For the first time this season, we are witnessing a weekend with the Sprint format, which has been revised this year. There remains only one free practice session, but now the Sprint Race takes place before the qualifying for Sunday’s race. Last year, it was the other way around.
The qualifying for the sprint race brought quite a few surprises. The rain scrambled the deck, but Lando Norris proved he could handle the tricky weather conditions the best.
Indeed, the Englishman clinched pole position in the qualifying shootout, though not without drama. His lap was initially cancelled and then reinstated by the stewards.
Lap 0/19: Good morning everyone! Welcome to the live coverage of the 2024 F1 China GP Sprint Race!
The green light for the Sprint Race will be at 05:00 Italian time. The live coverage will be updated from 04:50.
Lap 0/19: There are 19 laps to go. All drivers have chosen the medium tires except for George Russell, who will start on the softs.
Lap 0/19: Everything is ready for the start. Norris will try to defend the pole he won yesterday.
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Lap 0/19: Green light! It’s time for the formation lap in Shanghai.
Lap 2/19: Total disaster for Lando Norris. Hamilton nudged the Englishman a bit in turn 1, causing him to run wide and drop to seventh place.
Lap 1/19: Carlos Sainz makes a move on Verstappen. Excellent defense by the Dutchman.
Lap 1/19: The lights go out! Hamilton decisively takes the lead at the start!
Lap 2/19: Total disaster for Lando Norris. Hamilton nudged the Englishman a bit in turn 1, causing him to run wide and drop to seventh place.
Lap 2/19: Great duel between Carlos Sainz and Verstappen. The Spaniard’s new tires are providing more grip.
Lap 3/19: Verstappen is complaining about the battery! Alonso and Hamilton try to pull away.
Lap 4/19: Fast lap for Max! The world champion is trying to light up.
Lap 5/19: Drivers now seem to have entered a studying phase. Remember that Hamilton, Alonso, and Sainz started on new tires, while the others are on used ones.
Lap 6/19: Carlos Sainz now seems to be slightly struggling, with Perez having closed in on him.
Lap 7/19: Max goes in! The Dutchman overtakes and sets off in pursuit of Lewis Hamilton!
Lap 8/19: Ferrari struggling a lot in the first sector. Meanwhile, Verstappen has overtaken Hamilton.
Lap 9/19: Nothing Lewis can do. Max overtakes and takes the lead in this Sprint Race!
Lap 10/19: Verstappen is already pulling away. There seems to be a lot of tire degradation, with times starting to rise.
Lap 10/19: Meanwhile, Sainz has closed in on Alonso, bringing Perez, Leclerc, and Norris with him.
Lap 11/19: Now there’s a train forming behind Alonso, who seems to be struggling with tire management. Meanwhile, Verstappen is setting times unreachable for everyone else.
Lap 12/19: Lock-up for Sainz! Risky moment for the Spaniard with Perez sticking close.
Lap 13/19: It seems the drivers are waiting for the last laps to make their moves. For now, Alonso continues to hold everyone back.
Lap 14/19: Sainz also asks his team for clarification about the battery. “We are checking.”
Lap 15/19: Leclerc tries again but Perez doesn’t give anything away to the Monegasque!
Lap 16/19: Sainz with a sensational overtake on Alonso with the Aston Martin driver not accepting it and diving back in! Perez thanks them and passes both!
Lap 16/19: Duel between the two Ferraris with Sainz accompanying Leclerc!
Lap 17/19: Leclerc! What a crazy pass on Sainz in the tight section.
Lap 18/19: Leclerc is very fast now. Good tire management by the Monegasque. Meanwhile, the stewards have noted the incident between Sainz and Leclerc.
Lap 19/19: Max Verstappen wins the Sprint Race of the China GP! Behind him are Lewis Hamilton and Sergio Perez.
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