RW 5 – China

Max Verstappen converted pole position into victory in a Chinese Grand Prix which was full of incidents and overtakes. Joining him in the top three is McLaren’s Lando Norris in P2 and teammate Sergio Perez in P3.

Verstappen led the vast majority of a strategic race at the Shanghai International Circuit which featured a Virtual Safety Car and two Safety Car periods, with the Dutchman sailing off into the sunset, leaving the drama behind him.

The full top 10 are- P1: Verstappen, P2: Norris, P3: Perez, P4: Leclerc, P5: Sainz, P6: Russell, P7: Alonso, P8: Piastri, P9: Hamilton and P10: Hulkenberg.

A great race for Red Bull P1 for Max and P3 for Perez, which extends their lead in the constructors, and they had four very good pitstops which they nailed perfectly.

Mr Lando Norris, bringing home a P2! And defending from Perez in P3, a great points haul for the Brit, his teammate grabbed P8 with damage aswell, so a decent race for him!

P4 and P5 for Ferrari, I don’t think they could’ve done much more to be honest, and it’s not a bad position. Hopefully next time out in Miami they can get back to being on the podium etc.

A decent result for Mercedes, could’ve been better if Hamilton placed higher in qualifying but he came through the pack to grab some points.

Valtteri Bottas was one of the retirements, as his Stake car ground to a halt at the exit of Turn 11, reporting that the “engine is gone” with yellow flags initially flown to cover the incident before the Virtual Safety Car was required.
The VSC then turned into a full Safety Car due to Bottas’ car stuck in gear.

There was then drama a few moments later at the restart, as Tsunoda got tipped into a spin by Magnussen exiting Turn 6, leaving the RB with terminal rear-right damage and sending the Haas limping back to the pits with a puncture.
Replays then showed a dramatic concertina effect as cars bunched up at the final hairpin just before the restart, with Stroll running into the back of Ricciardo and briefly sending the RB airborne while littering debris all over the track in the process, which then led the Safety Car to come out again.

We don’t have to wait too long till the next race, as we head to the US for the first of three Grand Prix this year, and its the Miami Grand Prix on the weekend of 3rd to 5th May!

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