Max Verstappen Roars Like a Dragon in 2024 Chinese Grand Prix Victory

Max Verstappen of Oracle Red Bull Racing and The Netherlands celebrates finishing in first position in parc ferme during the F1 Grand Prix of China at Shanghai International Circuit on April 21, 2024 in Shanghai, China. (Photo by Peter Fox | Getty Images)

SHANGHAI – With Sprint Race action from Friday and Saturday in the rearview mirror, the Chinese Grand Prix was the main focus for Formula 1’s drivers and teams as Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen looked to increase his championship lead over the rest of the field.

With Verstappen and his Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez on the front row, the only change to the grid was Williams starting Logan Sargeant on the pit lane.

In the waning moments before the race began, teams removed the tire covers and the choices for the expected two-stop race were revealed as a majority of the grid started on the Medium compound tires, while the Aston Martin of Lance Stroll, Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton, Visa Cash App RB of Yuki Tsunoda and Sargeant started on the Soft compound tires. Meanwhile, Haas elected to have Kevin Magnussen start on the Hard compound tires.

With the grid cleared of personnel, Verstappen led the field around for the formation lap and the drivers parked back in their grid slots. The lights went out and Verstappen got out to an early lead as Fernando Alonso held his Aston Martin alongside then ahead of Perez. Both George Russell in his Mercedes and Nico Hulkenberg in his Haas got around both Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz at the start.

Both Leclerc and Sainz were able to regain at least one of the spots that they lost as they got around Hulkenberg. By the time they made it back around for the second time, the Haas started falling down the order. Once DRS was enabled, Perez was able to pass Alonso in Turn 6 to set up another Red Bull 1-2 as Verstappen disappeared off into the distance.

The race had not even reached double digits on the lap counter by the time the drivers who started on Soft compound tires switched to harder compound tires. Hamilton, who started in the rear after a disappointing qualifying effort following his second-place finish, was thankful to swap from the Soft tires to the Medium tires.

Leclerc was making quick work to regain positions as he made it by Russell on Lap 9 and made it past the McLaren of Oscar Piastri on Lap 12. The other McLaren of Lando Norris showed great strength as he made his way past Alonso to take third.

Pit stops started to pick up when Red Bull called in both Verstappen and Perez to swap from their Medium compound tires to Hard compound tires, releasing the McLaren and Ferrari duos. The reigning three-time champ started lighting up the timing sheets, getting by Leclerc as Sainz and Piastri went down pit lane, leaving Norris and Leclerc as the only front runners who had yet to pit.

Max Verstappen of the Netherlands driving the (1) Oracle Red Bull Racing RB20 leads the field into turn one at the start during the F1 Grand Prix of China at Shanghai International Circuit on April 21, 2024 in Shanghai, China. (Photo by Lintao Zhang | Getty Images)

Some major luck struck Norris and Leclerc as the Kick Sauber of Valtteri Bottas slowed to a stop at Turn 11. Race control soon called for a Virtual Safety Car, which gave Norris and Leclerc a cheap pit stop. However, the Sauber was stuck in gear, making it practically impossible for the track workers to move it, so a full Safety Car was called.

Under the SC, Red Bull called in Verstappen and Perez for their second pit stop in a wonderfully executed double stack, sending both cars back onto the track, with Norris and Leclerc slotting between the Red Bulls. During the pit stops, Aston Martin made the surprising choice to have Alonso move to the Soft compound tires.

With the stricken Kick Sauber moved out of the way, the SC period finally ended with Verstappen leading Norris, Leclerc, Perez and Sainz. At the restart, Verstappen kept his lead and once again got to work on extending his advantage, but it was soon neutralized as Tsunoda and the Haas of Kevin Magnussen got into each other, sending the RB spinning around and coming to a stop, broken.

This incident brought out another SC, and replays revealed a crazy moment in the hairpin ahead of the previous restart that showed Stroll sliding his Aston Martin into the rear end of Daniel Ricciardo’s Visa Cash App RB, and Ricciardo getting into Piastri’s McLaren.

This second caution was another stroke of luck for both Leclerc and Norris. The one-stop strategy they opened themselves up to became even more viable, as more laps were run under the SC.

This pair of SCs also gave the race stewards an opportunity to look over a handful of incidents, including an altercation between Sargeant and Hulkenberg for a safety car infringement, the contact between Stroll and Ricciardo, and the contact between Tsunoda and Magnussen. 10-second penalties were handed out to Stroll, Magnussen and Sargeant following an investigation.

Following what seemed like a long SC, Verstappen was able to lead the field back to racing action and once again, sped off into the distance. Behind him, both Perez and Alonso hoped to make their way up the order. The Red Bull driver was trying to get back to second and got by Leclerc with a handy move going into Turn 6, while the Aston Martin driver was trying to make up positions while on the Soft tires before having to make another pit stop.

It was not long before the damage to Ricciardo’s RB was too much, and he had to retire the car, ending a disappointing day for Visa Cash App RB. Meanwhile, Piastri asked his pit wall how badly damaged his car was and was told it was pretty serious, but he had to try to survive through the rest of the race. On a much happier note, Hamilton brought his Mercedes up to the points and was fighting further up the order.

Max Verstappen of the Netherlands driving the (1) Oracle Red Bull Racing RB20 leads Lando Norris of Great Britain driving the (4) McLaren MCL38 Mercedes on track during the F1 Grand Prix of China at Shanghai International Circuit on April 21, 2024 in Shanghai, China. (Photo by Peter Fox | Getty Images)

Aston Martin called Alonso down pit road for his last pit stop and swapped his car to Medium compound tires, dropping him to 12th with 12 laps to go. Immediately lighting up the timing charts, he made the fastest lap and worked his way up the order, passing the Alpine of Esteban Ocon, Hulkenberg, Hamilton, and Piastri, including executing an impressive slide out of the final corner.

Max Verstappen brought his Red Bull around for the final time to pick up his first Chinese Grand Prix victory, his 26th different circuit to take victory at, with Lando Norris bringing his McLaren home ahead of Sergio Perez, who could not make inroads to take back second place. Behind them followed the Ferraris of Leclerc and Sainz rounding out the Top 5.

Russell had a quiet day finishing sixth, while Alonso climbed all the way back to seventh ahead of Piastri, Hamilton, and Hulkenberg, rounding out the points-paying finishes in the Top 10.

The rest of the finishers were headed by Ocon, the Williams of Alex Albon, the other Alpine of Pierre Gasly, and Zhou Guanyu’s home country hero in his Kick Sauber. Stroll, Magnussen and Sargeant rounded out the finishers with their time penalties. Ricciardo, Tsunoda and Bottas did not finish the race.

As the podium finishers were getting out of their cars, a special moment occurred as Guanyu was directed to a spot on the front stretch to be able to greet stands full of his fans, as the first Chinese-born driver to race in a Chinese Grand Prix. With his F1 future in doubt, an emotional Guanyu was thankful for the experience.

A DAY TO REMEMBER FOREVER. 🇨🇳

What can I say… This crowd, this weekend has been unforgettable, thank you everyone for making it so special to me, loved every second of it. ❤️🏎️#ChineseGP #TeamZHOU pic.twitter.com/cxADU1F92N

— 周冠宇 | Zhou Guanyu 🇨🇳 (@ZhouGuanyu24) April 22, 2024

Formula 1 now heads to the United States for the first time in 2024 for the Miami Grand Prix, another Sprint weekend. Will Verstappen continue his reign or will Perez or the rest of the grid be able to take the fight to him?