F1 Chinese Grand Prix LIVE: Result as Max Verstappen beats Lando Norris to win as Lewis Hamilton claims points

Max Verstappen powered to another dominant win in Sunday’s Chinese Grand Prix, as Lewis Hamilton complained his car was “slow” and “broken” after he finished ninth.

]Verstappen emerged unscathed from two safety car periods to secure his 38th win from the last 49 staged in Formula One on his unstoppable march towards a fourth straight championship. But for Hamilton, now 50 races and 868 long days without a victory, this marked another sobering afternoon in his uncompetitive Mercedes.

McLaren’s Lando Norris delivered an impressive performance to finish second – his best result of the season so far – one place ahead of Verstappen’s Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez, with Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz fourth and fifth for Ferrari. George Russell was sixth.

Follow live reaction of the Chinese Grand Prix with The Independent.

F1 Chinese Grand Prix LIVE: Race updates

• Chinese Grand Prix under way as Max Verstappen starts on pole

• Verstappen won Saturday’s Sprint Race and then Red Bull celebrated 100th pole

• Lewis Hamilton starts in 18th after worst qualifying result since 2017

• Virtual Safety Car! Yellow flag after Bottas goes off track at turn 11

• Full Safety Car! Many drivers pit as Verstappen loses some of his lead

• Full Safety Car! Yellow flag again as Tsunoda spins off in his home race

Max Verstappen powers to dominant victory in Chinese Grand Prix

11:21 , Chris Wilson

Max Verstappen powered to another dominant win in Sunday’s Chinese Grand Prix – as Lewis Hamilton complained his car was “slow” and “broken” after he finished ninth.

Verstappen emerged unscathed from two safety car periods to secure his 38th win from the last 49 staged in Formula One on his unstoppable march towards a fourth straight championship.

Max Verstappen powers to dominant victory in Chinese Grand Prix

Horner reacts to another win

10:53 , Chris Wilson

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said that Max Verstappen “is on another planet at the moment” following the Dutchman’s latest win.

“I felt we were a little unlucky with the safety car, but Max is on another planet at the moment. His form has been fantastic.

“He’s just totally at one with the machine, and he has this unbelievable empathy with a car, and confidence in himself.

“He’s got this incredible racing brain, it’s almost inhuman what he’s capable of.

“Effectively, he’s writing history.”

Perez reacts to finishing third

10:40 , Chris Wilson

Norris reacts to his race

10:30 , Chris Wilson

Here’s some reaction from Norris, who finished second today.

10:21 , Chris Wilson

Here’s the official classification for today’s race.

1) Verstappen

2) Norris

3) Perez

4) Leclerc

5) Sainz

6) Russell

7) Alonso

8) Piastri

9) Hamilton

10) Hulkenberg

11) Ocon

12) Albon

13) Gasly

14) Guanyu

15) Stroll

16) Magnussen

17) Sargeant

NC - Ricciardo

NC - Tsunoda

NC - Bottas

F1 Driver Standings 2024

10:17 , Chris Wilson

The official driver standings have been updated now, with Verstappen extending his lead at the top of the championship.

1) Verstappen - 110 points

2) Perez - 85 points

3) Leclerc - 76 points

4) Sainz - 69 points

5) Norris – 58 points

6) Piastri - 38 points

7) Russell - 33 points

8) Alonso - 31 points

9) Hamilton - 19 points

10) Stroll - 9 points

11) Tsunoda - 7 points

12) Bearman - 6 points

13) Hulkenberg - 4 points

14) Magnussen - 1 point

15) Albon - 0 points

16) Ocon - 0 points

17) Guanyu - 0 points

18) Ricciardo - 0 points

19) Gasly - 0 points

20) Bottas - 0 points

21) Sargeant - 0 points

Zhou reacts to his first home race

10:15 , Chris Wilson

A wholesome moment as Zhou Guanyu was saved his own parking space in front of the stands.

