© Getty Images2024 Chinese Grand Prix - Sunday ReportAnother sensational weekend for the Team in Shanghai.
MaxVerstappennegotiatedtwoSafetyCarsandthelossofacomfortableearlyleadtowinanincident-filledChineseGrandPrix,beatingMcLaren’sLandoNorrisbyalmost14secondsattheflagtotakeafirstwinatShanghaiInternationalCircuit.SergioPérezmadeitadoublepodiumfinishfortheTeamwithastunningthirdplacefinish.
After powering from pole to take a 10-second lead in the opening phases of the race Max saw his advantage erased by two consecutive Safety Car periods just before half distance. But, after superbly controlling both restarts, Max again began to stretch his advantage and in the closing stage the Dutchman hit cruise control to take his 58th career victory.
Checo also pushed hard in the final stretch to drive his way back to third place to seal his fourth podium finish in five races.
When the lights went out at the start, both Bulls made a good getaway, however Fernando Alonso also shot off the line and overtook Checo into T1, almost taking the lead from Max also.Managing to stay ahead, Max was making the most of clean air and by the end of lap one he was a whopping 1.6s ahead of Alonso. Checo was just under a second behind the Spanish driver and 1.5s ahead of the McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.
On lap five, Checo made his move, diving up the inside at Turn 6 to take second place, though he was now five seconds back from his team-mate. At the end of lap 12, Alonso and Russell were the first of the leading pack to make pit stops, and their stops sparked the other top 10 runners into action, with the Bulls both boxing on lap 14 in a flawless double stop. Max rejoined in P3 behind Leclerc, while Checo emerged in sixth behind Sainz.
Max Setting Race Pace© Getty Images
McLaren and Ferrari opted to keep their drivers on track, however, and with Leclerc potentially targeting a one-stop race and running almost two seconds a lap slower than Max, there was no holding the champion back and on lap 16 he pushed past the Ferrari to move to P2. Three laps later he was back in the lead, flying past Norris on the run to the hairpin. Further back, Checo had made his way past Sainz on the exit of Turn 14 to take fourth place.
On lap 22 Valtteri Bottas had to park his Sauber in an escape road, exiting the race with an engine issue. The incident resulted in a Virtual Safety Car being deployed, but with Bottas’ car proving immovable, the physical Safety Car was then released and the bulk of the field took the opportunity to pit. The Bulls stopped to take on more hard tyres and Max took up the lead behind the Safety Car. Checo sat in fourth ahead of Sainz, Alonso and Russell, and now faced with a fight to the flag.
Incredible Consistency© Getty Images
Another One.© Getty Images
The Safety Car left the circuit at the end of lap 26 and Max made his move at Turn 14, powering away as Norris was in the middle of the hairpin.
Further back, there was contact. With the cars bunching into Turn 14 at the restart, RB’s Daniel Ricciardo was forced to brake hard to avoid running into McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, and the result was that Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll ploughed into the rear of the RB. Both were able to continue but when a handful of corners later Yuki Tsunoda was hit by Kevin Magnussen, the Safety Car had to be deployed for a second time. Ricciardo would eventually be forced to retire, while Stroll and Magnussen were handed 10-second time penalties for the incidents.
The SC left the track for the second time at the end of lap 31 and once again Max used the hairpin to kick off the restart. He comfortably pulled away from Norris and Leclerc on exit as Checo began to plot his assault on the Ferrari and the McLaren.
On lap 39, Checo at last made his move, ambushing Leclerc on the inside on the entry to Turn 6. Freed from Leclerc, Checo tried to reel in Norris but he had unfortunately used his laps well and had carved out a five-second gap.
At the front Max was in cruise control and after 56 superbly controlled laps he took his fourth win of the season with 13.7s in hand over Norris, Checo took a solid third ahead of the Ferraris while George Russell finished sixth for Mercedes ahead of Alonso. Piastri finished eighth in the second McLaren ahead of Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton and the final point on offer was taken by Haas’ Nico Hülkenberg.
A New Jewel In Max's Collection© Getty Images
Another Trophy Unlocked© Getty Images
| Rank | Driver | Team | Gap | Points | | 1 | Max Verstappen | Oracle Red Bull Racing | - | 25 |
| 2 | Lando Norris | McLaren | +13.757 | 18 |
| 3 | Sergio Pérez | Oracle Red Bull Racing | +18.483 | 15 |
| 4 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | +23.127 | 12 |
| 5 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | +33.545 | 10 |
| 6 | George Russell | Mercedes | +37.670 | 8 |
| 7 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | +43.414 | 6(+1) |
| 8 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | +53.896 | 4 |
| 9 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | +55.139 | 2 |
| 10 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas | +57.644 | 1 |
The Bulls Start And Finish Strong© Getty Images
