With so much to lose and prove, the tenth round in Shanghai is highly anticipated since it has the potential to change up the standings. We had Günther, Barnard, and Wehrlein as our pole sitters for the starting grid. A clean start saw Wehrlein take second place from Barnard. As Günther battled to reclaim his position, Rowland gained and lost P1. Evans promptly served his stop-and-go penalty when Cassidy and Mortara (both of whom are being investigated) made contact, causing the Mahindra driver to enter the pits for a replacement front wing.
We witnessed multiple overtakes and swapping across the grid, particularly from De Vries, Günther, Rowland, and Hughes, which seemed to be an indication of things to come. Barnard and Günther did make contact briefly, but both parties recovered quickly. As Rowland, Günther, and Buemi moved in, Di Grassi made excellent use of his attack mode by moving from P2 behind De Vries. Given that there was little space between the drivers and that we witnessed multiple overtakes going back and forth, lap 10 highlighted how close the race was.
All of the drivers entered the pitlane for their pit boosts on laps 14–18. Barnard was comfortably seated in P3 after the pit boosts that rearranged the grid, but Rowland passed him as Günther took the lead and Wehrlein emerged in P2.
Barnard put a lot of pressure on and overtook Di Grassi, De Vries, Vergne, and Rowland for P4 in laps 19 and 20. Barnard started lap 21 by pushing hard to create a gap and passing both Wehrlein and Günther, who were dominating the race. After passing Rowland and Wehrlein, De Vries also went up to P3, although he was only there for a brief moment as Nato passed him on lap 22.
Nissan utilized team rules to switch Rowland and Nato, while Buemi received a black and white flag for shoving a car off the track. Rowland utilized attack mode to go by Barnard for P1, but Günther easily passed both of them. Ticktum overtook De Vries for P5 on lap 26, and Günther overtook Rowland in turn 1. After the damage from the previous incident, Mortara ventured into the pits once more, but regrettably, this time it ended in a DNF.
As Ticktum pushed by Nato, who was being pressed by Vergne, Barnard rode the edge to go past Rowland with some outstanding attacking skills. De Vries was noted for forcing a car off the track. Günther took the lead in the last lap, with Barnard and Ticktum closing in. Vergne managed to press ahead and take P2 as Ticktum and Barnard were battling. DS Penske finished on a double podium as we wrapped up round 10 in Shanghai, while Barnard took P3.
The rest of the grid finished with Ticktum P4, Rowland P5, Nato P6, Bird P7, de Vries P8, Buemi P9, Frijns P10, Vandoorne P11, Wehrelien 12, da Costa P13, Beckmann P14, Mueller P15, Hughes P16, Dennis P17, di Grassi P18, Maloney P19, Evans P20, Cassidy P21, and Morata P22 DNF.
The DS Penske drivers’ hard work pushing through the pack, with overtake after overtake and close contact with numerous drivers, was a genuinely outstanding drive. Both the podium finishers and the potential outcomes for Rowland, Barnard, de Vries, and Ticktum will make this race unforgettable.