Upcoming races in the F1 calendar

10:10 , Chris Wilson

With attentions turning to the race in Miami in early May, here’s a reminder of the upcoming races.

ROUND 6 - MIAMI (sprint race)

Miami International Autodrome, Hard Rock Stadium - 3-5 May

ROUND 7 - EMILIA ROMAGNA

Imola Circuit - 17-19 May

ROUND 8 - MONACO

Circuit de Monaco - 24-26 May

ROUND 9 - CANADA

Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal - 7-9 June

ROUND 10 - SPAIN

Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya - 21-23 June

F1 Chinese Grand Prix: Drivers on the podium

10:04 , Chris Wilson

The drivers are on the podium now as the national anthems are played.

Max Verstappen is presented with the trophy after winning the first Chinese Grand Prix in five years.

Below is the winner’s reaction to another win.

F1 Chinese Grand Prix: Drivers react

09:56 , Chris Wilson

Lando Norris says that he expected to finish around 35 seconds behind the Ferraris, but adds that it was a great weekend.

Verstappen says that “there was a bit of debris” at the end, but just wanted to double-check.

He says that Miami “should be a good race for us”, and that it’s usually a “crazy race” out there.

Verstappen reacts to the win

09:52 , Chris Wilson

F1 Chinese Grand Prix: Final classification

09:49 , Chris Wilson

1) Max Verstappen

2) Lando Norris

3) Sergio Perez

4) Charles Leclerc

5) Carlos Sainz

6) George Russell

7) Fernando Alonso (fastest lap)

8) Oscar Piastri

9) Lewis Hamilton

10) Nico Hulkenberg

F1 Chinese Grand Prix: Max Verstappen wins in Shanghai!

09:48 , Chris Wilson

Russell comes in at sixth, holding off the challenge from Alonso in seventh.

Piastri arrives in eighth, having held off a late burst from Hamilton, who finishes ninth.

Hulkenberg makes up the top 10.

F1 Chinese Grand Prix: Max Verstappen wins in Shanghai!

09:46 , Chris Wilson

Verstappen strolls home to another easy win, with Norris coming in at second!

Perez in third for the final podium spot, with Leclerc in fourth and teammate Sainz in fifth.

F1 Chinese Grand Prix: Lap 56/56

09:45 , Chris Wilson

Verstappen has a brief worry that he might have run over some debris, but his team give him the all-clear.

Alonso hasn’t been able to make up the time on Russell – he’s still five seconds behind – while Hamilton still has the gap of around one second to Piastri.

F1 Chinese Grand Prix: Lap 55/56

09:44 , Chris Wilson

Verstappen has a lead of over 13 seconds, while Norris has kept Perez at bay with a five-second lead over the Mexican.

Leclerc is a further 4.6 seconds behind, with Sainz 10 seconds behind him.

F1 Chinese Grand Prix: Lap 54/56

09:42 , Chris Wilson

Zhou comes up on the radio urging his team – and himself – to “get Gasly”. He’s currently two seconds behind.

F1 Chinese Grand Prix: Lap 53/56

09:42 , Chris Wilson

Hamilton remains around one second behind Piastri, but he’s not within range yet.

It was actually Albon who Gasly was calling an idiot earlier, but both have now overtaken Magnussen to move into 12th and 13th respectively.

Now Zhou has also overtaken Magnussen – he gets a cheer as he passes the grandstand.

F1 Chinese Grand Prix: Lap 52/56

09:39 , Chris Wilson

Alonso has made a couple of seconds on Russell, but he remains 8.5 seconds behind.

Russell is three seconds behind Sainz, in sixth.

F1 Chinese Grand Prix: Lap 52/56

09:38 , Chris Wilson

Down the board, an incident between Gasly and Sargeant sees the former forced off the track. He calls his rival “an absolute idiot” on radio, and it’s being looked at.

F1 Chinese Grand Prix: Lap 51/56

09:37 , Chris Wilson

Verstappen is strolling home here with a lead of almost 11 seconds himself.

