Shanghai. Triple Formula One champion Max Verstappen won the first Chinese Grand Prix in five years on Sunday, with McLaren’s Lando Norris finishing a surprising second to deny the dominant Red Bull team a one-two finish.
The overwhelming victory from pole position at a Shanghai circuit that last hosted a grand prix in 2019 was Verstappen’s fourth in five races in 2024 and came after he also won the first sprint of the season on Saturday.
His Mexican teammate Sergio Pérez, Verstappen’s closest rival in the championship but now 25 points behind, completed the podium after a dry race in which the safety car came out twice and compromised his performance.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz finished fourth and fifth respectively, with Mercedes’ George Russell sixth and Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso seventh, with an extra point for fastest lap.
The victory was the 58th of Verstappen’s career and Shanghai became the 26th track he has won at.
“It’s been incredible. I think we’ve been incredibly fast all weekend. It was a pleasure to drive,” said the 26-year-old, who took the checkered flag 13.773 seconds ahead of Norris. “The car was basically on rails and I could do whatever I wanted with it.”
Team boss Christian Horner summed up the situation by describing Verstappen, who has won every race he has finished this year, as a man driving “on another planet”.
Red Bull is now 44 points ahead of Ferrari in the constructors’ standings.
Norris ensured that China was the first race of the season without a team finishing first and second – Ferrari had done the double in Australia and Red Bull the rest – with his 15th career podium and eighth second place finish.
“I wasn’t expecting today at all,” said the Briton, who started fourth on the grid and was named Driver of the Day. “I had everything prepared to go home early and not be on the podium, so it’s a nice surprise,” he added.
“I made a bet on how far we would be behind the Ferraris today. I thought 35 seconds and I was very wrong. So I’m happy to be wrong with myself and my own bets.”
His only missteps came after the finish line, when Norris returned to the pits instead of parking alongside Verstappen and Pérez on the straight, and later when he picked up the third-place cap.
Tears of the premises
The first and only Chinese driver Zhou Guanyu, in his first race at home, had the honor of parking behind the Red Bulls and crouched down crying before greeting the public. The Sauber driver finished 14th.
McLaren’s Oscar Piastri finished eighth. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes’ seven-time world champion, moved from 18th on the grid to ninth, and Nico Hulkenberg added the final point for Haas.
The 56-lap race began with the Red Bulls on the front row, but Alonso snatched second position from Pérez as Verstappen disappeared into the distance.
The Mexican regained the position on lap five, with Verstappen already five seconds behind, and Norris then overtook Alonso on lap seven.
Norris took the lead on lap 13, when both Red Bulls pitted, and Verstappen rejoined in fourth and took the lead again on lap 19.
The first safety car was deployed, after a virtual brief period, on lap 23 when Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas parked with a failed engine stuck in gear.
Leclerc and Norris were able to take advantage as they entered the pits and got ahead of Pérez.
There was chaos on lap 27, when Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin slammed into the rear of Daniel Ricciardo’s RB, which in turn collided with compatriot Oscar Piastri’s McLaren.
Haas’ Kevin Magnussen and RB’s Yuki Tsunoda also clashed, with the Japanese retiring and the Dane limping back to the pits with the car damaged and fuming.
Stroll and Magnussen were given 10-second penalties for causing a collision, while Williams’ Logan Sargeant received the same penalty for a safety car violation. Ricciardo retired to the pits on lap 34.
Norris switched to a one-stop strategy after the safety car period and Perez was unable to close the gap after passing Leclerc for third position.
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– 2024-04-27 03:42:50
