INDIA in F1

Tag: Chinese Grand Prix

  • Oscar Piastri wins Chinese Grand Prix; both Ferraris disqualified

    Oscar Piastri wins Chinese Grand Prix; both Ferraris disqualified

    Shanghai, 23 March 2025: Oscar Piastri took a controlled third career victory in Shanghai, managing a tactical tyre-focused race expertly to win the Chinese Grand Prix from pole ahead of team-mate Lando Norris who overcame late-race brake woes to complete the McLaren 1-2 ahead of third-placed George Russell of Mercedes.

    When the lights went out for the start, polesitter Piastri got away well to take the lead ahead of Norris and Russell. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, got away slowly from fourth place on the dusty side of the grid, where earlier in the day oil had been deposited along the pit straight during a support race, and the Dutchman lost two places as he was passed by the Ferraris of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc. But both Ferraris were later disqualified for technical infringements.

    Disqualified

    Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton have both been disqualified from the final classification of the Chinese Grand Prix, with Alpine’s Pierre Gasly also excluded after all three were found to have infringed technical regulations. 

    In the case of Hamilton who crossed the line in P6, the thickness of the plank assembly was below the permitted minimum thickness of 9mm, by 0.4mm on the left side and centreline and by 0.5mm on the right side. The Stewards determined that Article 3.5.9 of the FIA Formula 1 Technical Regulations had been breached and “therefore the standard penalty of a disqualification needs to be applied for such an infringement”.

    In the cases of fifth across the line Leclerc and 11th-placed Gasly, both cars were found to be 1kg under the minimum 800kg weight and this time the Stewards determined that Article 4.1 of the FIA Formula 1 Technical Regulations had been breached, which again comes with a standard penalty of disqualification. 

    On his way through to P5, however, Leclerc was clipped by Hamilton. With the left side of his front wing dropping and the end plate missing, he was told by his team that he had lost 30 points of downforce. Leclerc told his team he could manage the loss and in a superb drive, the Monegasque showed great pace from there on. 

    Ahead of the first pit stop window Piastri managed to build a small two-second gap to team-mate Norris, with Russell a further 2.7s behind. Behind the fourth and fifth-placed, however, Max was losing touch with the leaders and on lap 13 the Dutchman was 5.5s adrift of Leclerc. 

    At the end of lap 13 the Team brought Max in to shed his opening Medium tyres, and the champion bolted on a set of Hards in a 2.2 second halt. He rejoined in P11, behind Hamilton who had pitted on the same lap.  

    Race leader Piastri made his stop at the end of lap 14, along with Russell, while Norris and Leclerc made their switch to Hard tyres at the end of the following tour. And after the first round of stops was complete, Piastri resumed in the lead. Norris was briefly undercut by Russell, but the McLaren driver swiftly closed in and under DRS at the start of lap 18 he swept past to reclaim the position.

    Hamilton though was struggling for pace, and the Briton was told to swap places with Leclerc, who despite holding on to his broken wing in his pit stop, was flying. Max, meanwhile, was still in sixth place, three seconds behind the Ferraris. 

    The Hard tyre proved to be more durable and pacier than anticipated and soon after the second stint had begun, teams began to target a one-stop race, with all of the eventual top 10 opting for a single visit to the pit lane. 

    As the race entered its final third, Verstappen began to close in on Hamilton, and with the Dutchman showing good pace, Ferrari chose to back out of the brewing battle, and pitted Hamilton for a new set of tyres in order to make a late charge. The seven-time champion emerged a little under 19 seconds behind Verstappen who was 4.5s behind Leclerc.

    The Red Bull driver began to slowly reel in the lead Ferrari and on lap 52 he was withing DRS range. Leclerc tried to defend but the champion had too much pace and as they crossed the line to start the following lap, Verstappen passed the Ferrari around the outside of Turn 2 to take a fourth place he held to the flag.

    At the front, Piastri took the third win of his career ahead of Norris who managed an ever-lengthening brake pedal in the closing laps to stay ahead of Russell. Leclerc took fifth ahead of Hamilton. Esteban Ocon put in a good performance to take six points for Haas. Andrea Kimi Antonelli finished eighth for Mercedes, while birthday boy Alex Albon took two points for Williams and Haas earned a double points finish with tenth place. 

