2024 F1 Round 5 Chinese GP: Verstappen wins from pole for first Shanghai victory, Norris second and Pérez third as both RBs retire following collisions around the restart

The 2024 Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix concluded after 56 laps at the Shanghai International Circuit on the afternoon of 21 April, Beijing time. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen started from pole and led for most of the race, winning by 13.773 seconds to take his first victory in Shanghai and bring the number of circuits at which he has won to 26. McLaren’s Lando Norris finished second for his 15th career podium, with Sergio Pérez third.

The race took place under heavily overcast skies, with an air temperature of 19°C and a track temperature of 31°C. Pirelli brought its second-hardest compound range, C2 to C4, and the teams used a wide variety of pit-stop and tyre combinations. The three cars at the back, including Yuki Tsunoda, and Lance Stroll started on softs, while Kevin Magnussen used hards. All the other drivers began on mediums.

On the opening lap, Tsunoda passed Lewis Hamilton, Magnussen and Zhou Guanyu in succession to climb to 16th. Fernando Alonso overtook Pérez for second at the start, but Pérez reclaimed the position on lap 5 and Norris also passed Alonso on lap 7. In the middle phase of the race, Valtteri Bottas, who had been in contention for points, stopped at the exit of Turn 11 with an engine failure. After a lengthy yellow-flag period, Race Control deployed the Virtual Safety Car, then brought out the full Safety Car when the car could not be moved by the marshals. Almost every driver, including Verstappen, took the opportunity to pit. Norris and Charles Leclerc, who had extended their opening stints, benefited from the VSC, while the timing of the Safety Car cost Pérez two positions.

Around the lap-27 restart, Daniel Ricciardo, who had stayed out during the Safety Car stops, was ninth and Tsunoda was 15th, but both RB cars became involved in collisions. Stroll ran into the back of Ricciardo at the hairpin before the restart. Ricciardo continued for several laps with severe rear-end damage but dropped down the order, retiring after completing 33 laps. After the restart, Magnussen struck Tsunoda’s right-rear wheel, spinning him out of the race. The stewards gave Magnussen and Stroll 10-second penalties each, while Logan Sargeant also received 10 seconds for overtaking under the Safety Car.

Having dropped to fourth after the stops, Pérez passed Leclerc on the inside of Turn 6 on lap 39 to regain a podium position, but could no longer catch Norris ahead. Ferrari’s cars lacked the pace to beat McLaren, with Leclerc and Carlos Sainz finishing fourth and fifth. Alonso’s unconventional strategy saw him drop out of the points after switching from softs back to mediums on lap 43, but he then set the fastest lap and overtook a succession of rivals to finish seventh, only five seconds behind George Russell in sixth. Hamilton recovered from 18th on the grid to finish ninth, 1.8 seconds behind Oscar Piastri. Nico Hülkenberg kept his race together amid the disruption of two Safety Cars and took tenth, earning a valuable point for Haas. Zhou finished 14th.