Oscar Piastri plans to ‘convert’ the large cohort of Lewis Hamilton fans present at the Chinese Grand Prix after the McLaren driver stormed to his first victory of the 2025 season at the Shanghai International Circuit. The Australian scored his maiden F1 pole position on Saturday and dominated the race on Sunday, only briefly conceding the lead to Alex Albon on an alternative strategy before calmly fending off the charges of team-mate Lando Norris.
Speaking to Dutch-Chinese driver Ho-Pin Tung after the race, the Aussie was asked about his Chinese heritage. The 23-year-old has links to the country through his great-grandmother.
“It’s not a joke, by the way, I do have Chinese heritage somewhere,” Piastri explained. “The crowd’s been brilliant this week but there’s a few too many Lewis Hamilton fans – we’ll convert some more of you next year.”
This was a landmark victory for Piastri, who was delighted to avenge heartbreak at his home race in Melbourne. He has now moved up to fourth in the Drivers’ Championship standings, just two points behind Max Verstappen in second.
“It’s been an incredible weekend from start to finish,” Piastri continued. “The car’s been pretty mega the whole time. I think today was a bit of a surprise with how differently the tyres behaved. I’m just so proud of the whole weekend. This is what I feel like I deserved from last week. The team did a mega job with the one-two. I’m very happy.
“On the medium, it was still a bit tricky but much better than yesterday, and then the hard was a much better tyre than everyone expected, or certainly than we expected. To go all the way to the end like that was a bit of a surprise, but a happy surprise.”
MORE TO FOLLOW
We’ll be bringing you the very latest updates, pictures and video on this breaking news story.
For the latest news and breaking news visit: /sport/football. Stay up to date with all the big headlines, pictures, analysis, opinion and video on the stories that matter to you.
Follow us on Twitter @dexpress_sport – the official Daily Express & Express.co.uk Twitter account – providing real news in real time.
We’re also on Facebook @dailyexpresssport – offering your must-see news, features, videos and pictures throughout the day to like, comment and share from the Daily Express, Sunday Express and Express.co.uk.
