Norris Tops F1 Practice Ahead of Chinese GP Sprint
- McLaren's Norris Dominates Practice Session for the 2025 Chinese Grand prix
- the 2025 FIA Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix kicked off with McLaren's Lando Norris setting a blistering pace in the only practice session.
- Norris' teammate, Oscar Piastri, secured third place, further highlighting McLaren's competitive edge.
Lando Norris Sets the Pace in Shanghai Ahead of Sprint Qualifying
Table of Contents
McLaren’s Norris Dominates Practice Session for the 2025 Chinese Grand prix
Norris Tops Practice as F1 Sprint Weekend Begins
the 2025 FIA Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix kicked off with McLaren’s Lando Norris setting a blistering pace in the only practice session. This marked the beginning of Formula 1’s first Sprint weekend of the season in Shanghai. Norris outpaced Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc by nearly half a second, showcasing McLaren’s strong start.
Norris’ teammate, Oscar Piastri, secured third place, further highlighting McLaren’s competitive edge. Meanwhile, defending champion Max verstappen finished in 16th place after abandoning his Soft tire run late in the session.
Session Highlights: Fast Times and Technical Issues
The newly resurfaced track in Shanghai, combined with warm temperatures, allowed for quick times right from the start. Norris initially set a benchmark of 1:33.362, surpassing Max Verstappen’s pole lap from 2024.
The session saw several drivers trading top spots. piastri and Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton briefly held the lead,with Hamilton dropping the benchmark to 1:33.224. Mercedes’ George Russell than took the lead with a time of 1:32.377.
Piastri delivered a solid lap, splitting the Ferraris to take third place. Leclerc experienced a spin at Turn 2 due to a wind-induced snap,but managed to continue without significant issues.
However, jack Doohan faced a more serious problem, grinding to a halt at Turn 9. He reported a loss of power steering and a complete shutdown of his Alpine A525, leading to a red flag as his car was recovered.Drivers then used the break to switch to Soft tyres for qualifying simulations.
Norris Secures Top Spot with Late Surge
Leclerc initially took the lead on the red-banded tyre with a time of 1:32.103. Norris, after a minor mistake in Turn 8, was encouraged by his engineer Will Joseph, who pointed out an chance at the corner. Exploiting this, Norris went quickest overall with a time of 1:31.504, which remained unbeaten for the rest of the session.
This performance left Leclerc 0.454 seconds behind in second place. Piastri, despite a strong showing, made a mistake in the final corner, costing him valuable time and leaving him almost seven tenths off his teammate.
Lewis Hamilton finished fourth for Ferrari, followed by Russell in fifth for Mercedes. Nico Hülkenberg in the Sauber and Alex albon in the Williams also showed strong pace. Fernando Alonso, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, and Yuki Tsunoda rounded out the top 10.
Max Verstappen, focusing on the Medium tyre, finished 16th after aborting his Soft tyre run.
Free Practice results: 2025 FIA Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix
here’s a detailed look at the free practice results:
| Position | Driver | Team | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lando Norris | McLaren/Mercedes | 1:31.504 | 23 | |
| 2 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:31.958 | 0.454 | 21 |
| 3 | oscar Piastri | McLaren/Mercedes | 1:32.153 | 0.649 | 24 |
| 4 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | 1:32.195 | 0.691 | 22 |
| 5 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1:32.377 | 0.873 | 26 |
| 6 | Nico Hülkenberg | Sauber/Ferrari | 1:32.507 | 1.003 | 21 |
| 7 | Alexander Albon | Williams/Mercedes | 1:32.687 | 1.183 | 24 |
| 8 | Fernando Alonso | Aston martin/Mercedes | 1:32.766 | 1.262 | 23 |
| 9 | Andrea Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | 1:32.874 | 1.370 | 27 |
| 10 | yuki Tsunoda | Racing Bulls/Honda RBPT | 1:32.934 | 1.430 | 23 |
| 11 | Oliver Bearman | Haas/Ferrari | 1:32.967 | 1.463 | 23 |
| 12 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin/Mercedes | 1:32.984 | 1.480 | 19 |
| 13 | Esteban Ocon | Haas/Ferrari | 1:33.056 | 1.552 | 23 |
| 14 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine/Renault | 1:33.123 | 1.619 | 23 |
| 15 | Carlos Sainz | Williams/Mercedes | 1:33.145 | 1.641 | 26 |
| 16 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull/Honda RBPT | 1:33.284 | 1.780 | 24 |
| 17 | Isack Hadjar | Racing Bulls/Honda RBPT | 1:33.385 | 1.881 | 23 |
| 18 | liam Lawson | Red Bull/Honda RBPT | 1:33.631 | 2.127 | 23 |
| 19 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Sauber/Ferrari | 1:33.822 | 2.318 | 24 |
| 20 | Jack Doohan | Alpine/Renault | 1:33.923 | 2.419 | 17 |
Lando Norris Sets the Pace in Shanghai Ahead of Sprint Qualifying
McLaren’s Norris Dominates Practice Session for the 2025 Chinese Grand prix
Norris Tops Practice as F1 Sprint Weekend Begins
the 2025 FIA Formula 1 Chinese Grand prix kicked off with McLaren’s Lando Norris setting a blistering pace in the only practice session. This marked the beginning of Formula 1’s first Sprint weekend of the season in Shanghai. Norris outpaced Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc by nearly half a second, showcasing McLaren’s strong start.
