Sprint winner Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing takes the chequered flag during the Sprint ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of China at Shanghai International Circuit on April 20, 2024 in Shanghai, China. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)
SHANGHAI — With the lone practice and Sprint Qualifying now in the rearview mirror, the Formula 1 drivers and teams turned their attention to the first Sprint Race of the 2024 season. Lando Norris put his McLaren on pole. Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen sat on row two, looking to be the first driver to win a Sprint race outside of the top three starting spots.
Norris’ impressive drive in the wet placed his McLaren in front of the grid’s three World Champions: the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton, the Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso and Verstappen. As the tire covers came off, it was revealed that most teams would be starting on the Medium compound tires, with Mercedes opting to have George Russell start on the Soft compound tires.
Norris led the field around for the formation lap, and with the lights going out, the first Spirit Race was underway. Hamilton, eager for his first victory since 2021, started impressively, holding alongside the McLaren through the first two corners. Hamilton was able to grab the lead as Norris slid wide and fell down the order to seventh.
As the field spread out, Hamilton was ahead of Alonso and Verstappen. The Red Bull driver wondered why his battery was flat battling Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari. However, once he got his battery issue sorted, he set forth, setting the fastest laps and chasing down first and second. Meanwhile, Russell was taking advantage of his softer tires to take 10th from Kevin Magnussen’s Haas.
Verstappen started hunting down the Aston Martin and going into the hairpin, made the move on the two-time World Champion to set his sights on the seven-time World Champion. With the reigning three-time World Champion closing in at an impressive rate, Hamilton called in his pit wall that “this thing won’t turn in the low-speed corners”.
Hamilton’s worries about not being able to turn were highlighted as he locked up, heading into the hairpin. This allowed Verstappen to close in the gap and subsequently take the lead a lap later in the same hairpin. At that point, he set off to grow his lead and was barely heard from afterward.
Hamilton’s saving grace was Alonso behind him, holding back the Ferraris of Sainz and Charles Leclerc, the other Red Bull of Sergio Perez and the pole sitter of Norris, holding on. As the laps ticked by, the intensity picked up as the drivers following Alonso were getting impatient and wanting to pass.
It all came to a culmination on Lap 15 as Sainz finally got a run on Alonso to get alongside his fellow countryman and childhood hero in Turn 6, but through Turns 7 and 8, Alonso held tough, and with some contact, Perez went through to take third as the two Spaniards fought it out with Leclerc hoping to take advantage himself.
Sprint winner Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing takes the chequered flag during the Sprint ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of China at Shanghai International Circuit on April 20, 2024 in Shanghai, China. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)
As Perez started to head off into the distance, the two Ferraris were duking it out, which led to a wheel-touching moment in the hairpin. The exasperated Lerclerc wondered why his own teammate was racing him like that. Alonso went down pit lane for a puncture and soon pitted again to retire the car.
Verstappen cruised to victory ahead of Hamilton and his teammate Perez, followed by the Ferraris of Leclerc and Sainz. Norris, Oscar Piastri and Russell completed the points-paying finishes.
| Finish | Start | Car No. | Driver | Team | Gap (in seconds) | Points |
| 1 | 4 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT | Leader | 8 |
| 2 | 2 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 13.043 | 7 |
| 3 | 6 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT | 15.258 | 6 |
| 4 | 7 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 17.486 | 5 |
| 5 | 5 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | 20.696 | 4 |
| 6 | 1 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren Mercedes | 22.088 | 3 |
| 7 | 8 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren Mercedes | 24.713 | 2 |
| 8 | 11 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 25.696 | 1 |
| 9 | 10 | 24 | Zhou Guanyu | Stake Sauber | 31.951 | 0 |
| 10 | 12 | 22 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas Ferrari | 37.398 | 0 |
| 11 | 14 | 27 | Daniel Ricciardo | RB Honda RBPT | 37.84 | 0 |
| 12 | 9 | 14 | Valtteri Bottas | Stake Sauber | 38.295 | 0 |
| 13 | 17 | 20 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine Renault | 39.841 | 0 |
| 14 | 15 | 77 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes | 40.299 | 0 |
| 15 | 16 | 31 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine Renault | 40.838 | 0 |
| 16 | 19 | 10 | Yuki Tsunoda | RB Honda RBPT | 41.87 | 0 |
| 17 | 18 | 2 | Alex Albon | Williams Mercedes | 42.998 | 0 |
| 18 | 20 | 24 | Logan Sargeant | Williams Mercedes | 46.352 | 0 |
| 19 | 13 | 3 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas Ferrari | 49.63 | 0 |
| 20 | 3 | 23 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes | DNF | 0 |
As part of the changes to the Sprint weekend format, Grand Prix qualifying now occurs after the Sprint race, and the teams now have access to make changes to their cars prior to qualifying.
Teams were eager for the start of qualifying, and when the lights on the pit lane turned green to signal the start of the session, a flurry of activity began. Initially, Piastri set the fastest, but he was soon toppled by Verstappen, who placed his Red Bull at the top of the board. As track times continued to topple, it became a close battle who would make it out of the first round.
From the high of placing second in the Sprint race, Hamilton made a shock exit in round 1, not able to keep up with the quickening track. He was joined by the Kick Sauber of Zhou Guanyu, Magnussen’s Haas, the struggling Visa Cash App RB of Yuki Tsunoda and the Williams of Logan Sargeant.
Once again, a flurry of activity hit the track once the pit lane lights turned green, and immediately, Verstappen placed his Red Bull a second ahead of the rest of the grid. But soon, the action came to an end as Sainz went sliding out of the final corner, making contact with the barriers. He was able to restart the car and return to his garage to check for damage.
Miraculously, Ferrari was able to get Sainz back on track, and he was able to easily make it into the final round. But missing the cut to the final round was the Aston Martin of Lance Stroll, the Visa Cash App RB of Daniel Ricciardo, the Alpines of Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly joined with the Williams of Alex Albon.
Pole position qualifier Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing and Second placed qualifier Sergio Perez of Mexico and Oracle Red Bull Racing celebrate in parc ferme after qualifying ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of China at Shanghai International Circuit on April 20, 2024 in Shanghai, China. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)
Once the final round started, Verstappen once again placed the time to beat, with Alonso bringing his Aston Martin to second and Perez in third in the opening runs. Drivers set out on their second laps to improve their times, but as wind conditions changed, no one knew if anyone would be able to pick up the pace. However, Verstappen placed down an even quicker time to claim the pole as Perez picked up the pace to claim second ahead of Alonso.
The McLaren Duo of Norris and Piastri claimed fifth and sixth ahead of the Ferrari duo of Leclerc and Sainz in seventh and eighth. Rounding out the Top 10 is the Mercedes of Russell ahead of the Haas of Nico Hulkenberg and a surprising Top 10 start from the Kick Sauber of Valtteri Bottas.
With the pole, Max Verstappen has claimed Red Bull Racing’s 100th pole in Formula 1 and his fifth consecutive pole for the 2024 season. Teams now turn their attention to the Chinese Grand Prix. Will Red Bull continue their impressive pace with another Verstappen victory, or will Ferrari take the fight to them?
