Max Verstappen dominates the 2024 Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai

Formula 1 Lenovo Chinese Grand Prix 2024/Red Bull Content Pool

SHANGHAI, China -- Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing continued his impressive start to the 2024 Formula 1 season with a dominant victory at the Chinese Grand Prix on April 21, 2024. The Red Bull Racing driver showcased his prowess on the Shanghai International Circuit, securing his fourth win in the first five races of the season.

Check out the results of the Chinese Grand Prix weekend, including the race results, qualifying times, and practice sessions

Starting from pole position, Verstappen faced early challenges from Fernando Alonso, who surged from third to second in the opening laps, and teammate Sergio Perez. Despite a couple of Safety Car interruptions, Verstappen maintained his composure and control, rebuilding his lead each time the race resumed.

Verstappen said after the race finished: “It felt amazing. All weekend I think we were incredibly quick. It was just enjoyable to drive every single [tyre] compound as well. [At the] restarts I think we survived that well. The car was basically on rails, I could do whatever I wanted to with it, and those kinds of weekends are of course amazing to feel. Then, to achieve what we did this weekend is fantastic.”

Lando Norris delivered a stellar performance for McLaren, finishing second and securing his 15th career podium. The mid-race interruption provided Norris an opportunity to disrupt Red Bull Racing's trend of securing the first and second places. Norris capitalized on strategic pit stops and navigated through mid-race chaos to edge out Perez, who finished third after a hard-fought battle.

Norris said after race: “I’m surprised, I'm very happy, very happy for the team. Good pit stops, today it worked out, I don't know how, I wasn't really expecting it.”

Norris added: "I'm surprised by many things, the lack of pace on the Ferrari, our good pace. Us comparing to the Red Bull was surprising. I wasn't expecting today at all, I got everything to be out early and not be on the podium, its a pleasant surprise but shows the team have done a good job, we're working hard and it's paying off.”

"I made a bet to how far behind the Ferrari we will finish today. I thought 35 seconds, I was very wrong with that but I'm happy to be wrong. It's been good day for everyone."

Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing maintained a consistent lead throughout the race, finishing first with a total time of 1:40:52.554. Lando Norris of McLaren, managed a strong race to finish 13.773 seconds behind Verstappen. Sergio Perez of Red Bull Racing, completed the podium positions. Perez was further 5.387 seconds behind Norris and 19.160 seconds off the leader, indicating areas for potential improvement in maintaining pace with the front.

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz finished fourth and fifth respectively, unable to challenge the Red Bull Racing team for podium positions. George Russell of Mercedes came in sixth, followed by a resilient drive from Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin, who finished seventh.

Oscar Piastri of McLaren finished eighth, Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes managed to recover from a disappointing qualifying, ending up in ninth place. Nico Hulkenberg of Haas rounded out the top ten.

The race saw several incidents, including the retirements of Valtteri Bottas of Kick Sauber, Yuki Tsunoda of RB, and his teammate Daniel Ricciardo due to mechanical failures and collisions.

This first Chinese Grapnd Prix since 2019 was marked by disruptions rather than excitement. A notable incident occurred at mid-race when Sauber's Valtteri Bottas stopped at Turn 11, causing difficulties for marshals to clear the track and leading to a full Safety Car deployment. This upset many teams' strategies. At the Lap 27 restart, a collision between Kevin Magnussen and Yuki Tsunoda resulted in Tsunoda's race ending and Magnussen needing repairs, prompting another Safety Car appearance. Compounding the chaos, Lance Stroll collided with Daniel Ricciardo during the slowdown. Additionally, Ricciardo received a three-place grid penalty for the next race and two penalty points for overtaking under safety car conditions. Both Stroll and Magnussen were penalized with 10-second penalties for their involvement in the incidents.

Zhou Guanyu, the first Formula 1 driver from China, secured the fourteenth position in the race.

Verstappen's victory extends his lead in the Drivers' Championship with 110 points, followed by Perez with 85 and Leclerc with 76. In the Constructors' Championship, Red Bull Racing leads with 195 points, with Ferrari and McLaren trailing at 151 and 96 points respectively.

As the season progresses, Verstappen's dominance and Red Bull Racing’s strategic excellence set a high benchmark for the competition, reaffirming their status as the team to beat in 2024.

The next race is in Miami International Autodrome, Miami, United States on May 5.

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