    2025 FIA Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix – Race 
    1 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 56 1:30’55.026 
    2 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 56 1:31’04.774 9.748
    3 George Russell Mercedes 56 1:31’06.123 11.097
    4 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 56 1:31’11.682 16.656
    5 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 56 1:31’18.237 23.211
    6 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 56 1:31’20.407 25.381     (both disqualified later)

    5 Esteban Ocon Haas/Ferrari 56 1:31’44.995 49.969
    6 Andrea Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 56 1:31’48.774 53.748
    7 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 56 1:31’51.347 56.321
    8 Oliver Bearman Haas/Ferrari 56 1:31’56.329 1’01.303
    Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault 56 1:32’02.221 1’07.195 (disqualified later)
    9. Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 56 1:32’05.230 1’10.204
    10 Carlos Sainz Williams/Mercedes 56 1:32’11.413 1’16.38
    11 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls/Honda RBPT 56 1:32’13.901 1’18.875
    12 Liam Lawson Red Bull/Honda RBPT 56 1:32’16.173 1’21.147
    13 Jack Doohan Alpine/Renault 56 1:32’23.427 1’28.401
    14 Gabriel Bortoleto Sauber/Ferrari 55 1:31’05.782 1 lap /10.756
    15 Nico Hülkenberg Sauber/Ferrari 55 1:31’15.252 1 lap /20.226
    16 Yuki Tsunoda Racing Bulls/Honda RBPT 55 1:31’18.537 1 lap /23.511
         Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 4 7’25.574 Retirement

  • Oscar Piastri take pole for Chinese Grand Prix, ahead of George Russell: F1

    Oscar Piastri take pole for Chinese Grand Prix, ahead of George Russell: F1

    Oscar Piastri set a new track record on his way to his first career prix pole position in a tight qualifying session for the 2025 FIA Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix. The McLaren driver set a time of 1:30.641 and beat Mercedes’ George Russell by just nine-hundredths of a second, with team-mate Lando Norris another five hundredths back in third.

    Piastri set the pace in the opening runs of Q1, with the McLaren driver stopping the clock at 1:31.591, a tenth ahead of China Sprint winner Lewis Hamilton and almost half a second ahead of third-placed Russell. 

    However, Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen was one of the last to leave the pit lane, and his opener flyer, which featured a purple final sector, pushed him past Piastri on 1:31.424. 

    Verstappen opted to sit out the final runs and with the track improving all the time, the door was left open for his time to be challenged. The first to do that was Racing Bulls’ Yuki Tsunoda who jumped ahead with a lap of 1:31.238. The Japanese driver’s new team-mate, Isack Hadjar, then found another handful of hundredths to briefly take P1 before McLaren’s Lando Norris jumped to the top of the order with a lap of 1:30.983. 

    At the other end of the timesheet, Alpine’s Pierre Gasly was the first to exit the session in P16, followed by Haas’ Oliver Bearman, the second Alpine of Jack Doohan, Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto and Red Bull’s Liam Lawson. 

    Norris was again quickest in the opening runs of Q2. The Briton posted a time of 1:30.787 to sit four-tenths clear of team-mate Piastri, with Verstappen in third place with a lap of 1:31.234. Russell slotted into fourth with Tsunoda again looking pacey in fifth. 

    Norris sat out the final runs, while Piastri went out on a used set of Soft-compound Pirelli tyres. That allowed Verstappen to steal P2 with his final time of 1:31.142, 0.355s off Norris. 

    The impressive Hadjar took fourth place thanks to a lap 1:31.253, just five-hundredths of a second off Piastri, while Tsunoda backed up his team-mate with fifth place, four hundredths ahead of Russell. 

    Eliminated at the end of Q2 were Haas’ Esteban Ocon in P11, Sauber’s Nico Hülkenberg, Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso and Land Stroll and in 15th place Williams’ Carlos Sainz. 

    Verstappen set the pace early in Q3 with a lap of 1:30.925. That was not quite good enough to hold off the McLarens, however, and Piastri took provisional pole 0.222s ahead of the champion, with Norris nine-hundredths of a second behind his team-mate. 

    And the Australian was one of the few to improve in the final runs, finding another six hundredths to claim his first Grand Prix pole position. Norris backed out of his final flyer and that allowed Russell to claim a front-row berth with a time of 1:30.723. Norris was left with third ahead of Verstappen who couldn’t find any gains on his final flyer.

