Formula 1 | Verstappen dominates lively F1 Sprint in Shanghai

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Hamilton and Pérez finish second and third

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It’s Lando Norris who starts at the head of the Sprint of the Chinese Grand Prix, the first of the 2024 Formula 1 season. The McLaren F1 driver managed to set a time faster by more than a second in the rain facing that of Lewis Hamilton, who accompanies him on the front row.

On the second row, we find Fernando Alonso and Max Verstappen, who saw two of his three laps of SQ3 canceled and managed to limit the damage at the end of qualifying. But never has a Sprint, since their introduction in 2021, seen a driver win it by starting outside the top 3. The three-time world champion will therefore have the chance to beat a statistic.

Carlos Sainz and Sergio Pérez are on the third row ahead of Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri, and the F1 Stakes of Valtteri Bottas and local hero Guanyu Zhou. George Russell is 11th ahead of Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hülkenberg, then Daniel Ricciardo, Lance Stroll, and the Alpine of Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon. Alex Albon, Yuki Tsunoda and Logan Sargeant complete the grid.

Unlike the Sprint Shootout qualification, the track is dry and the sun is out, even if the temperatures are not high. We only saw EL1 in these conditions, and it is difficult to know who will be favored by them.

4:45 a.m.: The FIA ​​has revealed that it has no particular concerns about a risk of a repeat of the fires which took place on the edge of turn 7 yesterday on the circuit lawn, but specifies that the grass will be watered before each session remaining, and that firefighters will be deployed near the runway at this location.

4:52 a.m.: The track temperature is 27 degrees, and the air temperature is 20 degrees.

4:58 a.m.: Russell started on soft tyres, the rest of the grid wore medium tyres. A daring choice for the Briton! And more likely, it is for Mercedes to test the longevity of the most fragile rubbers in racing conditions.

Departure : Hamilton gets the best start against Norris who tries to resist on the outside but the McLaren driver slips and loses big off the track!

Round 1: Alonso takes second place ahead of Verstappen then Sainz, Pérez and Leclerc, who all overtook Norris who is now seventh. Piastri is eighth ahead of Zhou and Magnussen, then Bottas and Russell. Behind, Ricciardo passed Hülkenberg and Ocon passed Gasly. Tsunoda passed Albon.

Round 2: Stroll complains of having been pushed off the track by Hülkenberg, but the race management is not talking about it at the moment. Hamilton is seven tenths ahead of Alonso, and Verstappen is 1.6″ behind, still under threat from Sainz who tries to pass him but lets the Red Bull pass again.

Round 3: Hamilton sets the best lap in the race in 1’40″626, and Alonso is slightly slower. Verstappen and Sainz concede them almost a second, and Pérez then Leclerc follow closely, as does Norris who is close to the Ferrari. Behind, Russell and Bottas are fighting for tenth place, and the Mercedes driver has the last word for the moment.

Round 4: Hamilton set the best lap in 1’40″420, beaten by Verstappen in 1’40″331. The Dutchman is worried about having a flat battery but his engineer gives him a solution. Further on, Magnussen passed Bottas and Stroll overtook Hülkenberg.

Round 5: Hamilton is 1.5″ ahead of Alonso, who has a 1.2″ lead over Verstapen. Sainz is 1″6 behind the Dutchman and sees Pérez remaining less than a second behind. Leclerc is 1 second behind the Mexican and has Norris in his DRS zone. Last driver in the points for this Sprint provisionally, PIastri is 1″ behind. 5 from his teammate and has a 1″8 margin over Zhou.

Round 6: Verstappen comes back to within a second of Alonso, while Hamilton maintains the same lead over the Spaniard in the lead. Leclerc is less than a second behind Pérez, and is under pressure from Norris.

Round 7: Verstappen is now less than a second behind Alonso, and we will see if the top speed of the Aston Martin will be enough to avoid overtaking in DRS. The matter is heard in the long opposite straight, in which the three-time reigning world champion takes second place. But he will have to be wary of Alonso’s very powerful DRS.

