Dominant Dutchman’s lead twice interrupted by safety carMcLaren’s Norris impressively holds off Red Bull’s Sergio Pérez
Max Verstappen won the Chinese Grand Prix with another dominant drive, despite having to twice re-establish his lead for Red Bull in a race interrupted by two safety car periods. He beat McLaren’s Lando Norris, who did superbly to take what was an unexpected and hugely-impressive second place, while Sergio Pérez was third for Red Bull. Lewis Hamilton came back to ninth having started in 18th, a far better result than he expected in a car which was not performing. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz were fourth and fifth respectively.
Verstappen’s win never really looked in doubt in Shanghai, hosting its first race since 2019, but he had to command the race through two restarts, which he did flawlessly to further extend his championship lead over Pérez to 25 points after five meetings.
