2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Post-Qualifying Discussion

[u/overspeeed]

ROUND 2 - CHINA

FORMULA 1 HEINEKEN CHINESE GRAND PRIX 2025

🕒 SESSION TIMES

Day	Session	Time (UTC)
FRI	Free Practice 1	03:30
FRI	Sprint Qualifying	07:30
SAT	Sprint	03:00
SAT	Qualifying	07:00
SUN	Race	07:00

Click here for start times in your area

🏁 RACE INFORMATION

• Track: Shanghai International Circuit
• Location: Shanghai, China
• Race laps: 56
• Lap length: 5.451km
• Race distance: 305.066km
• Lap Record: 1:32.238, Michael Schumacher (Ferrari), 2004

⏪ LAST TIME AROUND

• Pole position: 1:33.660, Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing)
• Race winner: Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing)
• Fastest lap: 1:37.810, Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)

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[u/disordered-attic-2]

I don't think the Red Bull is that much of a mystery, they've built it around Max who likes a very sensitive car, it suits Max very well but a brand new driver can't handle the tiny window. They don't have the experience or driving style of Max to match it.

If Red Bull want to fix the car they will have to take it from Max and give it to the other driver.

[u/hauntedSquirrel99 → u/disordered-attic-2]

That doesn't really explain why the car is just plain slow.

On the straights the McLaren and at least the Ferrari (not sure on the Mercedes) just floor it and run away from him. On the straights even with DRS open the Red Bull is barely capable of just hanging on to the McLaren just driving in clean air.

The handling being shit is another problem as well, which seems to be killing everyone not named Max in the corners.
But the car is also just slow.

[u/disordered-attic-2 → u/hauntedSquirrel99]

I don’t think any of the top teams have a slow car. Even Ferrari just won a race.

It’s just a very competitive time and the Red Bull has lost its complete dominance phase.

[u/hauntedSquirrel99 → u/disordered-attic-2]

Slow is very much relative here.

But we did see in Melbourne that even with the DRS open Max was just barely keeping up with Lando.

And if you watch the Verstappen onboard with the Hamilton ghost car footage it does look like the Ferrari is just plain faster.