    Hamilton secured fifth ahead of team-mate Leclerc and Isack Hadjar claimed an excellent seventh place. The French driver was, however, set to be investigated after the session for an unsafe release into the path of Max ahead of the final runs. Andrea Kimi Antonelli qualified eighth place for Mercedes ahead of Tsunoda and Alex Albon took tenth place for Williams. 

    2025 FIA Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix – Qualifying 
    1 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 1:30.641 – –
    2 George Russell Mercedes 1:30.723 0.082 0.090
    3 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1:30.793 0.152 0.168
    4 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1:30.817 0.176 0.194
    5 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 1:30.927 0.286 0.316
    6 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:31.021 0.380 0.419
    7 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls/Honda RBPT 1:31.079 0.438 0.483
    8 Aandrea Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1:31.103 0.462 0.510
    9 Yuki Tsunoda Racing Bulls/Honda RBPT 1:31.638 0.997 1.100
    10 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 1:31.706 1.065 1.175
    11 Esteban Ocon Haas/Ferrari 1:31.625 0.984 1.086
    12 Nico Hülkenberg Sauber/Ferrari 1:31.632 0.991 1.093
    13 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:31.688 1.047 1.155
    14 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:31.773 1.132 1.249
    15 Carlos Sainz Williams/Mercedes 1:31.840 1.199 1.323
    16 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault 1:31.992 1.351 1.490
    17 Oliver Bearman Haas/Ferrari 1:32.018 1.377 1.519
    18 Jack Doohan Alpine/Renault 1:32.092 1.451 1.601
    19 Gabriel Bortoleto Sauber/Ferrari 1:32.141 1.500 1.655
    20 Liam Lawson Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1:32.174 1.533 1.691

  • Lewis Hamilton takes Sprint pole at Shanghai: F1 Round 2

    Lewis Hamilton takes Sprint pole at Shanghai: F1 Round 2

    Shanghai, 21 March 2025: Lewis Hamilton took a stunning first pole position with Ferrari in qualifying for the Sprint at the 2025 FIA Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix, narrowly beating Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen and McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, as early championship leader Lando Norris qualified in sixth place. Hamilton’s pole of 1:30.849 also sets a new lap record for the Shanghai International Circuit, beating Sebastian Vette’s 2018 Q3 time by almost a quarter of a second. 

    Verstappen set the early benchmark in SQ1 with a 1:32.329 that put him in half a second clear of Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar. Lewis Hamilton then took over at the top, exactly a tenth clear of Verstappen as Leclerc moved to second a hundredth off his team-mate. 

    McLaren’s Oscar Piastri was going much quicker, however, and the Australian took over in P1 with a time of 1:31.723, half a second clear of Hamilton. The free practice session’s quickest man Lando Norris put in a scruffy opening flyer, however and his 1:32.248 left him in fifth as Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso went second, just under four tenths off Piastri. 

    In the final runs of the segment, Norris corrected his earlier errors, and the championship leader vaulted to the top of the order with a lap of 1:31.396, but Hamilton was finding more pace, and the Ferrari drive topped the session with a time of 1:31.212. Leclerc took third in the other Ferrari ahead of Piastri, while defending champion Max Verstappen eased through in fifth. 

    There was disappointment for Verstappen’s new Red Bull team-mate Liam Lawson, however. The New Zealander had his final lap deleted for a track limits infringement at Turn 9 and he exited the session in last place. 

    Also ruled out at the end of SQ1 were Alpine’s Jack Doohan who had his final time deleted and dropped out in P16 ahead of team-mate Pierre Gasly, Haas’ Esteban Ocon, Sauber’s Nico Hülkenberg and the unfortunate Lawson.

    In the middle segment it was Norris who led the way, with the Briton setting the pace at 1:31.174, 0.188s ahead of team-mate Piastri and a little under four tenths ahead of Verstappen. 

    The top three sat out the final minutes of the session and that allowed Mercedes’s George Russell to sneak ahead of Piastri 0.172 off Norris. Hamilton also improved, taking fourth ahead of Andrea Kimi Antonelli who relegated Verstappen to sixth ahead of Williams’ Alex Albon and Leclerc. 

