Max Verstappen ended Chinese Saturday with a victory and a pole position. In the 19 laps of the sprint race he climbed from fourth to first position, then built a 13 second lead (in ten laps) over Lewis Hamilton.
A short briefing, a few moments of relaxation and then back on track, this time to dominate the qualifying session with 0″322 over Perez and almost half a second over Fernando Alonso, first among those who don't drive a Red Bull.
In this scenario it is difficult to even identify the face of an outsider capable of generating a minimum of apprehension in Max. Beyond the general dominance of Red Bull (which will soon celebrate two years) there are weekends in which Verstappen seems to be playing another sport, and Shanghai is one of them.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
There was only one small moment (in the sprint race) where Max seemed human. After the first laps he suffered a battery charging problem, a phase in which Carlos Sainz was able to give him a fight. Having reported the problem to the team via radio, the indication arrived from the pits on the adjustment to be made, and from that moment on the pace changed. Verstappen's pace was much higher than his opponents, and the mini-comeback ended quickly, without the Dutchman running the risk of overheating his tires and remaining in the wake of other cars.
Is this the promo for tomorrow's Grand Prix? Probably yes. If Verstappen had no problems in the sprint race despite starting from fourth position, tomorrow, starting from pole position, he should have an even more downhill road. There are always unknowns on the strategy front, but although the variables linked to degradation and the choice of compounds are real, it is difficult to hypothesize anything capable of undermining the superiority of the Verstappen-Red Bull tandem.
Indeed, as already seen in Bahrain, Japan and Saudi Arabia, also in Shanghai there are two Red Bulls in the lead, with Sergio Perez distant from his teammate but still firmly ahead of his pursuers.
Perez and Verstappen, Red Bull pair, with Alonso third with Aston Martin
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
“You guys have a tendency to underestimate him – commented Christian Horner about Perez – he's doing a great job. He started this season with a new state of mind, he is relaxed and rides really well. He is no longer focused on his teammate, his approach is different and in the first five races we have seen some excellent performances.”
Important words in an important period, namely the one in which Horner and Helmut Marko begin to think about the fateful contract renewal. “Another important factor is that the harmony between the two is the right one – added Marko – they get along well and are quite close in terms of set-up, which obviously simplifies all the technical work. So at the moment there is a lot or almost everything in favor of Checo.”
Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing RB20
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
For Red Bull, the one achieved today in Shanghai was pole position number 100. It was 2009 when, in Shanghai, Sebastian Vettel stood out ahead of everyone in qualifying and then gave the team the first success twenty-four hours later. Fifteen years later Red Bull is certainly no longer a surprise, today predicting Verstappen and Perez on the podium of the Chinese Grand Prix is the most obvious of predictions.
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