Round 8: Alonso, however, was left behind in the first sector of the next lap, and he dropped Alonso by almost two seconds in this eighth of the 19 planned laps. He came back to within a second of Hamilton after an error by the Briton at the end of the long straight.

Round 9: Verstappen is hot on Hamilton’s heels, while Russell overtook Zhou for ninth place. Ocon defeated Hülkenberg in 15th position. And Verstappen makes Hamilton suffer the same fate in the long straight, and the Dutchman takes the lead.

Round 10: Hamilton tried to resist but came out of second and the DRS zone at the end of the first sector of the tenth lap. Alonso is 2″6 behind Hamilton, and Sainz, Pérez, Leclerc and Norris are still in the DRS of the drivers ahead of them. Piastri is 5″5 behind his teammate and sees Russell coming back.

Round 11: Verstappen took 1″5 from Hamilton in this lap, while the Briton’s time is at the same level as that of Alonso. Sainz, Pérez, Leclerc and Norris are in the Aston Martin’s times, which leaves a boulevard to Verstappen in the lead Gasly overtook Hülkenberg, and Tsunoda did the same. This is the first time we have seen a Haas in difficulty in the race this year, but it is not linked to the car itself. since Magnussen is 11th.

Round 12: Verstappen is 3.6s ahead of Hamilton, who is still 2.4s ahead of Alonso. Sainz is close but Pérez is even closer, and the Mexican tries to attack the Ferrari. But he doesn’t have the ease of his teammate and struggles to get back up.

Round 13: Verstappen’s lead is more than 5 seconds, while the gaps are stable behind. Russell had returned to 1″5 behind Piastri but seemed to be losing pace.

Round 14: Verstappen continues to attack and is now almost 7 seconds ahead of Hamilton. The Dutchman is certainly testing the resistance of the medium tires. Ricciardo gets rid of Bottas but the Finn defends. Leclerc tried to attack Pérez but was unsuccessful.

Round 15: Hamilton is almost 8 seconds behind Verstappen, and he is 2.9″ ahead of Alonso. Pérez complains of no longer having traction, and Leclerc tries to attack him again but does not succeed.

Round 16: Sainz attacks Alonso who is still slowing this group, and Sainz tries to go to the outside in turn 7 and finds himself in front on the inside of turn 8. Pérez overtakes both men, and the two Ferraris get rid of Alonso in the same corner, while Norris also overtakes him! Alonso returns to the pits, while Sainz pushes Leclerc off the track!

Round 17: Leclerc attacks Sainz and passes him, while Norris is threatening against Sainz. Alonso suffered a puncture. Verstappen is now 10 seconds ahead of Hamilton, who is 4 seconds ahead of Pérez.

Round 18: The gaps seem to stabilize in the top 8, which Russell joined after Alonso stopped. Note that Hülkenberg was overtaken by the Williams and is penultimate in front of Alonso, who retires. Leclerc gets angry at having been pushed off the track by his teammate.

Last round : Verstappen continues to widen the gap and is 12 seconds ahead of Hamilton, which represents more than a second per lap gained since his time in the lead. Pérez is back on Hamilton but is still 2″4 behind, he will be too short to get second position. Leclerc has taken 3 seconds ahead of Sainz, and Norris is 1″2 behind the Spaniard.

Arrival : Verstappen finishes his demonstration and wins the first F1 Sprint of 2024 with a 13″043 lead over Hamilton, who finds a good position at the finish. Pérez finishes 2 seconds behind the Briton ahead of Leclerc and Sainz, then Norris and Piastri.

Russell was the last to score a point, while Zhou finished just outside the points. Magnussen is in the top 10 ahead of Ricciardo, Bottas, Ocon who overtook Stroll, then Gasly, Tsunoda, Albon, Sargeant and Hülkenberg.

On to qualifying for the Grand Prix at 9 a.m. now, with a reopening of the parc ferme for the teams which will allow drivers to change their settings before the session.