Max Verstappen first in Chinese Grand Prix
REIGNING Formula One champion Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing won round 5 of the 2024 Formula One World Championship, the Chinese Grand Prix, on Sunday.
The Dutch driver, who also claimed pole position, finished the 56-lap-race in 1 hour 40 minutes and 52.554 seconds at Shanghai International Circuit.
“It felt amazing,” Verstappen said after the victory.
“All weekend I think we were incredibly quick. It was just enjoyable to drive every single [tyre] compound as well. [At the] restarts I think we survived that well.
“The car was basically on rails, I could do whatever I wanted to with it, and those kinds of weekends are of course amazing to feel. Then, to achieve what we did this weekend is fantastic.”
McLaren’s Lando Norris was second, 13.773 seconds behind, and Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez finished the race in third.
The Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz finished fourth and fifth respectively. George Russell was sixth for Mercedes while Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso, who finished seventh, also gained an additional point for setting the fastest lap of the race.
Norris’s teammate Oscar Piastri crossed the line eighth. Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, who started 18th on the grid despite finishing second in the sprint race, managed to claim ninth spot in his Mercedes.
Nico Hulkenberg, driving for Haas, claimed the final pointscoring position in 10th.
Meanwhile Williams’s Logan Sargeant received a 10-second penalty for a safety car infringement, as did Haas’s Kevin Magnussen for causing a collision.
Verstappen tops the driver standings with 110 points, followed by Perez on 85 points and Leclerc on 76 points.
The constructor standings are led by Red Bull Racing with 195 points, followed by Ferrari with 151 points and McLaren on 96 points.
Round 6, the Miami Grand Prix, will be held at Miami International Autodrome in the US state of Florida on Sunday, May 5.