Verstappen wins F1 Chinese GP Sprint in dramatic style
The Formula One China Grand Prix Sprint race finished with Max Verstappen claiming his eighth win in the new format at the Shanghai International Circuit.
Lewis Hamilton went on to finish in second, his first top-six finish in Formula One this season, with Sergio Perez finishing in third.
Ferrari pair Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz rounded out the top five, with McLaren teammates Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri finishing in sixth and seventh respectively, and George Russell improving three positions to finish in eighth.
Australian RB driver Daniel Ricciardo had a solid sprint race, having won the Chinese Grand Prix back in 2018, advancing from 14th on the starting grid to finish 11th with a new chassis in the car.
The race started dramatically with Norris starting in pole position and quickly finding a fight on his hands with Hamilton, who started in second.
The pair battled through the first sweeping corner of the race before the experience of seven-time world champion Hamilton prevailed, forcing his McLaren rival wide on the track to claim the lead.
Norris had complained throughout free practice and qualifying of the straight-line speed of his car, and he dropped six positions following his battle with Hamilton.
Verstappen reported issues with his battery in lap four as he struggled to chase the third-placed Fernando Alonso and came under pressure from Sainz.
The battle in mid-field heated up on lap six, with Ricciardo queued up behind Kick Sauber cult hero Valteri Bottas and Haas’ Kevin Magnussen.
In the following minutes, Verstappen was able to position himself to successfully pass Alonso with a 1.8-second gap to the first-placed Hamilton.
Hamilton soon had a fight on his hands as he reported issues with turning in low-speed corners before running wide on the hairpin in lap nine.
A lap later, it was Verstappen who was able to dive down the inside of Hamilton on turn nine to take the lead without much fight from the Mercedes.
As McLaren’s Norris was fighting to make up for his mistakes in the opening moments of the race, he complained of traction issues in his rear tyres as he tried to attack Leclerc for an opportunity to overtake.
The drama started to unfold on lap 14 behind Verstappen, who had opened a six-second lead over Hamilton, with a battle for third unfolding with Alonso, Sainz, Perez, and Leclerc.
It was not until lap 16 that Sainz got side-by-side with Alonso, who ultimately suffered a race-ending puncture, before Perez shocked everyone by passing both to find third place, with teammates Sainz in fourth and Leclerc jumping to fifth.
All eyes in Shanghai now turn to the 56-lap race set for decision on Sunday afternoon.
Red Bull’s Verstappen and Perez will start on the front row, with Alonso in third, McLaren’s Norris in fourth, and Piastri claiming fifth position.
Ricciardo will have a chance to claim his first points of the season as he looks to start in 12th position.
With the top Formula One betting sites heavily siding on Verstappen to claim the China Grand Prix double, all eyes will be on the top-six battle with their only being 36 points, splitting sixth-placed Piastri from second-placed Perez on the 2024 driver standings.