Lewis Hamilton won F1’s 1000th race at the 2019 Chinese Grand Prix, where are those drivers now?

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Lewis Hamilton will be excited for the Chinese Grand Prix this weekend. He is the winningest driver at the Shanghai International Circuit.

The seven-time world champion will be looking to put a disappointing debut for Ferrari behind him at the Australian Grand Prix, finishing 10th. He has the perfect chance to do that at the Chinese Grand Prix.

Hamilton has won at Shanghai six times – his first coming in 2008 for McLaren, a year after his devastating retirement that ultimately cost him the title.

The Brit’s other wins came in 2011 for McLaren and in 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2019 for Mercedes. Hamilton’s latest win in China holds great significance with it being F1’s 1000th Grand Prix.

The 40-year-old won the race by 6.5 seconds over his teammate Valtteri Bottas after the Finn took pole position. Hamilton will look to achieve the same feat six years on as he heads to Shanghai with Ferrari this weekend.

Ahead of the 2025 race, F1 Oversteer has taken a look at the drivers from F1’s 1000th Grand Prix and where they are now.

Mercedes – Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas

As aforementioned, Hamilton won the 2019 race in Shanghai, which put him in good stead to win his sixth world championship that year. The Brit claimed his seventh the following year and spent another four years with Mercedes before joining Ferrari in 2025.

Teammate Bottas acted as number two to Hamilton, finishing second in 2019 and 2020. The Finn moved to Alfa Romeo – now Sauber – in 2022 and spent three difficult years there before Bottas returned to Mercedes as a reserve driver in 2025.

Ferrari – Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel

Leclerc made his debut for Ferrari in 2019 after one season with Sauber. Six years later, he partners with Hamilton at the Maranello outfit hoping to win their first drivers’ title since 2007 and constructors’ title since 2008.

Vettel was never able to break the winless streak for Ferrari, finishing second to Hamilton in 2017 and 2018. The German left for Aston Martin in 2021 after a dismal campaign the year prior and retired in 2022 – Vettel has been linked with an F1 return ever since.

READ MORE: All you need to know about Scuderia Ferrari from team principal to factory

Red Bull – Max Verstappen and Pierre Gasly

In 2019, Red Bull did not have the package to fight Mercedes. But the team turned a corner in 2021 as Max Verstappen won the title over Hamilton in controversial fashion – he has won the last four championships on the spin.

Gasly replaced Daniel Ricciardo in 2019 and struggled to perform alongside Verstappen. He was demoted to Toro Rosso after 12 races and remained at the Faenza outfit until joining Alpine in 2023 – he finished 2024 as one of the inform drivers.

McLaren – Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz

Lando Norris made his F1 debut in 2019 for McLaren and has stayed loyal to the Woking-based outfit. In 2025, he is the favourite for the title and got off to a great start as Norris dethroned Verstappen from the lead of the championship for the first time since 2022 with the win in Melbourne.

Teammate Sainz moved over from Renault in the winter and spent two seasons at McLaren before joining Ferrari. Helping the Maranello outfit build back to the front of the grid, the Spaniard is now at Williams, hoping to achieve the same in Grove.

READ MORE: All you need to know about McLaren F1 Team from team principal to engine

Renault – Daniel Ricciardo and Nico Hulkenberg

Ricciardo made the switch to Renault in 2019 and enjoyed solid consistency with two podiums in 2020. Unfortunately, his career nosedived when he joined McLaren in 2021 and after returning to F1 with AlphaTauri – now Racing Bulls – after his sacking in 2022, he was let go with six races to go in 2024.

After finishing 14th in 2019, Hulkenberg fell off the F1 grid and did not find a full-time seat until 2023 with Haas. The German’s position in the paddock is now unquestionable with solid performances at Haas seeing him move to Sauber – later Audi – on a multi-year deal.

Toro Rosso – Alex Albon and Daniil Kvyat

Alex Albon started the 2019 season at Toro Rosso but switched places with Gasly at Red Bull for the second half of the season – ironically the latter scored a podium out of the two in Sao Paulo. The Thai driver was sacked in 2020 and returned to F1 with Williams in 2022, where he currently is today.

Kvyat struggled for consistency after he was dropped by Red Bull in 2016. The Russian left F1 in 2020 with three podiums and has since been competing in sports car racing.

Racing Point – Sergio Perez and Lance Stroll

2019 was the first full season for Racing Point after Lawrence Stroll took over Force India. The team found a new gear in 2020 with Perez and Stroll grabbing four podiums – including the former’s first F1 win at the Sakhir Grand Prix.

Perez left Racing Point for Red Bull after Vettel replaced him for the team’s rebrand to Aston Martin. The Mexican was sacked by the Milton Keynes-based outfit after a dismal 2024 campaign, while Stroll is still alongside Fernando Alonso at Aston in 2025.

Alfa Romeo – Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi

Raikkonen went full circle by returning to the Hinwil-based team – where he started his career – in 2019. The 2007 world champion retired from F1 in 2021 with 21 wins and 103 podiums.

Teammate Giovinazzi struggled for consistent results in his time in F1. He too left F1 in 2021 and is currently a Ferrari reserve driver, racing for them in the World Endurance Championship.

Haas – Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen

Haas were on a decline in 2019 that spirally in the next few seasons. Grosjean and Magnussen found points hard to come by and both left the team in 2020.

Grosjean left F1 that season after his horrific crash at the Bahrain Grand Prix. Magnussen returned to Haas in 2022 before leaving the grid again in 2024, joining BMW’s WEC line-up.

Williams – George Russell and Robert Kubica

Russell made his F1 debut in 2019 with Williams, who were firmly the slowest team on the grid at that point. The Brit displayed remarkable performance in qualifying with the team that earned him a promotion to Mercedes in 2022 – he is now the lead driver after Hamilton’s exit.

Robert Kubica made a sensational return to F1 after nine years having struggled with serious injury sustained in a rally crash in 2011. Unfortunately, the Pole scored one point and lost his seat at the season of the season, now racing for Ferrari in WEC.