DPA
Shanghai
Champion Max Verstappen won his maiden Formula One Chinese Grand Prix on Sunday to complete a perfect weekend in Shanghai after also winning the sprint race.
The Red Bull polesitter held his position at the start, leading 1.6 seconds at the end of the first lap, after surviving an attack from Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin.
“It felt amazing, it was so enjoyable to drive on every single compound. The car was on rails, I could do whatever I wanted to do with it,” Verstappen said.
Lando Norris of McLaren and Sergio Perez in the other Red Bull completed the podium of the first Chinese GP since 2019. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the race didn’t take place from 2020 to 2023.
“I’m very happy - today it just worked out, I wasn’t expecting it,” Norris said. “I was surprised by many things - the lack of pace from Ferrari, our good pace, us comparing to the Red Bull... It shows the team has done a good job, and it paid off.”
Verstappen only lost his lead on lap 13 after he stopped to get a new set of tyres, recovering his position seven laps later. There were two safety car periods, but the Dutchman wasn’t threatened in any of them.
This was Verstappen’s fourth win this season as he eyes a fourth consecutive world title. His only setback so far came at the Australian Grand Prix in March, when he abandoned the race due to car issues.
Alonso tried to threaten Verstappen at the start, but even though they went side by side, the Dutchman held on to his position. Perez, however, was not so lucky, and lost his position to the Aston Martin driver.
But the Mexican quickly recovered second place on lap 5, while Alonso, struggling with his tyres, was also overtaken by Norris.
The Ferrari cars, meanwhile, lost positions at the start, but were climbing their way up to the front led by Charles Leclerc.
Both Verstappen and Perez pitted for a new set of tyres, with Norris taking the lead ahead of Leclerc, as both drivers extended the first stint.
But Verstappen was again at the front on lap 20, just moments before the safety car was deployed after Valtteti Bottas stopped on the gravel due to issues with his Kick Sauber.
The Red Bulls pitted again and, while Verstappen had his healthy lead destroyed, he was still in first place. Perez, meanwhile, dropped to fourth as the top three consisted of his team-mate, Norris and Leclerc.
Verstappen retained his lead once the track was clear, but the safety immediately returned after Yuki Tsunoda of Visa RB spun on track following a contact with the Haas of Kevin Magnussen.
It was a quiet restart, but Perez eventually made a move on Leclerc on lap 39 to take third place. The Ferrari man was fourth followed by team-mate Carlos Sainz and George Russell of Mercedes.
“We lost two places [under the safety car] and it was just tough fighting like that, the life of the tyre goes off dramatically,” Perez said.
Alonso finished seventh, Oscar Piastri in the other McLaren was eight, and Lewis Hamilton in the Mercedes and Nico Hülkenberg in the Haas completed the top 10.
After the race, Chinese driver Zhou Guanyu was given permission to park his Kick Sauber on the main straight and in front of the fans, who gave him an euphoric response.
Zhou was overcome by a wave of emotion as he kneeled down with tears in his eyes after racing on home soil for the first time.
