Max Verstappen wins Chinese Grand Prix to extend title grip

SHANGHAI:

Max Verstappen capped a dominant weekend by winning his first Chinese Grand Prix for five years on Sunday to extend his world championship lead a day after his sprint win.

The three-time world champion controlled the race on his return to the Shanghai international circuit for the first time since 2019 to finish 13.7 seconds ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris with Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez third.

He was denied just one weekend of scoring 100 per cent when Fernando Alonso took the bonus for fastest lap around the 5,451km circuit on the outskirts of the Chinese metropolis after a late change to fresh tyres.

It was another dominant display from Verstappen, who won his fourth grand prix this season to add to his sprint victory.

Only a rare brake failure in Melbourne denied Verstappen the chance of a clean sweep at all five races in 2024 as he marches inexorably towards a fourth consecutive world title.

“It was amazing, all weekend we were incredibly fast,” said Verstappen, who scored his first win in China.

“It was amazing, it was such a pleasure to drive in every set. The car was on rails, I could do whatever I wanted to do with it.”

The Ferrari pair of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz were fourth and fifth, George Russell sixth for Mercedes with Alonso seventh after a late charge through the field.

McLaren’s Oscar Piastri was eighth, chased by Lewis Hamilton who moved up to ninth from 18th on the grid.

The scorers were completed by Nico Hulkenberg’s Haas in 10th place.

Norris was delighted to finish second having started from fourth on the grid.

“Surprised, I’m very happy – today it just worked, I didn’t expect it,” said the Englishman.

“It shows that the team has done a good job and it has paid off. I made a bet on how far behind Ferrari we would finish today, I thought 35 seconds and I was very wrong.”

Perez finished on the podium for the fourth time in five rounds this season, but was second until a safety car cost him places.

“Yes, it cost us a lot, we lost two places (under the Safety Car) and it was a tough race like that. The life of the tire goes away dramatically,” said the Mexican.

China’s first Formula 1 driver, Zhou Guanyu, scored a huge draw at the weekend as he made his home grand prix debut.

He was allowed to park his car on the grid in front of the stands after the match and emerged from the cockpit in floods of tears to a standing ovation from the capacity crowd.