Max Verstappen wins first sprint race of the year at the Chinese Grand Prix

Dutch driver Max Verstappen (Red Bull) won the first sprint race of six scheduled for the 2024 Formula 1 World Championship season this Saturday at the Chinese Grand Prix, the fifth race of the season.

The three-time world champion and championship leader, who started from fourth on the grid, finished 19 laps 13.043 seconds ahead of Britain’s Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), who was second, and 15.258 seconds ahead of Mexico’s Sergio Perez (Red Bull). ), who was third.

Briton Lando Norris (McLaren), who had pole position for the sprint race, reacted late to the starting signal and found himself overtaken by Hamilton, coming from second on the grid. In his battle to regain the lead, he ended up missing the gate in one of the first corners and dropped down the classification, finishing just short of sixth in the final position.

The first hurdle was cleared for Max Verstappen to take first place. The Dutchman rushed in pursuit of the Spaniard Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin), who was in second place at that time. It took seven laps to pass the former world champion at Turn 14 and move into second place, just under two seconds behind the leader.

The fight for the 2021 championship seemed to be back on track, but the truth is that Hamilton gave the three-time champion little fight. Two laps were all it took for Verstappen to get close to the rear of the Mercedes and pass him again at Turn 14 of the Shanghai circuit, where a Grand Prix had not been held since 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic hit.

After taking command, Verstappen showed no signs of slowing down, building up a gap of more than 13 seconds with 10 laps remaining, with a devastating pace that makes him the heavy favorite to win Sunday’s main race.

Although the winner faced little opposition, the battle for the bottom step of the podium was intense. For more than half the race, Fernando Alonso was in third place but served as a buffer on the carousel, followed by compatriot Carlos Sainz (Ferrari), Sergio Perez and Monegasque Charles Leclerc (Ferrari).

Sainz attacked Alonso, the two cars collided, and the Aston Martin’s front right tire went flat, which led to Alonso, who was already in the pits, retiring.

The big winner was Perez, who took advantage of the Spanish duel to overtake both opponents at the same time, with the same maneuver.

As Alonso pulled into the pits, Sainz became involved in another melee, this time with his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc, who took the lead for the first time this season.

It was Verstappen’s eighth sprint race triumph since the new feature was introduced to the championship two years ago and sees him extend his championship lead from 15 to 17 points ahead of Sergio Perez in second.

The main race of this fifth race of the year takes place on Sunday.