    The last two through to top 10 shootout were Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll and Racing Bulls’ Yiuki Tsunoda, which meant there was no place in SQ3 for Alonso who slipped out in P11, two hundredths of a second off Tsunoda. Haas’ Oliver Bearman went out in P12, and the Briton was followed to the exit by Williams’ Carlos Sainz, Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto and Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar. 

    After Norris’ pacesetting efforts in the middle segment, it was Piastri who grabbed provisional pole in their first runs of SQ3, ahead of Russell, while Norris had a snap heading onto the back straight and lost time all the way down the straight to slip to third. 

    But while the McLarens would go again, it was Hamilton who found the most time on the Shanghai track and the seven-time champion took his first Sprint pole for Ferrari with a time of 1:30.849. 

    Verstappen almost pipped the Ferrari driver but lost fractions of time in the final sector to cross the line in P2 just 0.018s behind. Piastri was left with third on 1:30.929 and Leclerc took fourth place ahead of Russell. Norris, meanwhile, finished sixth after locking up into Turn 14 on his final flyer. Antonelli took a solid seventh in his second qualifying session with Mercedes ahead of Tsunoda, Albon and Stroll. 

    2025 FIA Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix – Sprint Qualifying 
    1 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 1:30.849 – –
    2 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1:30.867 0.018 
    3 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 1:30.929 0.080 
    4 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:31.057 0.208 
    5 George Russell Mercedes 1:31.169 0.320 
    6 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1:31.393 0.544 
    7 Andrea Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1:31.738 0.889 
    8 Yuki Tsunoda Racing Bulls/Honda RBPT 1:31.773 0.924 
    9 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 1:31.852 1.003 
    10 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:31.982 1.133 
    11 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:31.815 0.966 
    12 Oliver Bearman Haas/Ferrari 1:31.978 1.129 
    13 Carlos Sainz Williams/Mercedes 1:32.325 1.476 
    14 Gabriel Bortoleto Sauber/Ferrari 1:32.564 1.715 
    15 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls/Honda RBPT – – –
    16 Jack Doohan Alpine/Renault 1:32.575 1.726 
    17 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault 1:32.640 1.791 
    18 Esteban Ocon Haas/Ferrari 1:32.651 1.802 
    19 Nico Hülkenberg Sauber/Ferrari 1:32.675 1.826 
    20 Liam Lawson Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1:32.729 1.880

  • Max Verstappen take pole for Chinese Grand Prix

    Max Verstappen take pole for Chinese Grand Prix

    Shanghai (China), 20 April 2024: Max Verstappen scored his fifth pole in five races and Red Bull’s 100th pole position with a dominant performance in qualifying for the 2024 FIA Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix, beating Red Bull team-mate Sergio Pérez by three tenths of a second. Fernando Alonso took third place for Aston Martin. 

    It was Alonso who made the early running at the start of Q1, with the Spaniad taking top spot with a lap of 1:35.226. Verstappen’s first flying lap of qualifying for Sunday’s first Chinese Grand Prix since 2019 put the champion in second place, 0.055s behind the Aston Martin driver. Elsewhere, Pérez was forced wide on his opening lap when he came across a much slower Alex Albon, a moment that almost cost the Mexican dearly later on. 

    McLaren’s Piastri moved ahead of Alonso at the top of the order but he was quickly ousted by Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz who in turn was bumped out of top spot by McLaren’s Lando Norris who reset the bar at 1:34.842.

    Sergio, meanwhile, was for another run but on what he later called “hot, used tyres” his first proper effort only put him sixth, 0.615s behind Norris’ pacesetting time. It led to a nervous final few minutes for the Mexican as a barrage of better final runs came in across the field. 

    At the top of that list of quicker times was Verstappen, whose second run vaulted him to top spot. The China Sprint winner posted a lap of 1:34.742 to progress to Q2 ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Norris. 

    Pérez, however, was in trouble. With the track ramping up swiftly and with a number of drivers making big leaps up the order, the Mexican driver slid to 15th at the end of the session. “That was close,” he said as he slipped through to second session just under five hundredths of a second ahead of Sauber’s Zhou Guanyu who was eliminated in P16.

    But while Pérez was lucky to escape the drop, there was no such good fortune for Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton. Behind 17th-place Kevin Magnussen of Haas, Lewis Hamilton dropped out in P18, ahead of RB’s Yuki Tsunoda and Williams’ Logan Sargeant. 