Norris’ teammate, oscar Piastri, secured third place, further highlighting mclaren’s competitive edge. Simultaneously occurring, defending champion Max verstappen finished in 16th place after abandoning his Soft tire run late in the session.
Session Highlights: Fast Times and Technical Issues
The newly resurfaced track in Shanghai, combined with warm temperatures, allowed for quick times right from the start. Norris initially set a benchmark of 1:33.362, surpassing Max verstappen’s pole lap from 2024.
The session saw several drivers trading top spots. piastri and Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton briefly held the lead,with Hamilton dropping the benchmark to 1:33.224. Mercedes’ George Russell than took the lead with a time of 1:32.377.
Piastri delivered a solid lap, splitting the Ferraris to take third place. Leclerc experienced a spin at Turn 2 due to a wind-induced snap,but managed to continue without notable issues.
However, jack Doohan faced a more serious problem, grinding to a halt at Turn 9. He reported a loss of power steering and a complete shutdown of his Alpine A525, leading to a red flag as his car was recovered.Drivers than used the break to switch to Soft tyres for qualifying simulations.
Norris Secures Top Spot with Late Surge
Leclerc initially took the lead on the red-banded tire with a time of 1:32.103. Norris, after a minor mistake in Turn 8, was encouraged by his engineer Will Joseph, who pointed out an chance at the corner.Exploiting this, Norris went quickest overall with a time of 1:31.504, wich remained unbeaten for the rest of the session.
This performance left Leclerc 0.454 seconds behind in second place. Piastri, despite a strong showing, made a mistake in the final corner, costing him valuable time and leaving him almost seven tenths off his teammate.
Lewis Hamilton finished fourth for Ferrari, followed by Russell in fifth for Mercedes. Nico Hülkenberg in the Sauber and Alex albon in the Williams also showed strong pace. Fernando Alonso, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, and Yuki Tsunoda rounded out the top 10.
Max Verstappen, focusing on the Medium tyre, finished 16th after aborting his Soft tyre run.
Free Practice results: 2025 FIA Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix
here’s a detailed look at the free practice results:
| Position | Driver | Team | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lando Norris | McLaren/Mercedes | 1:31.504 | 23 | |
| 2 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:31.958 | 0.454 | 21 |
| 3 | oscar Piastri | McLaren/Mercedes | 1:32.153 | 0.649 | 24 |
| 4 | Lewis Hamilton | ferrari | 1:32.207 | 0.703 | 22 |
| 5 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1:32.377 | 0.873 | 21 |
| 6 | Nico Hülkenberg | Sauber/Ferrari | 1:32.982 | 1.478 | 20 |
| 7 | Alex Albon | Williams/Mercedes | 1:33.129 | 1.625 | 22 |
| 8 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin/Mercedes | 1:33.207 | 1.703 | 21 |
| 9 | Andrea Kimi Antonelli | mercedes | 1:33.389 | 1.885 | 19 |
| 10 | Yuki tsunoda | RB/Honda | 1:33.501 | 1.997 | 22 |
| 11 | Valtteri Bottas | Sauber/Ferrari | 1:33.622 | 2.118 | 23 |
| 12 | Sergio Pérez | Red Bull/Honda | 1:33.688 | 2.184 | 18 |
| 13 | Daniel ricciardo | RB/Honda | 1:33.699 | 2.195 | 23 |
| 14 | Zhou Guanyu | Sauber/Ferrari | 1:33.733 | 2.229 | 24 |
| 15 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin/Mercedes | 1:33.744 | 2.240 | 22 |
| 16 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull/Honda | 1:33.753 | 2.249 | 17 |
| 17 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine/Renault | 1:33.759 | 2.255 | 21 |
| 18 | esteban Ocon | Alpine/Renault | 1:33.812 | 2.308 | 20 |
| 19 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Sauber/Ferrari | 1:33.822 | 2.318 | 24 |
| 20 | Jack Doohan | Alpine/renault | 1:33.923 | 2.419 | 17 |
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