Cloudy. Dry. Air +20C, highway +28C
The decision to hold a weekend in China after a long break with a sprint on Saturday was on the one hand interesting: the circuit in Shanghai allows overtaking, but it started just at a time when the majority of the Formula 1 public (not the Chinese ) ) had sweet dreams after work weeks.
In the new format, qualifying for the sprint replaced the second training, and the sprint itself replaced the third. Moscow time started at six in the morning, in Europe there were five, in Britain four.
Qualifying for the previous day’s sprint was held in the rain and ended in a very unusual way: Norris and Hamilton started from the front row, Alonso and Verstappen from the second row, Sainz and Perez from the third row. Many were surprised when the world championship leader did not finish in the top three, but Red Bull decided to play conservatively on the slippery track.
Pirelli brought three “medium” compositions – C2, C3 and C4 in the Hard, Medium and Soft roles. Only Russell started on Soft, the rest chose Medium. The drivers had to drive 19 laps.
At the start, Hamilton was ahead of Norris and leading the race, and Lando, who was off track, fell to seventh. Magnussen played two positions. Hulkenberg overtook Stroll and forced him off the track in turn six. The stewards did not fine anyone.
Top ten in round 2: Hamilton – Alonso – Verstappen – Sainz – Perez – Leclerc – Norris – Piastri – Zhou – Magnussen.
On the fourth lap Russell passed Magnussen for tenth place. A large group of riders gathered behind Kevin.
Verstappen put Alonso under pressure for a long time and was able to overtake on the seventh lap, moving him up to second place.
Hamilton locked his tires at Turn 14, allowing Max to close the gap, and on lap 10 the Dutchman took the lead and led the race.
Russell defeated Zhou for 9th place.
Top ten in round 11: Verstappen – Hamilton – Alonso – Sainz – Perez – Leclerc – Norris – Piastri – Russell – Zhou.
Sainz attacked Alonso several times, on the 17th lap the cars collided and Fernando drove into the pits with a flat tire. The stewards took note of the incident. A lap later, Alonso pulled the car into the pits and stopped.
The Ferrari drivers fought among themselves. The wheels touched, allowing Leclerc to take the lead.
Max Verstappen won the first sprint of the season and the eighth of his career. Lewis Hamilton finished second, Sergio Perez third.
Qualifying for tomorrow’s Grand Prix is just around the corner.
Sprint results
| Pilot | Team | Time | Speed | Pete |
| 1. M. Verstappen | Red Bull | 32:04,660 | 193,366 | 0 |
| 2. L.Hamilton | Mercedes | +13.043 | 192,064 | 0 |
| 3. C. Perez | Red Bull | +15.258 | 191,845 | 0 |
| 4. S. Leclerc | Ferrari | +17.486 | 191,625 | 0 |
| 5. K. Sainz | Ferrari | +20,696 | 191,309 | 0 |
| 6. L.Norris | McLaren | +22.088 | 191,172 | 0 |
| 7. O. Piastri | McLaren | +24.713 | 190,914 | 0 |
| 8. D. Russell | Mercedes | +25,696 | 190,818 | 0 |
| 9. G.Zhou | Sauber | +31.951 | 190,208 | 0 |
| 10. K. Magnussen | Hare | +37.398 | 189,680 | 0 |
| 11. D. Ricciardo | RB | +37.840 | 189,637 | 0 |
| 12. V. Bottas | Sauber | +38.295 | 189,593 | 0 |
| 13. E. Okon | Alps | +39.841 | 189,444 | 0 |
| 14. L. Walk | Aston Martin | +40,299 | 189,400 | 0 |
| 15. P. Gasly | Alps | +40.838 | 189,348 | 0 |
| 16. Yu.Tsunoda | RB | +41.870 | 189,249 | 0 |
| 17. A. Elbon | Williams | +42.998 | 189,140 | 0 |
| 18. L. Sargent | Williams | +46.352 | 188,818 | 0 |
| 19. N. Hulkenberg | Hare | +49.630 | 188,505 | 0 |
| 20. F. Alonso * | Aston Martin | + 2 laps | 188,140 | 1 |
* Fernando Alonso received a 10-second penalty for an incident in the sprint
Best round: Max Verstappen (Red Bull) – 1:40. 331 (3rd lap, 195.588 km/h)
Reasons for the meetings
| Pilot | Team | Kroogov | Cause |
| F. Alonso | Aston Martin | 17 | puncture |
Championship Position: Individual Competition
Championship position: Constructors’ Championship
| Team | Engine | Glasses | |
| = | 1. Oracle Red Bull Racing | Honda RBPT | 155 |
| = | 2. Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari | 129 |
| = | 3. McLaren F1 Team | Mercedes | 74 |
| = | 4. Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team | Mercedes | 42 |
| = | 5. Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team | Mercedes | 33 |
| = | 6. Visa Cash App RB F1 Team | Honda RBPT | 7 |
| = | 7. MoneyGram Haas F1 Team | Ferrari | 4 |
Source: F1 News
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.
