Shanghai delivered one of the most emotionally satisfying race weekends of recent memory. A teenager won his first ever Formula 1 race. Lewis Hamilton stood on the Ferrari podium for the first time. Both McLarens failed to make the start. And Toto Wolff watched three of his drivers line up for the anthem.
Ciara Gillan is back from wisdom teeth surgery and joined Di to break it all down, still in their Ferrari kit, recorded just hours after the chequered flag.
Kimi Antonelli became the second youngest race winner in Formula 1 history, taking pole and converting it to victory in only his second race weekend. He cried in the post-race interview. Hamilton, visibly happy in a way that was rare throughout last season, rounded out the podium in third behind George Russell. Charles Leclerc finished fourth after a clean, enjoyable battle with Hamilton through the middle of the race, coming over the radio to say it was a lot of fun. The Italian national anthem played over the podium. It was that kind of afternoon.
The grid had been mixed heading in. Oscar Piastri out-qualified Lando Norris again in fifth, Alpine’s Pierre Gasly showed genuine pace in seventh, and Ollie Bearman finished fifth for Haas in the race. Max Verstappen qualified eighth and neither McLaren made the start, continuing what is shaping up as a difficult opening to the season for the reigning constructors’ champions.
The episode also covers the FIA’s planned mid-season regulation change to compression ratios, which gives Mercedes a window of roughly six races to press their current advantage before the field potentially closes up. And there is a new segment: a creator shoutout, this week to Carolyn’s Corner on Instagram, whose two-part series on what women actually want from Formula 1 merchandise is worth a look.
Japan is next, with more corners and potentially better news for Ferrari.