Perez remains almost five seconds behind Norris, who’s leading the vote for driver of the day.

Leclerc is 3.8 seconds behind Perez, with Sainz a further 10s back in fifth. Ferrari were warning their drivers of Alonso’s potential challenge, but with five laps to go the top five looks fairly set.

F1 Chinese Grand Prix: Lap 50/56

09:35 , Chris Wilson

Right away, Alonso moves into seventh as he moves past Piastri. He’s still around 11 seconds behind Russell though.

F1 Chinese Grand Prix: Lap 49/56

09:34 , Chris Wilson

Alonso is now just 0.4s behind Hamilton, but he hits the gravel briefly. That will have taken him by surprise, but he reacted quickly enough.

He makes the challenge on Hamilton, who doesn’t really defend as the Spaniard comes down the inside.

F1 Chinese Grand Prix: Lap 48/56

09:32 , Chris Wilson

Alonso overtakes Hulkenberg easily as the two head into the braking zone at the end of the straight.

Hamilton is hunting Piastri here, and is just 1.4 seconds behind the Aussie.

F1 Chinese Grand Prix: Lap 47/56

09:30 , Chris Wilson

An updated top 10 heading into the final laps.

1) Verstappen

2) Norris

3) Perez

4) Leclerc

5) Sainz

6) Russell

7) Piastri

8) Hamilton

9) Hulkenberg

10) Alonso

F1 Chinese Grand Prix: Lap 46/56

09:29 , Chris Wilson

Alonso is moving up the board nicely, with a couple of easy overtakes to move into 10th.

F1 Chinese Grand Prix: Lap 46/56

09:27 , Chris Wilson

We’re into the final 10 laps here.

Norris has gained some time and extended the gap to Perez to four seconds.

F1 Chinese Grand Prix: Lap 44/56

09:26 , Chris Wilson

Alonso eventually does pit and he comes out in 12th, though he has new medium tyres. The top 11 all remain on hard.

F1 Chinese Grand Prix: Lap 43/56

09:25 , Chris Wilson

Norris has had a poor lap there and the gap to Verstappen has extended to over eight seconds!

More worrying for Norris though is the gap to Perez - the Mexican is just 3.6 seconds behind now as Red Bull hunt a one-two finish.

F1 Chinese Grand Prix: Lap 42/56

09:23 , Chris Wilson

Verstappen is now 6.2 seconds ahead, but the real intrigue is slightly further down the board.

Perez remains just over five seconds off Norris, while Leclerc is 1.2 seconds behind Perez.

Alonso, who’s still on the soft tyres, is 5.5 seconds behind Leclerc, and only 3.4 ahead of Sainz.

F1 Chinese Grand Prix: Lap 41/56

09:21 , Chris Wilson

Piastri is on the radio and his team are telling him that there is “extensive” damage to his car.

Hamilton, who’s in the points now, makes a lovely move down the inside at turn nine to overtake Hulkenberg. He’s into ninth!

F1 Chinese Grand Prix: Lap 40/56

09:19 , Chris Wilson

Here’s the top 10 as we enter the final 15 laps.

1) Verstappen

2) Norris

3) Perez

4) Leclerc

5) Alonso

6) Sainz

7) Russell

8) Piastri

9) Hulkenberg

10) Hamilton

F1 Chinese Grand Prix: Lap 39/56

09:17 , Chris Wilson

Further up, Perez finally overtakes Leclerc at turn six.

F1 Chinese Grand Prix: Lap 39/56

09:16 , Chris Wilson

Zhou gets a big cheer from the home fans as he takes over Sargeant on the inside.

F1 Chinese Grand Prix: Lap 38/56

09:15 , Chris Wilson

Verstappen looking comfortable, with almost four seconds for a lead.

Leclerc is a further five seconds off Norris, who’s in second.

