Victory in the sprint race, pole for the Grand Prix, victory in the race: Max Verstappen turned his return to the vast empire of China into a demonstration of power.
Max Verstappen wins the Chinese Grand Prix for the first time. The Red Bull world champion wins in Shanghai, just like in the previous sprint race.
Verstappen didn’t allow himself to be thrown off course by two safety car phases in quick succession halfway through the race. After the end of the second neutralization, he quickly broke away from the competition and remained unmolested until the end. The Dutchman, who started from pole position, was already well ahead before the two incidents.
Verstappen, who finished first for the fourth time in the fifth Grand Prix of the season, won by a good 13 seconds ahead of the Briton Lando Norris in the McLaren and his Mexican teammate Sergio Perez.
Valtteri Bottas made the first appearance of the lead car necessary. The Finn had to let the car roll out due to engine failure. With Bottas’ departure, the Sauber team’s hopes of achieving their first countable result this season literally vanished into thin air. The northerner was in 11th place before the mishap.
Zhou Guanyu’s chances of achieving success in front of the home crowd in the Zurich racing team’s other car were limited from the start with 16th place on the grid. As feared, the initial situation turned out to be too large a mortgage. The Shanghai-born Chinese finished the race in 14th place.
