© Getty ImagesLate Charge Earns Max P4 as Lawson Fights Hard in ShanghaiA smart strategy call saw Max take P4 late on, while Liam dug deep to finish 12th after starting from the pit lane.
MaxVerstappenpassedFerrariâsCharlesLeclercintheclosingstagestotakeasolidfourthplaceattheendofatacticallytrickyChineseGrandPrix.
It was another tough outing for Liam Lawson, who started from the pit lane and battled through a two-stop strategy to cross the line in 15th. However, following a series of post-race disqualifications â including both Ferraris and Pierre Gasly for technical infringements â the Kiwi was ultimately promoted to 12th in the final classification.
ShanghaiDebrief:LiamontheLearningCurve,MaxontheLatePass
RaceReport
Max Gets Ready To Fight© Getty Images
At lights out, as polesitter Piastri got away well to take the lead, Max got away slowly from fourth place on the dusty side of the grid, where earlier in the day oil had been spilled along the pit straight during a support race. The Dutchman was immediately surrounded by rivals and as Norris powered through to second ahead of Russell, Max was passed by both Hamilton and Leclerc.
However, on his way through to fifth, Leclerc was clipped by teammate Hamilton, with Max quickly on the radio to report that the Monegasque driver had a broken front wing.
At the back of the order, Liam started the race from the pit lane after the team opted to make major set-up changes to his RB21 overnight, and when he joined the race he was quickly on the move, rising to 17th as incidents ahead dropped the Sauberâs of Nico HĂŒlkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto back and Aston Martinâs Fernando Alonso was forced to retire due to brake issues.
Side By Side Battles© Getty Images
Ahead of the first pit stop window Piastri managed to build a small two-second gap to teammate Norris, with Russell a further 2.7s behind. As the drivers settled into their tyre management, Max dropped back from the leaders in fifth place.
At the end of lap 13 the Team brought Max in to shed his opening Medium tyres, and the champion bolted on a set of Hards in a rapid 2.2 second stop. He rejoined in P11, behind Hamilton who had pitted on the same lap.
Best Seat In The House© Getty Images
Race leader Piastri made his stop at the end of lap 14, along with Russell, while Norris and Leclerc made their switch to Hard tyres a lap later. And after the first round of stops was complete, Piastri resumed in the lead. Norris was briefly undercut by Russell, but the Mclaren driver swiftly closed in and under DRS at the start of lap 18 he swept past to reclaim the position.
A Day Of Pit Stops© Getty Images
The Hard tyre proved to be more durable and pacier than anticipated and soon after the second stint had begun, teams began to target a one-stop race, with all of the eventual top 10 opting for a single visit to the pit lane.
Liam, who had started on Hard tyres and risen to the top 10 as the Medium-starters pitted, made his first stop on lap 19. He moved to the quicker, yellow-banded tyre and emerged in 17th place, behind the Alpine of Jack Doohan. The Kiwi lasted just 11 laps on his Mediums, however, before pitting for a final swap to Hard tyres. With the bulk of his rivals opting for a one-stop strategy, Liam had a long race ahead of him alongside the other drivers who opted for a two-stop to try and regain their places up the order.
As the race entered its final third, Max began to close in on Hamilton, and with the Dutchman being told by GP that he had good pace, Ferrari chose to back out of a brewing battle, and he pitted Hamilton for a new set of tyres promoting Max up to P5. He emerged a little under 19 seconds behind Max who was now just 4.5s behind Leclerc.
The Dutchman began to slowly reel in the lead Ferrari and on lap 53 he got within DRS range. Leclerc tried to defend, but the champion had too much pace and as they crossed the line to start the following lap, Max opened his DRS, drew alongside, and as they went through the first two turns, he dived left and then right to pass the Ferrari around the outside of Turn 2 to take fourth place which he held to the end of the race.
On The Move© Getty Images
At the front, Piastri took the third win of his career ahead of Norris, then Russell in third. Max Verstappen finished fourth. Unfortunately for the two Ferrariâs, following post-race Steward inspections, Charles Leclercâs Ferrari was deemed to be below the minimum weight, and Lewis Hamiltonâs had excessive skid board wear meaning both were disqualified from the race. This promoted Ocon up to fifth for Haas, with Andrea Kimi Antonelli finishing sixth for Mercedes. Albon and Bearman finished seventh and eighth.
Pierre Gaslyâs car was also found to be underweight and as such was also disqualified. That further promoted Stroll up to ninth and Sainz rounding out the top 10 for Williams. And after starting from the pit lane, Liam Lawson brought his RB21 across the line in P15, but with the post-race disqualifications applied, he was promoted to P12.
