World Cup leader Max Verstappen: Unexpected problems / Formula 1

Max Verstappen drove unchallenged to victory from fourth on the China Sprint grid. Sprint grouch Verstappen, of all people, has won F1’s shortest race for the ninth time, for the third time in a row (after Austin and Interlagos in 2023), and for the sixth time in the last seven races.

The 26-year-old Dutchman says: “It was very hard work, especially at the beginning of the race. Other drivers around me had new medium hard tires, but I started using used rollers.

“Unexpected problems arose in the first few laps – the battery in my drive unit wasn’t charging properly and I had to change a lot of settings on the board to fix this.”

“After that things became good from lap to lap and I was able to start picking up speed. I approached Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton and I was able to pass them both quite easily.”

Formula 1 champion and Sky GP expert Nico Rosberg would like a change in the leader: “More aggression from Hamilton against Verstappen would be good.”

But Hamilton defended himself: “Max drove in a different league, but I couldn’t keep him.”

Max Verstappen continued: “When I got the engine settings under control after four or five laps, I was able to rely on the speed of the car and concentrate on tire control.”

“The wind direction has changed since Friday, which had a big impact on the balance of the car. Once I took the lead, the car behaved well.”

«Qualifying for the GP and the World Cup race is something completely different. I want to try to get the best starting position in the last training session, because if you have to start fourth or fifth, then there is a big risk that something will go wrong.”

“And in a race the car will sleep differently with a tank full to the brim than in a race. So there’s a lot to think about. But I’m in good spirits after this race and I’m really happy with how things went this morning.”

Sprint, Shanghai International Circuit

01. Max Verstappen (NL), Red Bull Racing, 32:04,160 minutes
02. Lewis Hamilton (GB), Mercedes, +13,043 sec
03. Sergio Pérez (MEX), Red Bull Racing, +15,258
04. Charles Leclerc (MC), Ferrari, +17,486
05. Carlos Sainz (E), Ferrari, +20,696
06. Lando Norris (GB), McLaren, +22.099
07. Oscar Piastri (AUS), McLaren, +24.713
08. George Russell (GB), Mercedes, +25,696
09. Guanyu Zhou (RCH), Sauber, +31,951
10. Kevin Magnussen (DK), Haas, +37.398
11. Daniel Ricciardo (AUS), Racing Bull, +37,840
12. Valtteri Bottas (FIN), Sauber, +38.295
13. Esteban Ocon (F), Alpine, +39,841
14. Lance Stroll (CDN), Aston Martin, +40,299
15. Pierre Gasly (F), Alpine, +40,838
16. Yuki Tsunoda (J), Racing Bulls, +41,870
17. Alex Albon (T), Williams, +42,998
18. Logan Sargeant (USA), Williams, +46,352
19. Nico Hülkenberg (D), Haas, +49,630
outside
Fernando Alonso (E), Aston Martin, tire damage

World Championship Position (after 4 out of 24 Grands Prix and 1 out of 6 Sprints)

the driver
01. Verstappen 85 points
02. Perez 70
03. Leclerc 64
04. Sainz 59
05. Norris 40
06. Plate 34
07. Russell 25
08. Alonso 24
09. Hamilton 17
10. Walk 7
11. Tsunoda 7
12. Oliver Bearman (GB) 6
13. Hulkenberg 3
14. Magnussen 1
15. Alboni 0
16. Zhou 0
17. Ricciardo 0
18. Okon 0
19. 0 gas
20. Bota 0
21. Sergeant 0

Builders Cup
01. Racing Red Bull 155 Punkte
02. Ferrari 129
03. McLaren 74
04. Mercedes 42
05. Aston Martin 33
06. Running Bull 7
07. Especially 4
08. Williams 0
09. Sauber 0
10. Alpine 0