Report: Strong drive secures points in China
Alex continues his point-scoring start to 2025 with P7 in Shanghai
Published
23 MAR 2025
Est Reading Time
2 min
The 2025 Chinese Grand Prix proved to be a rewarding challenge for Alex Albon, as he delivered a strong drive on Sunday to finish ninth and continue his points-scoring start to the year.
Update: Post-race disqualifications for Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton have lifted Alex to a P7 finishing position!
Having taken valuable lessons from the Sprint earlier in the weekend, the birthday boy lined up P10 on the grid with fresh medium tyres fitted. He lost a couple of places at the getaway but fought back immediately to reclaim P11 from Fernando Alonso.
Albono settled into his opening stint, showcasing clear confidence over the radio as he managed the medium tyres better than those around him in the DRS train. He began climbing the order as those ahead made their first stops, while Alex extended his opening stint, eventually taking the lead of the race on lap 15, a position he held for a couple of tours. At the end of lap 20, Alex pitted to switch to hard tyres for what proved to be his one and only stop. Rejoining in P14, he immediately set off in pursuit, passing Pierre Gasly soon after.
As the two-stop runners peeled into the pits, Alex filtered up to P9, with the hard tyres proving they could go the distance if carefully managed. Esteban Ocon and Andrea Kimi Antonelli sat ahead of Albono on tyres that were 10 laps older. Unfortunately for Alex, just as he began to close the gap, he was forced to manage an issue in the closing stages.
Nonetheless, Albono brought it home comfortably in P9, a deserved reward for strong race management and steady progression across the weekend. Several hours after the flag, Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton were both disqualified for technical infringements, as well as Pierre Gasly. This meant Alex's P9 was upgraded to a P7 result.
Points make for a pretty good 29th birthday present, with his 2025 tally now exceeding his total from the entirety of 2024.
Speaking before the disqualification lifted him to P7, Alex shared: "Considering the Sprint race, today was a huge step for us and it shows the progress we’ve made as a team.
"It shows us that we can fix issues that we have on our car, which is a huge improvement on where we were last year. We learnt a lot from yesterday to today, and we can use these learnings now for a lot of races that we go to for the rest of the year. It’s very valuable. This track has historically not really suited us, but we still got points! I’m very happy."
Unlock your Fan Passport
Sign up today to get the latest news, see exclusive insights, and show off your support for Alex!
Sign up
Support
Shop Enquiries
General Enquiries
General enquiries:
info@alexalbon.com
Media & partnerships:
jhs@gripsportsmanagement.com
Autographs:
info@alexalbon.com
Shipping Location
-