Chinese GP Results: Max Verstappen Wins The Sprint Race In Shanghai

The results of the Chinese GP Sprint Race.

Oct 22, 2023; Austin, Texas, USA; Red Bull Racing Honda driver Max Verstappen (1) of Team / Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Max Verstappen won the Chinese GP Sprint Race ahead of Qualifying later today. Finalising the top 3 were Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton and Sergio Perez who crossed the line in second and third position, respectively.

What happened during the Sprint Race?

All drivers apart from George Russell started the race on medium tires with the British driver starting from 11th with soft tires.

Lap 1: Lewis Hamilton, who started from second position on the grid, had a fantastic start swiftly taking the lead from Lando Norris who ran off the track. By the end of Lap 1, Norris was already back in seventh position with some work to do to bring this back.

Lap 4: Max Verstappen complained to his Red Bull race engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase, that his battery was low, to which he was told to change to 'Mode 8'.

Lap 6: Verstappen seems to have sorted out the issues with his RB20 and is now making gains on Fernando Alonso who he will fight for second position.

Lap 7: Verstappen overtakes Alonso with DRS for second place.

Lap 8: Hamilton, who had been running seemingly without issues at the front of the pack with a decent lead, reported steering issues in the slow-speed corners. The British driver ran wide at the hairpin but held of Verstappen for now.

Lap 9: Verstappen takes the lead of the Sprint Race.

Lap 15: Verstappen now as an almost 7-second lead on Hamilton, whilst his Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez is stuck in a DRS train behind Carlos Sainz and ahead of Charles Leclerc. Perez reported "no traction", which seems to also be a problem for Sainz ahead of him.

Lap 16: A fantastic battle for third with Sainz taking Alonso, only for the latter to take the position back. Perez makes the most of the battle in front of him and sweeps past both Spanish drivers to take 3 position.

Lap 17: Alonso is forced to return to the pits after suffering from a puncture to the front right tire after slight contact during the battle with Sainz. Alonso is forced to retire the car.
In all of the excitement, Sainz is now running in fifth position behind his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc.

Chinese GP Sprint Race Results

1. Max Verstappen
2. Lewis Hamilton
3. Sergio Perez
4. Charles Leclerc
5. Carlos Sainz
6. Lando Norris
7. Oscar Piastri
8. George Russell
9. Zhou Guanyu
10. Kevin Magnussen
11. Daniel Ricciardo
12. Valtteri Bottas
13. Esteban Ocon
14. Lance Stroll
15. Pierre Gasly
16. Yuki Tsunoda
17. Alex Albon
18. Logan Sargeant
19. Nico Hulkenberg
20. Fernando Alonso - DNF