Next weekend, Formula 1 heads to the Chinese Grand Prix. After Lando Norris narrowly beat Max Verstappen in Melbourne’s season opener, the racing world now turns its attention to Shanghai. Let’s look back at what happened during last year’s dramatic race weekend in China.
Chaotic Friday Kicks Off the Weekend
Last year’s Chinese Grand Prix took place in late April and featured the sprint race format. The weekend started with one of the strangest scenes in recent F1 memory – a trackside fire during the only practice session.
The grass next to the track caught fire, bringing out red flags and cutting valuable practice time to just 15 minutes.
In that brief window, Lance Stroll surprisingly topped the timesheet.
Sprint qualifying followed the shortened practice. The first two segments (SQ1 and SQ2) ran in dry conditions without major surprises. But then came SQ3 – and the rain.
As the track turned damp, drivers scrambled to switch to intermediate tires. Lando Norris mastered the tricky conditions to take the sprint pole, with Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton rounding out the top three.
Verstappen? He had to settle for fourth.
Verstappen Finds His Groove
But when it came to the actual sprint race on Saturday, Verstappen showed why he’s a champion. It took him just nine laps to grab the lead, securing his eighth career sprint victory.
His teammate Sergio Perez also impressed, climbing from P6 in qualifying to finish second. It was the first sign of what would become a dominant weekend for Red Bull.
When the main qualifying session arrived, Verstappen was simply untouchable. He delivered Red Bull’s 100th pole position in F1 history – adding another milestone to their incredible run.
Lewis Hamilton’s struggles were a different story. The seven-time world champion couldn’t even make it out of Q1, foreshadowing the qualifying difficulties he’d face throughout 2024.
Perez qualified second, but it wasn’t straightforward. He barely escaped Q1 after a mistake on his final run, finishing 15th by the skin of his teeth. Q2 saw Carlos Sainz slide off track, bringing out red flags. In Q3, Verstappen was actually slower than his Q2 time but still crushed the competition – finishing three-tenths ahead of Perez.
Sunday Showcase in Shanghai
Race day only confirmed Red Bull’s superiority. Verstappen drove to his 58th F1 victory with remarkable ease.
Despite two safety cars bunching up the field, Norris crossed the line more than ten seconds behind the flying Dutchman.
Perez completed the team’s perfect weekend by taking second place.
Things did get tense during the final restart, but Verstappen executed it flawlessly, immediately pulling away from Leclerc and Perez.
Verstappen simply dominated the entire 2024 Chinese Grand Prix weekend. But with how competitive this season has started, a repeat performance seems unlikely when F1 returns to Shanghai next weekend.
This article was created in collaboration with Kim Hoefnagel
