Chinese Grand Prix: Max wins both the marathon and the sprint for first victory in Shanghai

Max Verstappen rounded off a dominant weekend with victory in the first Chinese Grand Prix for five years on Sunday to extend his world championship lead a day after romping to sprint victory.

The three-time world champion controlled the race on its return to the Shanghai International Circuit for the first time since 2019 to finish 13.7 seconds ahead of McLaren's Lando Norris with Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez third.

- AFP

Photo by Peter Fox/Getty Images)

VERSTAPPEN WINS CHINESE GRAND PRIX

Another race, another win

Verstappen is untroubled as he grabs victory in China!

His first win in Shanghai is greeted with roars from the crowd and the Red Bull mechanics.

A win in the Sprint, victory in the Grand Prix - the only slight on his weekend is that Alonso will grab the bonus point for fastest lap.

AND HERE COMES MAX!

With fourteen seconds ahead wins both the sprint and marathon on the Chinese Grand Prix win.

Lando Norris gets a well-deserved second place, and Sergio Perez completes the podium in third.

5 LAPS TO GO!

LAP 51/56

With five laps to go, Alonso is 11 second behind Russell, so could run out of time.

Perez has given up the ghost of chasing down Norris, and Leclerc isn't staying with the Red Bull in the fight for the podium.

Meanwhile, Verstappen leads by over 12 seconds...

10 LAPS TO GO

With a lead of 8.8 seconds Verstappen is heading towards victory in Shanghai for the first time.

Behind, Norris is still holding Perez at bay, the Mexican seems to have wrecked his tyres getting past Leclerc and is driving at a conservative pace.

Alonso is past Hulkenberg and Hamilton is now in his sights, and the Spaniard has fresher tyres. Expectedly, after a bit of speed wobble and some fast reflexes, Alonso overtakes Hamilton for ninth. Oscar Piastri is next.

THE BATTLE FOR SECOND

LAP 45/56

Perez is in the hunt for second place currently occupied by Lando Norris, but the Mexican is just under four seconds adrift.

Meanwhile, Alonso pits to freshen up his tyres on new mediums. He comes out in 12th so has a bit of work to do to get back among the points.

The Ferraris are in P4 Leclerc and P5 Sainz.

15 LAPS TO GO

Hamilton and Hulkenberg are in a bit of a ding-dong and Hamilton then has the last word to go into ninth. Not a bad day for Hamilton, considering he started in 18th.

The top 10 is not done yet.

SO, WHERE ARE WE AT?

LAP 39/56

The only drive having a smooth-sailing race today is Verstappen. Norris is fighting hard for what would be a brilliant p2, but Leclerc and Perez, who is pushing for a Red Bull 1-2, are not giving this up without a fight.

And on Turn 6, Perez does the business on the hairpin turn, to overtake Leclerc for third place.

Alonso, Sainz, Russell and Piastri all know bigger points are on offer.

Hulkenberg is the only midfield runner in the points, but Ocon is chasing a first score for Alpine of the season in P11.

AS FOR TYRES: And while Leclerc asks if Ferrari are still on Plan B (one-stop) as his tyres 'are not great', Alonso, on the softs, says all is breezy.

LAP 34/56

RB stands for Really Bad...

A bad afternoon for RB. Both drivers, Ricciardo and Tsunoda, have retired from the race.

Meanwhile, a juicy dice between Stroll and Magnussen as they fight for the last couple of positions. Both of them have penalties, too, but care about P16 more by the look of things.

WELL, THE STEWARDS HAVE BEEN BUSY...

10 SECOND TIME PENALTY FOR CAR 20 (MAGNUSSEN) - CAUSING A COLLISION

10 SECOND TIME PENALTY FOR CAR 18 (STROL) - CAUSING A COLLISION

10 SECOND TIME PENALTY FOR CAR 2 (SARGEANT) - SAFETY CAR INFRINGEMENT

LAP 31/56

SAFETY CAR ENDING...

Hamilton in P11 and on nine lap-old hards, and still on for points.

Hulkenberg in P10, who can also go to the end.

Perez in fourth has his sights set on Lecler, but he has wily Alonso at his back, too.

As it stands up top:

1 Verstappen

2 Norris

3 Leclerc

4 Perez

5 Alonso

SOME STRATEGY DILEMMAS WITH ALL THESE SAFETY CARS...

LAP 30/56

Verstappen, Norris, Leclerc and Perez in the first four positions are all on hards and can probably make it to the end of the race.

Alonso in fifth will probably be stopping again on the softs, as might Sainz as his hards are already 12 laps old.

Ricciardo is on 15 lap old mediums and hasn't run both compounds, so he'll be stopping again, assuming his floor is even okay to continue once the cars get back up to speed.

- F1.com

Many separate incidents...

Firstly, Stroll hit Ricciardo heavily down the back straight before the restart even happened.

Magnussen then tried to dive down the inside of Tsunoda, tipping him into a spin.

Tsunoda had to retire, stopping on the grass.

Stroll made it back to the pits, as did Magnussen with a puncture. Both with slow stops.

Ricciardo somehow is still out there.

LAP 27/56

SAFETY CAR DEPLOYED AGAIN

And just as Verstappen was about to drop it like it's hot, another Yellow Flag!