    Verstappen maintained his grip on top spot at the start of the second session, with the Dutchman posting a strong opening lap of 1:33.946 to take spot, half a second ahead of Norris, with Piastri two tenths further back in third. 

    Pérez posted a lap of 1:34.883, putting him fifth behind Alonso and almost a second off Max, but as the Mexican crossed the line, Sainz was powering into the final corner. However, the Spaniard dipped the rear right wheel into the gravel and his Ferrari was immediately pitched into a 360 degree spin. He slid backwards into the barriers and the session was red-flagged. The Ferrari driver managed to get his car going again and under the red flag he limped back to the pits minus his front wing. 

    After an almost 10-minute halt to clear debris from Sainz’s crash, the session resumed with seven minutes left on the clock. Mercedes’ George Russell was first out on track and he jumped to P3 with a time of 1:34.609. Only Verstappen joined him on track at this stage and the champion extended his P1 advantage, posting a lap of 1:33.794 to sit 0.666s ahead of Norris. 

    Sainz, in his swiftly repaired Ferrari climbed to P2 in the closing moments of the session, ahead of team-mate Leclerc, but behind them Pérez was going quicker and the Mexican made it a one-two at the flag with a lap of 1:34.026 that put him more than three tenths clear of the Sainz. 

    Outside the top 10, Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll was eliminated in P11 ahead of fellow fallers Daniel Ricciardo of RB, Alpine’s Esteban Ocon, Williams’ Alex Albon and the second Alpine of Pierre Gasly. 

    In the final top-10 shootout, Verstappen Max stamped his authority on the timesheet in the first runs, setting a lap of 1:33.977 to beat Alonso by 0.394s. Pérez took third but was unhappy with a change to his front wing ahead of the session. Norris sat in fourth ahead of team-mate Piastri, with the McLarens ahead of the Ferraris of Sainz and Leclerc. 

    And in the final runs of the session Verstappen was untouchable. The Red Bull pairing were last out on track but while there was movement on the timesheet, with Alonso moving up the order to initially take P2 ahead of the McLarens and Ferrari, Verstappen was going quicker than his own opening run and when he crossed the line he improved to 1:33.660 to take Red Bull’s 100th pole and to become the first driver since Mika Häkkinen in 1999 to take pole in the opening five races of a season. 

    “Before I jumped in the car [before qualifying] Christian told me that if I got pole it would be 100 for the team and I thought ‘that’s nice, I’ll try, I’ll give it a good go’,” he said. “It’s an incredible achievement for the whole team. Of course there was a good contribution from Seb back in the day! It just shows that the car is really working well. It’s a good start to the year and I feel very confident in quali compared to last year.” 

    Behind him, Pérez also improved but he finished two tenths off Verstappen as he took the 12th front row start of his career and his second of the season so far. Alonso finished third ahead of Norris and Piastri, while Sainz and Leclerc will line up on row three ahead of Russell, Haas’ Nico Hülkenberg and Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas. 

    2024 FIA Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix – Qualifying
    1 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 1:33.660 – –
    2 Sergio Pérez Red Bull Racing 1:33.982 0.322 0.344
    3 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin 1:34.148 0.488 0.521
    4 Lando Norris McLaren 1:34.165 0.505 0.539
    5 Oscar Piastri McLaren 1:34.273 0.613 0.654
    6 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:34.289 0.629 0.672
    7 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1:34.297 0.637 0.680
    8 George Russell Mercedes 1:34.433 0.773 0.825
    27 Nico Hülkenberg Haas 1:34.604 0.944 1.008
    10 Valtteri Bottas Kick Sauber 1:34.665 1.005 1.073
    11 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 1:34.838 1.178 1.258
    12 Daniel Ricciardo RB 1:34.934 1.274 1.360
    13 Esteban Ocon Alpine 1:35.223 1.563 1.669
    14 Alexander Albon Williams 1:35.241 1.581 1.688
    15 Pierre Gasly Alpine 1:35.463 1.803 1.925
    16 Zhou Guanyu Kick Sauber 1:35.505 1.845 1.970
    17 Kevin Magnussen Haas 1:35.516 1.856 1.982
    18 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:35.573 1.913 2.042
    19 Yuki Tsunoda RB 1:35.746 2.086 2.227
    20 Logan Sargeant Williams 1:36.358 2.698 2.881

