F1 Grand Prix in China

Chinese Grand Prix: The race LIVE from 9am

Max Verstappen celebrates victory in Shanghai.

(Bild: APA/AFP/HECTOR RETAMAL)

World champion Max Verstappen has triumphed for the first time in Formula 1 at the Chinese Grand Prix and celebrated his fourth win of the season in the fifth race. After the sprint race the day before, the Dutch Red Bull driver also won the Grand Prix on Sunday in superior style and enjoyed a perfect weekend in Shanghai. Second place went to McLaren driver Lando Norris, who finished ahead of Sergio Perez and thus prevented the fourth Red Bull one-two of the year.

"It felt fantastic, we were very fast all weekend. It's fun and everything went like clockwork," said Verstappen, who had a lead of almost 14 seconds at the end. Norris was also over the moon. "I'm surprised and so happy for the whole team," said the Briton.

Lead extended
In the championship standings, Verstappen (110 points) extended his lead over Perez (85) to 25 points with his 58th GP win in total. They are followed by the two Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc (76) and Carlos Sainz (69), who finished fourth and fifth respectively. In two weeks' time, the premier class of motorsport will make a guest appearance in Miami before heading to Europe for the first time in the record 24-race season.

(Bild: APA/AFP/PEDRO PARDO)

At the Shanghai International Circuit, where a Grand Prix was held for the first time in five years due to coronavirus, pole-setter Verstappen got off to a good start and defended his lead with aplomb. Behind him, Alonso (42) shot past Perez on the outside of the first corner from third on the grid and even briefly appeared in Verstappen's rear-view mirror. However, the Red Bull dominator increased his lead to three seconds in the first three laps, seemingly without any problems.

Perez counters
It took until the fifth revolution for Perez to re-establish the Red Bull one-two lead. Behind Alonso lurked Norris, who passed the Spanish veteran two laps later. Red Bull Racing challenged itself a little on the 14th of 56 laps by bringing both drivers in for a pit stop in quick succession. Verstappen was dispatched in 2.1 seconds, Perez even in 2.0 seconds.

(Bild: AP)

Norris and Leclerc waited a little longer for the first tire change and speculated with a one-stop strategy in the battle for third place. The pair first benefited from an engine failure in Valtteri Bottas' Sauber car on lap 22, which saved them a few seconds under the Virtual Safety Car. As several marshals were unable to get the bright green race car out of the danger zone quickly enough, the safety car was deployed. Everyone at the front of the field changed their tires and Perez dropped back to fourth place.

Verstappen in command
Verstappen had already built up a lead of 22 seconds at this point. Around the restart, Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) crashed into the rear of Daniel Ricciardo (Racing Bulls), then Kevin Magnussen (Haas) caused another safety car by spinning Yuki Tsunoda (Racing Bulls) out of the race. After another safety car deployment, Verstappen steadily extended his lead again, with Perez trying to pass Leclerc and Norris behind him.

The Mexican reclaimed the podium position from Leclerc, but was unable to get within striking distance of Norris, who was voted Driver of the Day. Meanwhile, record world champion Lewis Hamilton, the sprint runner-up, only started the race from 18th place, complained several times about the balance and performance of his Silver Arrow and ultimately finished ninth. The fans in China, meanwhile, cheered frenetically for every overtaking maneuver by local hero Zhou Guanyu in the midfield, who finished the race in 14th place in his Sauber.

The result:

In two weeks' time, the premier class of motorsport will make a guest appearance in Miami before heading to Europe for the first time in the record 24-race season.