SHANGHAI (AP) — McLaren’s dominance, Lewis Hamilton’s bid to bounce back after a disappointing debut for Ferrari, and the death of Eddie Jordan have generated headlines as Formula 1 prepares for its first Sprint weekend of the season at the Chinese Grand Prix.
Lando Norris arrived in Shanghai atop the drivers’ standings for the first time following his win at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix last Sunday, but it was his qualifying pace for McLaren — and not just holding off Red Bull’s Max Verstappen — that had his rivals on edge ahead of practice.
McLaren's pace
Mercedes driver George Russell went so far as to say McLaren could win every race this season, describing its raw pace advantage as “bigger than Red Bull has ever had”. But, while Norris' teammate Oscar Piastri strongly refuted the claim — stating the form would change between rounds – the rest of the paddock wasn’t so sure.
“They're definitely ahead,” Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc said. “The gap in qualifying, the gap that there was (in Australia, 0.385sec to the nearest non-McLaren) is more or less what there is."
“I think we are around Mercedes and Red Bull in terms of lap times if we put everything together," Leclearc said, "so there’s still a big chunk to get McLaren then.”
Norris and McLaren lived up to the hype when the British driver finished first in the opening practice session Friday. He finished almost half a second ahead of Leclerc.
Norris spent most of the session finding the limits of his McLaren car, with various off-track excursions while his rivals traded times at the top. But the title aspirant showed his hand near the end with a 0.454-second advantage.
Piastri was third, with his last lap compromised after he went wide at the final turn 16. Hamilton looked more comfortable up in fourth, ahead of early pacesetter Russell, who closed out the top five.
Alpine’s Jack Doohan provided the major drama of the session with 15 minutes remaining following a power steering issue that forced him to stop out on track at the exit of turn 10. The Australian is under pressure at Alpine, following a lap-one crash in Melbourne.
It's unclear if a new technical directive will shuffle the order in China, with FIA, the sport’s governing body, cracking down on rear wing flexing with a tougher static load test.
None of the drivers were forthcoming, as to what triggered the FIA's new interpretation, or who it was most expected to impact.
“We don’t have to change anything,” Norris said. “Ours is fine. In fact, ours was probably too good, and we probably weren’t pushing the limits enough. If this technical directive had been applied last weekend, we would’ve been fine.
“It seems to be directed (at) other teams, which probably means we should push it a little bit more.”
Hamilton primed for improvement
For seven-time world champion Hamilton, China is a chance for a reset after a difficult Ferrari debut at Melbourne’s Albert Park last weekend, where he qualified eighth, briefly took the lead, but couldn’t hold onto it because of the team's tire strategy.
But the 40-year-old, who is F1's most successful driver with a record 105 GP wins and 104 pole positions, says he still needs more time to bring the full force of his experience to his new team.
“As I get more comfortable and more knowledgeable about the car, I can start making more decisions,” Hamilton said of his preferred set up. “I’m having those discussions, and I’m going to lean a little bit more with adding my experience hopefully a bit more in it.”
Hamilton is hopeful that the Australian GP was an outlier for him and for Ferrari.
“I hope so,” he said. “I think our car looked pretty decent on Friday (in Australia) and even on Saturday morning. So, I think it’s a bit of a one-off.”
Another tough test for F1's rookies
China’s Sprint weekend format will be another challenge for F1’s six rookies. The track has been completely resurfaced and there's just one practice session, making it more difficult to get a baseline setup before Sprint qualifying.
Mercedes rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli said it feels like a return to F2, with its compacted schedule, but the Italian knows what he has to do
“You want to finish free practice and say ‘Okay, like I got to a good level of driving. I’m not so far from the limit and I know where I have to make the step for qualifying,’” Antonelli said. “The important thing is going to be to get as close as possible to the limit without making any big mistakes.”
At Racing Bulls, Isack Hadjar is ready to put the pain of Melbourne behind him, having put his car into the Turn 2 barrier on the formation lap.
In the aftermath of his crash, Hadjar was seen walking back to the garage crying with his hands up to his helmet. Red Bull motorsport consultant Doctor Helmut Marko said it was embarrassing, but Hamilton’s father, Anthony, sought Hadjar out for some reassuring words.
“It was a nice moment, sharing time with someone like Anthony as well — obviously, the dad of my idol," Hadjar said. "So that was quite a special moment. And Lewis sent me a message later that day. Really classy guys.”
RIP Eddie Jordan
Sadness descended on the F1 community on Thursday with news that ex-team owner Eddie Jordan had died.
Beloved throughout the sport “EJ” ran the Jordan team from 1991 to 2005. His humor, strong opinions and deep contacts made Jordan a popular media pundit after he sold the team – with his most recent project being the “Formula for Success” podcast he co-hosted with ex-F1 driver David Coulthard.
The 76-year-old Jordan also acted as the manager for design great Adrian Newey when he left Red Bull for Aston Martin last year.
Jordan was undergoing cancer treatment before he died. His family issued a statement, published by rugby club London Irish, where Jordan was a patron, to say he “passed away peacefully with family by his side in Cape Town."
Sky Sports commentator Martin Brundle, who drove for Jordan in 1996, led the emotional tributes from the sport.
“What a character. What a rock star. What a racer," Brundle posted on social media. “So many drivers owe you so much, you gave us our chances and believed in us.”
Racing
The first Sprint weekend for 2025 begins at the Shanghai International Circuit on Friday, with sprint qualifying set at 3.30 p.m. (0730 GMT) ahead of Saturday's race.
___
AP Formula 1: https://apnews.com/hub/formula-one
Stewart Bell, The Associated Press