F1 Chinese Grand Prix: Lap 37/56

09:14 , Chris Wilson

Just behind Norris, Perez is less than a second behind Leclerc and is now in DRS range.

The Monegasque is defending well for now though.

F1 Chinese Grand Prix: Lap 36/56

09:13 , Chris Wilson

Stroll has pitted again and has now heard of the 10-second penalty. He’s not too happy with it as you’d imagine.

Norris, who’s looking comfortable in second, says “no, thank you!” to his team’s suggestion of “more engine braking”. He wants to keep his tyres in shape in the hunt for second place.

F1 Chinese Grand Prix: Lap 35/56

09:10 , Chris Wilson

Kevin Magnussen also has a 10-second penalty now for causing Tsunoda to spin off earlier. That’s three penalties so far!

F1 Chinese Grand Prix: Lap 34/56

09:09 , Chris Wilson

Verstappen is leading by almost two seconds, with Norris in second, Leclerc in third, Perez in fourth and Alonso in fifth.

Ricciardo was complaining about having no grip, and as he pits it’s noted that he only has half a diffuser left.

The Australian is forced to retire.

F1 Chinese Grand Prix: Lap 33/56

09:08 , Chris Wilson

Ricciardo is struggling here, and he dives into the pits.

Stewards are now looking at both of the earlier incidents involving Magnussen-Tsunoda and Stroll-Ricciardo.

Sargeant will be getting a 10-second penalty for a safety car infringement, and Stroll gets one for causing a collision!

F1 Chinese Grand Prix: Lap 32/56

09:06 , Chris Wilson

Hamilton has moved up into 10th place after making a move on Ricciardo during the restart.

It looks like we’re incident-free at the restart, though Hulkenberg and Sargeant are under investigation for something.

F1 Chinese Grand Prix: Lap 32/56

09:04 , Chris Wilson

Green flag and we’re underway again!

Alonso, on the softs, is really sticking to the back of Perez.

F1 Chinese Grand Prix: Lap 31/56

09:03 , Chris Wilson

The safety car is about to end coming in to lap 32.

Verstappen is complaining as to why it has lasted so long. His team surmise that it may be debris.

F1 Chinese Grand Prix: Lap 30/56

09:02 , Chris Wilson

Replays show some real chaos there as Stroll lifted the back of Ricciardo’s car. Stroll blamed the Australian on radio to his team, but there was a lot of late braking in the cars in front of him.

Race control have noted that event, along with the incident between Magnussen and Tsunoda.

F1 Chinese Grand Prix: Lap 29/56

08:59 , Chris Wilson

Sainz sounds a little nervous about the potential one-stop strategy as we approach lap 30.

Alonso had got in front of his fellow Spaniard during the chaos of the restart.

F1 Chinese Grand Prix: Lap 27/56

08:57 , Chris Wilson

Elsewhere, another incident is noted as replays show Stroll hit the back of Ricciardo at the first safety car restart. That’s why the former pitted straight away.

F1 Chinese Grand Prix: Lap 27/56

08:55 , Chris Wilson

There’s another yellow flag almost instantly as Tsunoda is off the track! He spins after being clipped by Magnussen.

Another safety car due to debris on the track.

F1 Chinese Grand Prix: Lap 27/56

08:53 , Chris Wilson

As the safety car ends, Stroll pits.

No moves at the top of the grid, but Verstappen got a good jump on Norris.

F1 Chinese Grand Prix: Lap 26/56

08:51 , Chris Wilson

The safety car is ending. Everyone on the hard tyres, other than Alonso, who is on the softs, and Ricciardo, who’s on the hard tyres.

F1 Chinese Grand Prix: Lap 25/56

08:50 , Chris Wilson

Here’s the top 10 under the safety car.

1) Verstappen

2) Norris

3) Leclerc

4) Perez

5) Sainz

6) Alonso

7) Russell

8) Piastri

9) Ricciardo

10) Stroll

F1 Chinese Grand Prix: Lap 25/56

08:49 , Chris Wilson

Piastri has also come into the pits, and he comes out in eighth.

