Chinese GP: Verstappen wins first sprint race of the F1 season
Max Verstappen, Red Bull's triple world champion, won the first sprint race of the Formula One season at the Chinese Grand Prix on Saturday.
The Dutch 26-year-old outpaced Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton by 13.043 seconds in the 19-lap race at the Shanghai International Circuit, increasing his championship lead over teammate Sergio Perez, who finished third, to 15 points.
Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz finished fourth and fifth, respectively.
Lando Norris of McLaren started on pole but slid wide on the first lap as he battled with Hamilton, finishing sixth. Oscar Piastri finished seventh, with Mercedes' George Russell coming in eighth for the final point.
Verstappen started fourth and struggled at first before passing Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso, who retired with a puncture and damage after a wheel-banging battle with Sainz on lap seven, and Hamilton two laps later.
"The first few laps were quite hectic, they were pushing quite hard at the front and of course I had Carlos behind with new tyres so it was very difficult initially," said Verstappen.
"But then we became stronger and I felt a bit more comfortable with the balance of the car as well and I could look after my tyres so very pleased with that."
Hamilton, a seven-time world champion, said the team had taken a huge step forward with their first top-three finish of the season.
"That's the best result I've had in a long time," said the 39-year-old Briton.
"I found out a lot about the car through this short stint, from the race, so I'm excited for tomorrow."
Qualifying for the main race is later on Saturday, and Hamilton does not expect Mercedes to compete for pole.
"We're still not as quick on a single lap as the Ferraris, Red Bulls," he said. "I think the McLarens are ahead of us for sure and possibly the Astons.
"I don't anticipate we will be fighting for the front row, but the fortunate thing is we can make some adjustments so hopefully I can improve the car in the next three hours and have a better qualifying session than we have had in the past."
Norris started on pole but fell back as Hamilton got away faster off the line.
"I maybe could have been one or two positions higher but that was it," said Norris. "The Mercedes had very good pace today."
"Our race pace was pretty shocking today."
Red Bull's Perez stated that he took full advantage of the battle between Alonso and Sainz.
"Carlos and Fernando were fighting and obviously we all had high (tyre) degradation following each other and at some point I also had to defend from Charles," said the Mexican.
"I managed to get by Fernando and Carlos, they got a little bit too close, I saw the opportunity and I went for it, we finished really close to Lewis."
Sainz and Leclerc then engaged in another battle, with the two Ferraris colliding as the Spaniard slid wide and the Monegasque driver took the lead.
Home hero Zhou Guanyu finished ninth for Sauber, who are still waiting for their first point of the season, while Kevin Magnussen finished tenth for Haas.
SportsLigue