MADRID, 21 Abr. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Dutch driver Max Verstappen (Red Bull) has won the Chinese Grand Prix, the fifth round of the Formula 1 World Championship, and has consolidated his leadership, while the Spanish Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) and Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) , who set the fastest lap in the race, finished fifth and seventh, respectively.
In this way, Verstappen adds his fourth victory of the course and number 56 of his career in the ‘Great Circus’, which allows him to settle at the head of the Drivers’ World Championship classification, all on one circuit, Shanghai, in the one that has not been run since 2019 and in which he gets to see the checkered flag for the first time.
In addition, the British Lando Norris (McLaren), who achieved the second podium of the season for McLaren, and the Mexican Sergio ‘Checo’ Pérez (Red Bull) climbed into the other two boxes ahead of the two Ferraris. The Monegasque Charles Leclerc finished fourth, while Carlos Sainz, who started the event seventh, managed to finish in the ‘Top 5’ of a race that was restarted three times, all in the halfway point of the race.
Alonso, who started from third place thanks to his stratospheric lap in Q3, placed second as soon as the traffic lights went out after overtaking ‘Checo’ Pérez, although five laps later he gave up the position again. The degradation of his tires hindered his performance and forced him, after passing through garages, to make up positions in the final stretch to finally be seventh, although he said goodbye with a fast lap, the first for him since Zandvoort 2023.
There were no surprises in Shanghai, where ‘Mad Max’ swept from start to finish, and only the overtaking of Alonso – who started only behind the Red Bull – on ‘Checo’ on the outside in an exit in which Sainz dropped two positions – to ninth – offered some excitement.
Pérez regained his place with a pass to the Asturian on lap 5, but his teammate had already dropped. Norris also gave a good account of the Spaniard two laps later, and after the first pass through the pits to put on the hard compound he fell to ninth place, although the dance of positions continued. Norris consolidated his position in third place. Alonso was fourth.
The safety car caused by the breakdown of the car of Finnish Valtteri Bottas (Kick Sauber) allowed the majority of drivers to change tires for free so as not to stop again, and the Asturian dropped to sixth place, with Leclerc and Pérez overtaking him.
In the relaunch of the race, a touch between the Danish Kevin Magnussen (Haas) and the Japanese Yuki Tsunoda (RB) and the incident involving the Canadian Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) taking ahead the Australian Daniel Ricciardo (RB) before The second start disrupted the rhythm of the event.
Alonso’s soft rubber began to fall and he was forced to make a new pit-stop. He came out on track twelfth and had to make up positions; Along the way he left the Thai Alexander Albon (Williams), the French Esteban Ocon (Alpine), the German Nico Hülkenberg (Haas), the British Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) – getting a scare when he almost hit the gravel – and the Australian Oscar Piastri (McLaren) to be seventh.
