The prevailing theme of the current Formula 1 season is centered around Max.
Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing achieved an impressive and well-managed victory in the highly eventful Chinese Grand Prix, which included the deployment of two Safety Cars. Lando Norris from McLaren secured a commendable second place, finishing ahead of Sergio Pérez in the second Red Bull vehicle.
“It was just enjoyable to drive, every single compound as well,” Verstappen said. “The restarts I think we all survived that well, and you had a car was basically on rails. And yeah, I could do whatever I wanted to with it. And those kind of weekends are of course amazing to feel and of course then to achieve basically what we did this weekend is fantastic.”
At the start of the race, when the lights went out, Verstappen demonstrated quick reflexes and seized the lead as they approached Turn 1. In contrast, Pérez experienced a slow start and was quickly challenged by Fernando Alonso from Aston Martin.
The Spanish driver made an overtaking maneuver on the outside during the lengthy Turns 1 and 2. Although Pérez attempted to reclaim his position, Alonso decisively defended his line into Turn 3, maintaining second place. Meanwhile, Verstappen capitalized on clear air and by the conclusion of lap one, the Red Bull driver had established a 1.6-second lead over Alonso. Pérez was slightly less than a second behind Alonso and had a 1.5-second advantage over McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.
Pérez actively pursued his position, and on lap five, he executed a well-timed maneuver, taking advantage of the inside line at Turn 6 to claim second place from Alonso’s Aston. Recognizing that he was exerting excessive strain on his tires, Alonso opted not to resist significantly.
“Once you start fighting like that, in the early laps, the life of the tire just goes off dramatically,” Pérez said. “But at least we managed to get to the podium, but it would have been good to be one and two.”
Norris, informed that Alonso was experiencing tire difficulties, seized the opportunity and swiftly increased his pace to catch up to the Aston Martin driver. On lap seven, he successfully maneuvered past Alonso in the hairpin, securing third position. Meanwhile, further back in the race, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was making significant progress; he overtook Mercedes’ George Russell for sixth place on lap nine and subsequently passed McLaren’s Oscar Piastri on lap 12, advancing to fourth position.
At the conclusion of lap 12, Alonso and Russell were the first among the leaders to enter the pit lane, prompting the remaining top 10 competitors to follow suit. On lap 14, both Red Bull drivers executed a coordinated pit stop, allowing Norris to assume the lead. Verstappen returned to the track in third place, just behind Leclerc, while Pérez positioned himself in sixth, following Sainz.
McLaren and Ferrari decided to maintain their drivers on the track. Leclerc appeared to be aiming for a one-stop strategy but was running nearly two seconds per lap slower than Verstappen. Consequently, Verstappen was able to overtake Leclerc on lap 16, securing second place. Just three laps later, he reclaimed the lead by successfully passing Norris on the approach to the hairpin. Meanwhile, Pérez advanced past Sainz on the exit of Turn 14, moving into fourth place behind Leclerc.
On lap 22, Valtteri Bottas experienced an engine failure, necessitating the parking of his Kick Sauber in an escape road. This incident prompted the deployment of the Virtual Safety Car, allowing Charles Leclerc to make a pit stop for a set of hard tyres. Initially, it appeared that Lando Norris, who had just passed the pit entrance as the VSC was initiated, might be at a disadvantage. However, due to Bottas’ car being stuck in gear and the marshals facing challenges in relocating it, Norris was able to make his pit stop on the following lap for hard tires.
With Bottas’ car remaining stationary, the physical Safety Car was deployed, prompting most of the field to take advantage of the opportunity to pit. The Red Bulls, having lost their lead, made another pit stop, allowing Verstappen to assume the lead behind the Safety Car. However, Pérez was overtaken by both Norris and Leclerc, who had pitted during the earlier Virtual Safety Car period. Consequently, the Mexican driver, who was initially in fourth place ahead of Sainz, Alonso, and Russell, now faced a competitive battle to the finish.
The Safety Car departed the circuit at the conclusion of lap 26, and Verstappen effectively managed the restart by accelerating out of Turn 14 while navigating past a slower Norris, who was positioned in the middle of the hairpin.
Norris utilized the intervening laps effectively, establishing a five-second lead in second place. Pérez endeavored to close the gap on Norris; however, the Red Bull driver’s tire wear from his earlier battle with Leclerc hindered his progress.
At the front, Verstappen maintained a steady pace, and despite concerns regarding potential debris on the track, he completed 56 expertly managed laps to secure his fourth victory of the season, finishing 13.7 seconds ahead of Norris. Pérez delivered a strong performance to achieve third place, ahead of the Ferrari drivers, while George Russell finished sixth for Mercedes, just in front of Alonso. Piastri secured eighth place in the second McLaren, followed by Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton, and the final championship point was awarded to Haas’ Nico Hülkenberg.
2024 FIA Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix – Race
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 56 1:40’52.554
2 Lando Norris McLaren 56 1:41’06.327 13.773
3 Sergio Pérez Red Bull Racing 56 1:41’11.714 19.160
4 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 56 1:41’16.177 23.623
5 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 56 1:41’26.537 33.983
6 George Russell Mercedes 56 1:41’31.278 38.724
7 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin 56 1:41’35.968 43.414
8 Oscar Piastri McLaren 56 1:41’48.752 56.198
9 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 56 1:41’50.540 57.986
10 Nico Hülkenberg Haas 56 1:41’53.030 1’00.476
11 Esteban Ocon Alpine 56 1:41’55.366 1’02.812
12 Alexander Albon Williams 56 1:41’58.060 1’05.506
13 Pierre Gasly Alpine 56 1:42’01.777 1’09.223
14 Zhou Guanyu Kick Sauber 56 1:42’04.243 1’11.689
15 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 56 1:42’15.340 1’22.786
16 20 Kevin Magnussen Haas 56 1:42’20.087 1’27.533
17 2 Logan Sargeant Williams 56 1:42’27.664 1’35.110
Daniel Ricciardo RB 33 1:03’17.069 Accident damage
Yuki Tsunoda RB RBPT 26 48’07.215 Accident
Valtteri Bottas Kick Sauber 19 32’58.520 Engine
Photo/MaxVerstappen/X
