Italian and a fellow countryman since Fisi with us in 2006."
The Cadillac Formula 1® Team achieved another significant milestone today as it secured its first double-car finish. Valtteri Bottas and Checo Perez passed the Chinese Grand Prix checkered flag in 13th and 15th positions, respectively, marking an important step forward for the American squad in its second weekend of racing.
Graeme Lowdon, Team Principal: "We can be very pleased with that result. We saw today that the complexity of the new cars has given some experienced teams significant issues, so to get two cars to the finish at the end of our second-ever race weekend is a great achievement for everyone in our team in Indianapolis, Charlotte, Silverstone and Germany. More than that, we showed a good step forward in pace and overall performance throughout the weekend and were able to race other teams. It's been a tough couple of weeks and I am very grateful to everyone in the team for all of their hard work. We can leave this first double-header with our heads held high, confident that we have a really good foundation which we can build on going forward."
Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli won his first-ever Grand Prix. After becoming the youngest-ever pole sitter on Saturday, Antonelli converted his pole position into a victory at the Chinese Grand Prix on Sunday. The last time an Italian driver won a Formula 1 race was back in 2006, when Giancarlo Fisichella triumphed at the Malaysian Grand Prix.
Just as in the season opener, the early stages of the Chinese Grand Prix featured a brilliant battle at the front between the Ferraris and the Mercedes drivers. However, Antonelli remained composed and used the restart after the first Safety Car period to pull away from the competition, who continued to fight amongst themselves. This battling caused both Ferrari drivers and Russell to lose significant time to Antonelli, who steadily increased his lead. Once Russell managed to clear both Ferraris, Antonelli maintained the gap to his teammate despite a small error in the closing laps, ultimately securing his first Grand Prix win.
Antonelli achieved this by opting for a one-stop strategy, a move mirrored by Russell. Both drivers started on the medium tyre and switched to the hard compound during a Safety Car period on lap ten. They managed their tyres effectively, removing the need for further pit stops. Behind the Mercedes duo, the Ferrari drivers followed the same strategy, as did Oliver Bearman, who finished in a superb fifth place.
While the top seven finishers all opted for a one-stop strategy (Medium to Hard compound), Isack Hadjar finished eighth using a different approach. The Red Bull driver started on the soft compound but headed straight to the pits for hard tyres following a spin on the opening lap. The Frenchman then pitted again during the lap ten Safety Car for another set of new hards. He ran these to the finish, securing points for his team.
Antonelli and Russell were joined on the podium by Lewis Hamilton, who finished third just ahead of teammate Charles Leclerc. The next race is scheduled for two weeks' time, when the F1 world travels to the legendary Suzuka circuit for the Japanese Grand Prix.
Dario Marrafuschi: Firstly, I would like to congratulate Kimi Antonelli on his first Formula 1 victory. It has been exactly twenty years since an Italian driver last triumphed in a Formula 1 Grand Prix, and this historic moment occurred today in a race filled with overtakes and plot twists.
As expected, the one-stop strategy proved to be the most effective in Shanghai, and the teams did not change their approach even when a Safety Car neutralised the race on lap nine. Instead, the pit window for those who had started on Medium was brought forward.
The final stint on Hards for ten drivers exceeded 45 laps, with tyres that were clearly in the final stages of their wear yet still capable of maintaining decent consistency. In fact, the winner himself set the fastest lap of the race on lap fifty-two.
Those who had chosen the white-banded compound at the start, on the other hand, had the opportunity to stay out during the neutralisation, gaining a few positions. However, it didn't take long for rivals with fresh tyres to reclaim the top spots.
Alpine, Haas and Racing Bulls, for example, are teams that exploited these two strategies to create different opportunities for their drivers. Soft were also used at the start, with the Red Bull drivers taking advantage of the extra grip to attempt an early getaway as the lights went out. We can conclude that all three tyre compounds proved to be valid options for devising effective race strategies.