  • Max Verstappen wins first Sprint race of the season ahead of Hamilton

    Max Verstappen wins first Sprint race of the season ahead of Hamilton

    Shanghai (China) 20 April 2024: Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen won the first Sprint of the 2024 F1 season, powering through from fourth on the grid to beat Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton, with Sergio Pérez third in the other Red Bull in the 2024 Chinese Grand Prix, the fifth round of the F1 World Championship at the Shanghai International Circuit here on Saturday.

    When the lights went out at the start of the 19 lap, 100-km dash to the flag, it was Hamilton who got away best and he immediately attacked polesitter Lando Norris of McLaren as they went into the long loop of the first two corners. Norris, on the outside, tried to resist, but he was forced out wide on the dirty side of the track and slid wide. He tumbled down to P7 as Hamilton took the lead. 

    Behind them, Aston Martin’s Fernand Alonso was in third ahead of Verstappen, Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, P´rez and the second Ferrari of Charles Leclerc. Verstappen wasn’t happy, however, and as Hamilton began to build a gap at the front the Dutchman was on the radio complaining that he had a flat battery. He was given instructions to change settings on his steering wheel and during his phase dropped almost two seconds away from Hamilton and Alonso. 

    Just over a third of the way into the race, Hamilton had carved out a gap of 1.5s to Alonso, but Verstappen, with his battery issues fixed, was charging towards both. At the end of Lap 7, Verstappen closed in on Alonso and passed the Aston Martin driver into the hairpin to take P2.

    On lap eight Hamilton ran wide at the hairpin and that was all the incentive Verstappen needed. He closed the gap to half a second as they crossed the start/finish line and then began to apply the pressure through the first sector of lap nine before getting the pass done into the hairpin. With the lead secured, Verstappen raced into the distance, quickly opening a sizable gap to the rest of the pack. 

    While Hamilton remained a comfortable second, Alonso began to fall back towards Sainz, Perez, Leclerc and Norris, and an exciting tussle developed. 

    On Lap 14, Leclerc attacked Perez around the outside of the final hairpin, but failed to pass. He tried again on the following lap but locked up and fell back slightly. 

    On lap 16, Sainz attacked Alonso heading into Turn 6. The pair went side-by-side into Turn 7 and the two Spaniards made contact, allowing Perez to sneak past both at Turn 8.

    Alonso dropped back with a puncture and eventually retired. With Pérez in third, the battle for fourth was left to the two Ferraris who almost collided at the final hairpin – prompting an angry radio message from Leclerc – before Sainz ran wide at Turn 2 allowing his team mate to ease past.

    From there, the lead positions remained unchanged, with Verstappen taking victory over Hamilton and Pérez, as Leclerc, Sainz, Norris, Piastri and Russell completed the top-eight positions and secured the points on offer.

    2024 FIA Chinese Grand Prix – Sprint 
    1 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing19 32’04.660 
    2 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 19 32’17.703 13.043
    3 Sergio Pérez Red Bull Racing 19 32’19.918 15.258
    4 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 19 32’22.146 17.486
    5 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 19 32’25.356 20.696
    6 Lando Norris McLaren 19 32’26.748 22.088
    7 Oscar Piastri McLaren 19 32’29.373 24.713
    8 George Russell Mercedes 19 32’30.356 25.696
    9 Zhou Guanyu Kick Sauber 19 32’36.611 31.951
    10 Kevin Magnussen Haas 19 32’42.058 37.398
    11 Daniel Ricciardo RB19 32’42.500 37.840
    12 Valtteri Bottas Kick Sauber 19 32’42.955 38.295
    13 Esteban Ocon Alpine 19 32’44.501 39.841
    14 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 19 32’44.959 40.299
    15 Pierre Gasly Alpine 19 32’45.498 40.838
    16 Yuki Tsunoda RB 19 32’46.530 41.870
    17 Alexander Albon Williams 19 32’47.658 42.998
    18 Logan Sargeant Williams 19 32’51.012 46.352
    19 Nico Hülkenberg Haas 19 32’54.290 49.630
    20 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin 17 29’39.513 Not running