There was no story: Max Verstappen let Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso let off steam in the first phase of the Sprint Race in the Chinese GP before taking the lead on the eighth of the 19 scheduled laps and leaving with a pace that was unsustainable for everyone (he was taking a second on the lap to his pursuers!) which led him to his eighth success in Saturday's races. The Dutchman suffered a small battery problem in the first two laps and then resolved the problem by being able to change pace and say goodbye to the company.
The hero of the day was Lewis Hamilton: the seven-time world champion, after the miracle in qualifying in which he put the W15 on the front row in the wet, got a perfect start, forcing the poleman, Lando Norris, to go all the way. The outside of Turn 1 on a stretch of track with less grip. Lewis didn't force the McLaren, but Norris ran wide with no grip, even finishing seventh on the first lap. The Englishman once again fails to realize the potential available and ultimately settles for sixth place ahead of his teammate, Oscar Piastri.
Hamilton with a black-silver arrow that was decidedly less competitive than those following him took home an excellent second place, being able to take advantage of the battle that developed behind him which allowed him to keep his pursuers at a distance.
In the fight for the podium Fernando Alonso also seemed to be in contention with Aston Martin, but the Spaniard who was second for a long time suffered a gradual degradation of the tires which led Carlos Sainz to attack the “Verdona” in crisis. The Ferrari driver overtakes his compatriot who accompanies the SF-24 on the outside in the counter-curve: Sergio Perez takes advantage of this and slips inside and hits them both in one shot, launching himself towards third place.
Alonso exaggerates and touches Sainz, putting a tire that goes flat: the Asturian is forced into the pits to change tires and immediately afterwards you are invited by the team to withdraw the car after finishing last, while Carlos loses his pace due to damage to the floor caused from Fernando. The Iberian is always a little outside the lines…
With third place, Sergio Perez moves to 15 points behind Verstappen who has collected 85 and is starting to take off. Behind the Mexican the war broke out between the two Ferrari drivers: Carlos Sainz, having difficulty with the tyres, resisted the return of the decidedly faster Charles Leclerc. The Madrilenian did not hesitate to accompany his teammate to the edge of the track, triggering a heated reaction from the Monegasque on the radio.
Sainz, knowing he was out of Ferrari, gave nothing to Leclerc, even though he tried to ease the tension after the race, given that Charles asked for clarification out of hand. Fred Vasseur must take control of the situation to prevent it from degenerating.
The final points went to George Russell in the second Mercedes: the Englishman was the only driver to start on the soft tyres. He was unable to take advantage of the softer compound in the early stages but then recovered to eighth place which earned him a point ahead of Guanyu Zhou's Sauber and Kevin Magnussen's Haas.
The day doesn't end here: after the race it will be qualifying for the GP. And it will be different music…
#Verstappen #China #Sprint #Hamilton #Perez #Leclerc
