Another Formula 1 race. And another victory for Dutchman Max Verstappen aboard his Red Bull.
The three-time reigning world champion won the Chinese Grand Prix on Sunday after starting from the lead. This is his fourth victory in five races this season and his 23rd in the last 27 races.
Only a brake failure at the Australian GP last month prevented him from showing a perfect record at the start of the campaign.
Quebecer Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) finished in 15th place after being involved in an incident for which he was penalized.
Verstappen was in first position the entire race, except for a few laps following his pit stop.
Lando Norris (McLaren) followed him to the finish line some 14 seconds behind. Norris thus climbed onto the second step of the podium for the eighth time in his career and is still looking for his first victory.
Verstappen’s teammate, Mexican Sergio Perez, finished third.
The two Ferrari drivers, the Monegasque Charles Leclerc and the Spaniard Carlos Sainz Jr., completed the top-5. Briton George Russell (Mercedes) and Spaniard Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) finished sixth and seventh.
Australian Oscar Piastri (McLaren), Briton Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) and German Nico Hulkenberg (Haas) also collected points.
Local hero Zhou Guanyu (Sauber) finished 14th.
Verstappen now has 110 points in the standings, ahead of Perez (85), Leclerc (76), Sainz (69) and Norris (58).
“It was incredible,” Verstappen said. All weekend we were incredibly fast and it was just great to drive. The car was basically on rails and I could do whatever I wanted with it. This kind of weekend is incredible to experience.”
Asked if it was one of his most dominant performances of his career, he replied: “It was a good one, yes.”
The next event will be the Miami GP on May 5.
Stroll penalized
The safety car entered the track twice in the middle of the race. The first after the Sauber of Finn Valtteri Bottas stopped at the side of the track due to a powertrain failure, and the second due to two simultaneous incidents.
The Dane Kevin Magnussen (Haas) caught the Japanese Yuki Tsunoda (RB) and Stroll hit the back of the RB car of the Australian Daniel Ricciardo.
Stroll, who was 10th, was the last in a series of drivers who were surprised on the restart by a slowdown at the end of a straight. Several competitors were thrown on the brakes, but Stroll did not have time to stop before coming into contact with Ricciardo.
Judged responsible for the accident by the commissioners, he received 10 seconds and had to go through the pits to replace his front wing.
“When the safety car arrived, there was a chain reaction with all the cars in front suddenly slowing down,” Stroll said in an Aston Martin press release. I didn’t have enough time to react and avoid contact with Daniel [Ricciardo] “.
“It’s frustrating because I ended up with a penalty, but the incident was caused by sudden braking from someone at the front of the peloton. After the front wing change we were last, which meant our race was over.”
Ricciardo was not of the same opinion.
“It’s very frustrating,” he said. I looked at the footage from his onboard camera and it looked like he wasn’t even looking at me, it seemed like his helmet was facing towards the rope point. Watching your race be ruined by someone else is frustrating. »
Stroll received two penalty points on his super license.
With The Canadian Press