Formula 1 in China

LIVE: Who will win the sprint race in Shanghai?

Max Verstappen

(Bild: Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen won the first sprint race of the season ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix on Saturday. The Red Bull driver from the Netherlands, who started from fourth on the grid, came out on top ahead of Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) and RB team-mate Sergio Perez after a race to catch up in the short 19-lap race in Shanghai. A few hours after the sprint, qualifying for Sunday's Grand Prix will take place on Saturday (9.00 am).

At the comeback weekend in China, where a Grand Prix is being held for the first time in five years, Verstappen delivered another demonstration of power over 100 km and celebrated his eighth sprint win in total. "The first few laps were very hectic. We then got stronger with every lap, the car felt good and the tires also came into the window well," said the three-time winner of the season with satisfaction.

Lewis Hamilton, singer JJ Lin, Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez (from left to right)

(Bild: Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Pole-setter Norris only sixth
Mercedes, meanwhile, were delighted with a stroke of relief ahead of the fifth race of the season after a poor start. "It's the best result for a long time, I'm very happy about it," said Hamilton. "We were able to challenge the Red Bulls a bit." Pole-setter Lando Norris, on the other hand, had to settle for sixth place in the McLaren after a botched start. The Ferrari duo of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz finished fourth and fifth.

Here are the results in detail:

In the championship standings, Verstappen, who triumphed for the first time ever in a race in China, extended his lead over Perez (70) to 15 points with 85 points. He is followed by Ferrari drivers Leclerc (64) and Sainz (59).

Unlike in Friday's sprint qualifying, the rain did not play a role the following day on the Shanghai International Circuit. Norris dropped far back after an unsuccessful start and the Briton slid off the outside of the track in the first corner. Hamilton, who has already won the China GP five times, got off to a much better start and initially led the race ahead of Alonso and Verstappen. The world champion, who started from fourth place, first complained about problems with the battery before overtaking Alonso on the seventh lap.

Chaos maneuver by Alonso
At this point, Hamilton was around 1.6 seconds ahead of the Red Bull dominator. Two turns later, Verstappen flew past the Silver Arrow. While the triple world champion eventually built up a lead of 13.043 seconds, Alonso wanted to defend his third place against Sainz with all his might. However, the 42-year-old Spaniard suffered a puncture during a hard maneuver, while Perez thanked him for the podium.