Verstappen Once Again Makes It Look Easy
Max Verstappen cruised to victory once again, overcoming two Safety Car periods to secure yet another commanding victory at the 2024 F1 Chinese Grand Prix. From the outset, Verstappen’s dominance was evident as he maintained his lead from the start, navigating Turn One with ease. Despite a late-race disruption that saw his lead diminished by a Safety Car deployment on Lap 24, Verstappen remained unfazed, ultimately claiming victory with a staggering margin of nearly 14 seconds over McLaren’s Lando Norris.
Verstappen had this to say about his victory:
“It felt amazing, I think. All weekend we were incredibly quick and it was just enjoyable to drive, every single compound as well. — These kind of weekends are of course amazing to feel and to achieve basically what we did this weekend is fantastic.”
While Verstappen’s triumph was undeniable, Norris emerged as a formidable contender for a podium spot. Capitalizing on the mid-race disruption to break Red Bull’s recent streak of one-two finishes. Opting for a strategic pit stop under the virtual safety car, Norris maneuvered his way to second place ahead of Sergio Perez in third. The McLaren driver thwarted Red Bull’s attempt for a second 1-2 finish in a row.
How Others Fared
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz showcased solid performances, securing fourth and fifth positions respectively. Despite executing a successful one-stop strategy, both drivers faced challenges, with Leclerc opting for a stop under the virtual safety car on Lap 21. While Sainz on the other hand, pitted four laps earlier and grappled with tire degradation on the hard compound towards the race’s end.
Mercedes driver George Russell looked to be in contention for fifth place but had to hold back to maintain his tires and settled for sixth.
Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso injected late-race excitement. The Spaniard decided to go for a soft tire strategy that propelled him to fifth place at one point. Despite falling out of the top 10 after an additional pit stop, Alonso orchestrated a series of impressive overtakes. Ultimately, Alonso crossed the finish line in seventh position.
Good on Lewis Hamilton for recovering into a points finish in ninth after he qualified a disappointing 18th.
Collisions Shake Up Race
The race was not without its share of drama. Incidents involved Lance Stroll, Daniel Ricciardo, and Kevin Magnussen disrupting the field. After safety car came out to clear what seemed to be Valtteri Bottas’ unmovable Sauber, the restart on lap 27 did not last long. An aggressive Kevin Magnussen move on Yuki Tsunoda lead to contact on Tsunoda’s back tire and sent him spinning off. This unfortunate event for the Japanese RB driver sent the Safety Car back out. Just as racing was set to resume after the previous incident, Stroll collided right into the back of Ricciardo. This sent the Australians RB car airborne and the subsequent pit stop dashed hopes of a points finish. While Ricciardo was forced to retire later on, his woes compounded with a three-place grid penalty for the next race because of an illegal overtake under safety car conditions.
Stroll and Magnussen were both given 10-second penalties for their respective incidents.
Final results of the race in full here.
With Verstappen’s dominant win, his championship lead extends to 25 points. With 18 races left to run, the 2024 F1 season continues forward to Miami. The action begins on May 3.
