China F1 2024
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2024 Chinese Grand Prix
Verstappen charges to victory over Norris and Perez in action-packed Chinese GP
Max Verstappen converted pole position into victory in a Chinese Grand Prix full of incidents and overtakes, leading home McLaren's Lando Norris and Red Bull team mate Sergio Perez to make it four wins from five races so far this season
Verstappen led the vast majority of a strategic encounter at the Shanghai International Circuit that featured a Virtual Safety Car and two full Safety Car periods, the Dutchman keeping his cool at the front as the drama unfolded behind him.
Norris was one of three drivers, along with Ferrari pair Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, to complete just one pit stop, making the most of the VSC and Safety Car phases to jump Perez for second position, which he managed to hold to the finish.
Leclerc and Sainz followed in fourth and fifth respectively, despite some concerns from the Monegasque in the closing stages that his tyres would not be able to make it to the end, with George Russell leading Mercedes' charge en route to sixth.
FORMULA 1 LENOVO CHINESE GRAND PRIX 2024
Race results
POSITION Team Name TIME POINTS
1 Max VERSTAPPENRed Bull Racing 1:40:52.554 25
2 Lando NORRISMcLaren +13.773s 18
3 Sergio PEREZRed Bull Racing +19.16s 15
4 Charles LECLERCFerrari +23.623s 12
5 Carlos SAINZFerrari +33.983s 10
Fernando Alonso had an off-set strategy after pitting for softs, rather than hards chosen by the drivers around him, under the mid-race Safety Car, forcing him into a late stop for mediums and then a string of overtakes to recover from 12th to seventh – McLaren's Oscar Piastri his final victim.
After his Q1 exit and some tyre-related struggles in the early laps, Lewis Hamilton worked his way up the order amid drama around him, and thanks to some smart overtakes, to wind up ninth, with Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg claiming the final point on offer.
Alpine pair Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly sandwiched the Williams of Alex Albon in positions 11 to 13, while Kick Sauber's Zhou Guanyu crossed the line in 14th as he made history by becoming the first Chinese driver to compete on home soil.
A trio of sanctioned drivers followed, with Lance Stroll classifying 15th, ahead of final finishers Kevin Magnussen and Logan Sargeant, after being given a 10-second penalty for his part in a collision with Daniel Ricciardo under the Safety Car.
Stroll ran into the back of Ricciardo just before the first Safety Car restart when the field bunched up at the tight final hairpin, and after the RB driver returned to the pits to retire with significant damage, stewards slapped the Canadian with his sanction.
Magnussen was 16th in his Haas after tipping the other RB of Yuki Tsunoda into a spin – and retirement – at the exit of the Turn 6 hairpin earlier in the race, a move that also saw the stewards add 10 seconds to his time.
Logan Sargeant finished 17th and last in the second of the Williams machines to conclude another difficult weekend, having been hit with his own 10-second penalty for a Safety Car infringement involving Hulkenberg.
Alongside the two RBs, Valtteri Bottas failed to finish when his Kick Sauber developed an apparent engine issue and forced him to pull off the track, with problems removing his car leading to the first Safety Car period.
With the top-three finishers heading to the podium to celebrate, Verstappen's latest win means he now sits 25 points – and a Grand Prix victory – clear of team mate Perez in the drivers' standings, as the F1 field get set for another Sprint in Miami in a fortnight's time.
Key quote
"It felt amazing," said Verstappen. "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."
What's next
The next event on the 2024 F1 calendar will be the Miami Grand Prix over the weekend of May 3-5. Head to the RACE HUB to find out how you can follow the action at the Miami International Autodrome.
'Carlos was over the limit today' insists Leclerc as he reflects on Ferrari's Sprint squabble in China
20/04/2024
The closing laps of the Shanghai Sprint saw the two Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz battling hard – with Leclerc left feeling that his team mate had been "over the limit" in his dealings with him.
Going into the tight Turn 14 hairpin, Sainz appeared to go deep while running side by side with Leclerc, who had to take to the run-off area before eventually passing Sainz and claiming P4, as the Spaniard took P5.
Reflecting after the Sprint, Leclerc predicted the pair would "clear the air" quickly ahead of Saturday afternoon's qualifying session, saying: "I think it was aggressive, maybe, between Carlos and I – a bit too aggressive. I think Carlos was a bit over the limit today.
"In the past we've had other fights where sometimes I was over the limit, sometimes he was over the limit. Today I think it was on his side. We'll have to discuss, like we always do in these kind of situations.
"But we have a great relationship with Carlos so I have no worries… I think we'll clear the air very, very quickly and it will be all fine, but obviously today I think we were pretty lucky to both finish the race. The contact was a bit unnecessary."
For his part, Sainz was more focused post-Sprint on the actions of Alonso in their sparring match, saying: "Towards the end, I managed to pass [Fernando]. I think he was way too optimistic to try and pass me back and pushed me off the track. That damaged my car, a lot of dirt on my tyres, and started going backwards from then."
Both Ferrari drivers will now have a chance to fettle their cars further ahead of qualifying and the Chinese Grand Prix on Sunday, with Leclerc confident that a strong qualifying would lead to a strong race.
"Full focus on this afternoon because [qualifying] clearly has been my weakness in the last two races," he said. "The out-lap, I've done a lot of work on that. SQ1 and SQ2 yesterday [the first two segments of Sprint Qualifying] were really positive and I showed the progress, now I need to show it today because the qualifying is what is most important. If we have a good starting position tomorrow, I'm confident we can have a great race."
2024 Chinese Grand Prix
What time is the Formula 1 2024 Chinese Grand Prix and how can I watch it?
Formula 1 returns to China this weekend for the first time in five years as the Shanghai International Circuit takes up its slot on the calendar once more and also plays host to the first Sprint event of the 2024 season.
Proceedings will get under way with FP1 and Sprint qualifying on Friday, April 19, followed by the Sprint and qualifying for the Grand Prix on Saturday, April 20, and then the Grand Prix itself on Sunday, April 21.
How can I watch the 2024 Chinese Grand Prix?
For details about the broadcaster in your area click on the link below:
You can also watch the Chinese Grand Prix via F1 TV Pro (in selected countries only).