Max Verstappen was in complete control to win the Chinese Grand Prix, with McLaren's Lando Norris drawing away from the Red Bulls.
Rain continued to fall at the Shanghai circuit on race day, and Verstappen reported light rain as he led the pack on the formation lap, threatening to derail his strategy. All drivers in the top 10 started on medium tires.
Verstappen got off to a great start, taking pole position and taking the race lead, while Fernando Alonso drove his Aston Martin strongly between the Red Bulls and worked his way up to second. By the fifth lap, Perez had slid down the inside of Alonso at Turn 6 and was back in second place.
A few laps later, Alonso fell off the podium when McLaren's Lando Norris pulled out at Turn 14, and with the two Red Bulls disappearing down the road, the Briton secured Alonso's cutback. I prevented it.
Red Bull's quick double stack on lap 14 forced Verstappen and Perez to change to hard tires with pit stops of 2.1 seconds and 2 seconds respectively.
By lap 19, Verstappen had regained the lead from Norris. Norris, along with Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, were the only drivers yet to pit, and were exploring the idea of ​​a one-stop.
After just a few laps, Valtteri Bottas' Ferrari power unit broke loose and Sauber, who was feeling unwell, activated the virtual safety car, giving Leclerc the chance to pit and change to hard tires, while McLaren They didn't bring in any British players, much to the annoyance of Norris. This continues until the next lap, the 23rd lap of the Shanghai International Circuit.
On lap 24, the VSC was upgraded to a full safety car, allowing Verstappen and Perez to ride on new hard tires. Verstappen, Norris and Leclerc made up the top three, with Perez dropping to fourth.
Verstappen restarted to maintain his lead, but Lance Stroll lifted the rear of Daniel Ricciardo's RB into the air, causing the safety car to quickly retreat and Stroll to receive a 10-second time penalty. Ricciardo's teammates Hiroki Tsunoda and Kevin were reduced to two cars. Magnussen also made contact, causing Tsunoda to withdraw from the race.
It was then a second DNF for RB as the diffuser damage was too much for Ricciardo.
By lap 32, the track was back to green and Verstappen maintained control as he raced towards his fourth win of the season, followed by Norris and Perez crossing the line to take back the final podium spot from Leclerc. did.
2024 Chinese GP final standings
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing
2 Lando Norris McLaren +4.034
3 Sergio Perez Red Bull Racing +4.624
4 Charles Leclerc Ferrari +20.179
5 Carlos Sainz Ferrari +35.403
6 George Russell Mercedes +32.925
7 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin +37.206
8 Oscar Piastri McLaren +47.432
9 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes +51.414
10 Nico Hulkenberg Haas F1 Team +55.629
11 Esteban OCON Alpine +55.696
12 Alexander Albon Williams +58.065
13 Pierre Gasly Alpine +62.402
14 Zhou Guanyu Kick Sauber +59.542
15 Kevin Magnussen Haas F1 Team +63.794
16 Lance Stroll Aston Martin +70.068
17 Logan Sargent Williams +72.798
DNF
Daniel Ricardo RB
Hiroki Tsunoda RB
Valtteri Bottas Kick Sauber
Drivers championship standings
1. Max Verstappen – 110 points
2. Sergio Perez – 85
3. Charles Leclerc – 76
4. Carlos Sainz – 69
5. Lando Norris – 58
6. Oscar Piastri – 38
7. George Russell – 33
8. Fernando Alonso – 31
9. Lewis Hamilton – 19
10. Lance Stroll – 9
11. Hiroki Tsunoda – 7
12. Oliver Bearman – 6
13. Nico Hulkenberg – 4
14. Kevin Magnussen – 1
15. Alex Albon – 0
16. Esteban Ocon – 0
17. Zhou Guanyu – 0
18. Daniel Ricciardo – 0
19. Pierre Gasly – 0
20. Valtteri Bottas – 0
21. Logan Sargent – ​​0
Constructors' Championship Standings
1. Red Bull – 195 points
2. Ferrari – 151
3. McLaren – 96
4. Mercedes – 52
5. Aston Martin – 40
6.RB-7
7. Hearth – 5
8. Williams – 0
9. Sauber – 0
10. Alpine – 0
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