Piastri dominated the race to win for the third time in his burgeoning career.

He headed home McLaren teammate Lando Norris in what was a display of strength from the pair to lead George Russell to the flag after 56 laps.

Having qualified on pole, Piastri then got his elbows out off the line to fend off Russell.

From there a straightforward race for Piastri, who only ceded the lead during the pit stop sequence, though regained top spot once that had cycled through.

“I was very happy to come through Turn 1 in the lead; I would have been pretty annoyed if I wasn’t,” he said.

“That was pretty crucial for the first part of the race, especially given that we didn’t really know if it was going to be a one- or a two-stop [race] at that point.

“How critical being able to dictate the pace looked yesterday in the Sprint, I was obviously happy to keep the lead.

“This weekend’s been maybe less emotional than the first two wins I’ve had, but definitely more satisfying.

“It’s been a weekend where I’ve been quite comfortable being confident in what I needed to do and how I’ve been driving.

“The race today was, I still had to push and keep my foot on the case because the gap was, apart from the last few laps, the gap was never that big behind, so I always had to still keep on my toes.

“But I feel like I just managed the race well when I needed to and pushed when I needed to.

“Just very happy with how the whole weekend’s turned out.”

Piastri’s win in China is different to his previous two grands prix victories.

In Hungary last year, in his first race win, Lewis Hamilton posed a threat and saw McLaren forced to employ team orders to safeguard a one-two result.

In Azerbaijan, Piastri withstood enormous pressure from Charles Leclerc to deliver a superb victory on the streets of Baku.

His win in China was the first time he’d commanded a race, following on from his maiden F1 pole in Qualifying on Saturday.

“It’s always a pretty good day when you cross the line first, that’s obvious,” Piastri said.

“But I think for me, this has been the most satisfying, not just race but the weekend.

“I think the two wins I had previously were very different and I think this one’s been the most complete.

“I’m very happy with the effort of the whole team this weekend.

“We started with a car that was quick but pretty tricky at times. I think we did a good job of trying to tackle that, and to go away with this result is a perfect weekend.”

After leaving Australia with just two points to his name, Piastri has raced up to fourth in the drivers’ championship with 34 points, 10 behind Norris.

Already McLaren holds a strong position atop the constructors’ championship with 78 points to its name, 25 clear of the next-best, Mercedes.