Yuki Tsunoda has gone off the track in the restart after a concertina effect.

'I'm out,' says Tsunoda.

LAP 26/56

SAFETY CAR ENDING...

Most are going to try and go to the end now, but not Alonso who will have to stop again on the soft compound tyres.

Ricciardo will have to come in again as he has only run the mediums. He is ninth.

WHO BENEFITS FROM SAFETY CAR?

Verstappen, whose 20 second lead has been negated due to the safety car, leads from Norris, Leclerc and Perez. Most are well-placed to the distance, with the exception of Piastri, in fifth, who is on older mediums. He is not in a good spot the ahead of Sainz and Alonso.

Russell, Ricciardo and Stroll are in the points, Sargeant on 11 lap old mediums is in P11.

As it stands...

1 Verstappen

2 Norris

3 Leclerc

4 Perez 

5 Sainz

Leclerc takes the opportunity to pit with the VSC called out, and Norris follows soon after. Hards for the Ferrari man. Stroll and Hamilton also pit.

What does this mean for Ferrari's one-stop strategy, can the hards go the distance?

LAP 20/56

MAX BACK IN FRONT. Verstappen overtakes Norris to lead the Chinese Grand Prix, while Perez is still in fourth, losing some ground to his teammate after the pit top. 

Ricciardo is up to P14 and Tsunoda in P15.

LET'S TALK STRATEGY, SAINZ...

A one-stop strategy is proposed for Ferrari, with the Spaniard into the pits for hard tyres. He comes back out between Hulkenberg and Bottas in P10.

LAP 15/56

Norris is in the temporary lead from Leclerc, but Verstappen picks off Piastri for third and the latter has to hunker down to keep Sainz at bay.

And Verstappen is coming for Leclerc and then slips past into second. Perez in fifth has two Ferraris in front of him as he tries to make use of DRS to make his way back. Then Sainz pits and Perez goes fourth.

Norris and Leclerc yet to pit..

SOME PIT LANE DRAMA...

Russell swopped to more mediums, but Alonso bolted on the hards. A slow stop for Gasly there (19 seconds slow!), and Tsunoda and Zhou nearly come a cropper.

And the Red Bulls are in the pits. They double up on both drivers with hard tyres for both.

Verstappen drops to fourth, Perez in sixth and Carlos Sainz splitting the two.

LAP 10/56

Tsunoda, Zhou and Hulkenberg pit, hard tyres for the Sauber and the Haas, mediums for the RB man.

Stewards have decided no further action on Stroll's Lap 1 niggle with Hulkenberg.

Albon also pits rather slowly! Bottas and Hamilton also come in. Hamilton moans: 'That's the worst timing!'

Meanwhile up front, Max is eight seconds ahead of Perez.

And Le Clerc has done a number on Piastri to go into fourth.

NORRIS OVERTAKES ALONSO

Norris sneaks past Alonso on Turn 15 to slide into the top three! Alonso doesn't put up much of a fight - he has tyre management to think about.

And then Ferrari's Le Clerc makes his move on George Russell to go into P6.

STEWARDS HAVING A LOOK...

A couple of things: Stroll running Hulkenberg wide off the line, and also Albon and Gasly having a moment later on.

Meanwhile Perez is now hellbent on chasing down Max.

LAP 5/56

MOVING AND SHAKING...

Hamilton has picked off the hometown boy, Zhou, and is in 17th.

And Perez makes his move on that old fox Alonso by driving in the inside line going into Turn 6 to go back into second.

Verstappen is four seconds ahead.

Good start for Russell:

The Mercedes man is up to sixth from P8 on the grid, Tsunoda is up three places but Hamilton has lost out.

Not a great beginning for Leclerc and Sainz, who both lost off the line. Sainz has lost out to Hulkenberg, too.

And Perez, who has DRS, is circling Alonso...

IT'S LIGHT'S OUT!

Alonso Verstappen has slammed the door on Sergio Perez and tucks into second behind Max Verstappen, who is up, up and away!

Interesting ...

As the formation lap gets under way under overcast skies, Max Verstappen reports a little drizzle for the start... Conditions are cooler today - the track temperature is hovering around 30 degrees Celsius.

IT'S RACE DAY IN SHANGHAI!

It's Shanghai noon as the Formula One circus comes to China for the first time in five years at the Shanghai International Circuit on Sunday.

The five-year absence on the race calendar does lend an 'unchartered territory' element to the Chinese Grand Prix.

To recap: Max Verstappen won the Sprint Race on Saturday and is also on pole, with his Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez second on the starting grid. Can Checo be the Red Bull in the China shop and give the flying Dutchman a run in Shanghai today?

Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso and Lando Norris of McLaren complete the second row.

Hamilton starts the race in 18th.

Hometown favourite Zhou was eliminated alongside Magnussen, Hamilton, Tsunoda and Sargeant in Q1; Stroll, Ricciardo, Ocon, Albon and Gasly dropped out in Q2.

Tyres and strategy: Pirelli have given the teams the C2, C3 and C4 rubber for this one. And this track is notoriously hard on the tyres, so the Italian manufacturer is predicting a two-stop race.

But with so many meaningful sessions already, a few teams might have to go onto used tyres in the race today. Let's see how that pans out...

Lights out at 9:00 SA time.