Max Verstappen successfully converted his pole position into a win at the 2024 Chinese Grand Prix, leading McLaren’s Lando Norris and his Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez across the finish line. This win marks his fourth in the first five races of the season.
Verstappen maintained the lead for most of the race, navigating a series of strategic curveballs at the Shanghai International Circuit, which saw a Virtual Safety Car and two full Safety Car interventions.
Formula One History Recommends
Norris, alongside the Ferrari duo of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, opted for a single pit-stop strategy. This tactic paid off during the VSC and Safety Car segments, allowing Norris to overtake Perez and secure second place, which he held until the end.
Leclerc and Sainz placed fourth and fifth, with Leclerc voicing concerns towards the end about his tyres lasting through the race. George Russell led Mercedes’ effort, finishing sixth.
Fernando Alonso took a different approach to the rest of the pack with an unconventional strategy. During a mid-race Safety Car, he chose soft tyres, unlike others around him, who went for hards. This required a late switch to mediums, propelling him from 12th to finish seventh after overtaking several drivers, including McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, in his final move.
Following his disappointing Q1 exit and early struggles with tyre management, Lewis Hamilton climbed through the ranks, aided by a few sublime overtaking manoeuvres to finish ninth. Nico Hulkenberg earned the last point available, finishing tenth for Haas.
The Alpine drivers Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly finished 11th and 13th, sandwiching Alex Albon in the Williams who came home in 12th place. Kick Sauber’s Zhou Guanyu made history as the first Chinese driver to compete in his home race, finishing 14th.
The race also saw penalties affecting the standings, with Lance Stroll receiving a 10-second penalty for colliding with Daniel Ricciardo during the build-up to the first Safety Car restart. This incident led to significant damage for Ricciardo, who had to retire, while Stroll ended up 15th, ahead of the final finishers Kevin Magnussen and Logan Sargeant.
Magnussen finished 16th for Haas after causing Yuki Tsunoda’s RB to spin and subsequently retire at the exit of the Turn 6 hairpin earlier in the race, a move that resulted in the stewards imposing a 10-second penalty on his time.
Logan Sargeant ended the race 17th and last for Williams, capping off a challenging weekend with a 10-second penalty for a Safety Car violation involving Hulkenberg.
Valtteri Bottas did not finish the race due to an apparent engine failure in his Kick Sauber, which led him to retire off the track, triggering the first Safety Car period.
As the top three finishers celebrated on the podium, Verstappen’s latest victory extended his lead in the drivers’ standings to 25 points over teammate Perez, setting the stage for the Sprint to come in Miami two weeks later.
2024 Chinese Grand Prix Race Result
| Pos | No | Driver | Car | Laps | Time/Retired | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT | 56 | 1:40:52.554 | 25 |
| 2 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren Mercedes | 56 | +13.773s | 18 |
| 3 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT | 56 | +19.160s | 15 |
| 4 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 56 | +23.623s | 12 |
| 5 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | 56 | +33.983s | 10 |
| 6 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 56 | +38.724s | 8 |
| 7 | 14 | Fernando Alonso* | Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes | 56 | +43.414s | 7 |
| 8 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren Mercedes | 56 | +56.198s | 4 |
| 9 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 56 | +57.986s | 2 |
| 10 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas Ferrari | 56 | +60.476s | 1 |
| 11 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine Renault | 56 | +62.812s | 0 |
| 12 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams Mercedes | 56 | +65.506s | 0 |
| 13 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine Renault | 56 | +69.223s | 0 |
| 14 | 24 | Zhou Guanyu | Kick Sauber Ferrari | 56 | +71.689s | 0 |
| 15 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes | 56 | +82.786s | 0 |
| 16 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen** | Haas Ferrari | 56 | +87.533s | 0 |
| 17 | 2 | Logan Sargeant*** | Williams Mercedes | 56 | +95.110s | 0 |
| NC | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | RB Honda RBPT | 33 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | RB Honda RBPT | 26 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Kick Sauber Ferrari | 19 | DNF | 0 |
**Magnussen received a 10-second time penalty for causing a collision.
***Sargeant received a 10-second time penalty for a Safety Car infringement.
Seen in:
