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Verstappen powers through from P4 to win sprint race
Anyone thinking Max Verstappen and Red Bull were slightly off the pace this weekend were proved wrong as the Dutchman powered through the field to win the sprint race in China by almost 13 seconds. Once the Red Bull driver took the lead, he opened up a two-second gap immediately and proved no match to the British drivers who started on the front row. Lewis Hamilton, who led a sprint race for the first time, finished second. Sergio Perez rounded out the podium.
Pole-sitter Lando Norris dropped away before leaving the first sequence of corners in the sprint race. After initial battery problems, Verstappen then started his pursuit through the field. He saw off Fernando Alonso easily, and a mistake by Hamilton ensured he could close the gap on the Brit quickly. The Dutchman was lapping around 1.5 seconds per lap faster than any other driver in the field.
Perez rounded out the podium places. The Ferrari drivers engaged in a battle for fourth place, which was won by Charles Leclerc. Norris eventually finished sixth, and Piastri followed his teammate home. Mercedes' aggressive decision paid off with an eighth-place finish for one point. Home favourite Zhou just missed out on a point in ninth place.
World Champions beat Norris at the start
Norris qualified on pole position. He had a combined 12 World Championships in the three places immediately behind him in Hamilton, Alonso and Verstappen. Teams had a free choice of tyres, but everyone opted for medium tyres except George Russell. Russell failed to make it to SQ3, so Mercedes put him on an aggressive strategy to try and make up places. Verstappen and Alonso had slightly older tyres than those on the front row of the grid.
Hamilton got off the line quickly and went into the first sequence of corners side-by-side with Norris. The older Brit had the inside line, and Norris eventually ran out of room and lost grip. He dropped backwards to P7, where he had to battle Leclerc and Piastri rather than the World Champions at the front. Instead of chasing Alonso for second-place, Verstappen fell back and had to defend against Sainz. He explained some sort of energy problem on the team radio.
On lap seven, Verstappen successfully overtook Alonso for second place. The Dutchman started his pursuit for Hamilton. The seven-time World Champion had a moment at the final hairpin, and the gap closed drastically. Verstappen then made the move the next time the drivers reached the same hairpin. Verstappen opened up a two-second lead in one lap and cruised to victory from there.
A DRS train formed behind Alonso. The 42-year-old made impressive defensive moves but lost out on lap 16. Perez took advantage of a squabble between Sainz and Alonso. The two Spaniards touched which eventually allowed the Mexican to move through to P3. Alonso had to pit due to a puncture.