Max Verstappenovercame two Safety Car periods to pull away from his rivals behind and win the Chinese Grand Prix ahead of Lando Norris.
Verstappen extended his lead in the championship by securing 33 points from the Shanghai weekend, finishing 13 seconds ahead of Norris by the end of the race.
Sergio Perez claimed the final podium position in third ahead of the two Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jnr.
Verstappen led from the start and held his lead through two mid-race Safety Car periods. Perez had run in second place behind his team mate for the first half of the race but dropped down to fourth when rivals took advantage of the Safety Car to fit hard tyres to run to the end of the race.
Perez managed to pass Leclerc to take back fourth place but could not hunt down Norris for second. Leclerc finish four seconds from the Red Bull driver in fourth with Sainz ten seconds behind his team mate in fifth. George Russell was sixth ahead of Fernando Alonso in seventh, who pitted late in the race after taking the Safety Car restart on soft tyres. Oscar Piastri was eighth ahead of Lewis Hamilton in ninth, with Nico Hulkenberg claiming the final point in tenth but is under investigation.
Valtteri Bottas retired from contention for Sauber’s first points of the season when he suffered an apparent power unit problem 20 laps into the race, stopping on track at turn 11 and prompting a Virtual Safety Car which was upgraded to a full Safety Car a lap later.
Both RB drivers were effectively eliminated in the space of eight corners at the restart as Daniel Ricciardo was hit by Lance Stroll at the hairpin, damaging his car to excess, while Yuki Tsunoda was hit by Kevin Magnussen at turn six, putting him out. Both Stroll and Magnussen were handed ten second time penalties by the stewards.
Pierre Gasly will also be investigated by the stewards after the race for being released from his pit box in an unsafe condition. An Alpine mechanic at Gasly’s right-rear wheel was knocked over when Gasly was dropped off the jacks in the pit box, however Alpine confirmed that no one had been hurt in the incident.
Nico Hulkenberg and Ricciardo were also summoned to the stewards’ office after the race over a Safety Car infringement.
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2024 Chinese Grand Prix
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