F1 Chinese Grand Prix: Lap 24/56

08:48 , Chris Wilson

Still under the safety car, and Hamilton is bemoaning the lack of balance in his car.

“It’s sliding everywhere,” he says.

F1 Chinese Grand Prix: Lap 24/56

08:46 , Chris Wilson

Verstappen comes out in first still, but Perez has lost a few places and comes out in fourth.

Norris and Leclerc in second and third, with Piastri fifth.

F1 Chinese Grand Prix: Lap 24/56 – Full safety car!

08:45 , Chris Wilson

A full safety car has been called, and Verstappen and Perez are both pitting.

F1 Chinese Grand Prix: Lap 23/56

08:44 , Chris Wilson

They’re still trying to remove Bottas’ car after the engine failure, and he’s the first retirement of the day.

F1 Chinese Grand Prix: Lap 23/56

08:43 , Chris Wilson

Now Norris pits too, and he comes out in third.

F1 Chinese Grand Prix: Lap 22/56

08:42 , Chris Wilson

Leclerc pits under the VSC, as do Hamilton and Stroll.

F1 Chinese Grand Prix: Lap 21/56

08:41 , Chris Wilson

Sainz tries to overtaker Stroll but he locks up.

There’s a virtual safety car now.

F1 Chinese Grand Prix: Lap 21/56 – YELLOW FLAG

08:39 , Chris Wilson

Bottas is off the track on turn 11, and there’s a yellow flag.

F1 Chinese Grand Prix: Lap 20/56

08:39 , Chris Wilson

Verstappen is already into a 2.6-second lead.

Norris, Leclerc, Perez and Alonso round out the top five.

F1 Chinese Grand Prix: Lap 19/56

08:37 , Chris Wilson

Norris still hasn’t pitted, so perhaps he will go for the one-stop strategy.

Nevertheless, Verstappen is only half a second behind. Verstappen gets into the lead once more as they approach the hairpin.

F1 Chinese Grand Prix: Lap 18/56

08:36 , Chris Wilson

On Norris’ radio, his team advise that Leclerc might try the ‘one stop’ strategy.

Leclerc had just been on the radio speaking to Ferrari about a “Plan D”.

F1 Chinese Grand Prix: Lap 17/56

08:34 , Chris Wilson

Perez has overtaken Sainz and moved into fourth. Sainz then pits, and comes out in tenth just ahead of Bottas.

F1 Chinese Grand Prix: Lap 17/56

08:33 , Chris Wilson

Hamilton is up into 14th but seems to be struggling somewhat. He laments over radio that his car “is so slow”.

Elsewhere, Piastri pits and comes out in ninth. He’s on mediums now.

F1 Chinese Grand Prix: Lap 16/56

08:31 , Chris Wilson

Charles Leclerc leaves the gap open for Verstappen to overtake on the inside, and the Dutchman is into second.

F1 Chinese Grand Prix: Lap 15/56

08:30 , Chris Wilson

Verstappen is already up into third, and is just over a second behind Leclerc in second. Neither Norris or Leclerc have pitted yet, of course.

F1 Chinese Grand Prix: Lap 15/56

08:29 , Chris Wilson

Both Verstappen and Perez on the hard tyres now.

Norris is leading the race, with Leclerc almost seven seconds behind.

F1 Chinese Grand Prix: Lap 14/56

08:28 , Chris Wilson

Verstappen comes out of the pits in fourth, behind Norris, Leclerc and Piastri, but ahead of Sainz.

F1 Chinese Grand Prix: Lap 13/56

08:27 , Chris Wilson

Hamilton is up to 15th as he overtakes Tsunoda on the outside at turn one.

Verstappen pits alongside Sergio Perez.

F1 Chinese Grand Prix: Lap 12/56

08:25 , Chris Wilson

A few more pit stops. this time from Alonso, Russell and Gasly, among others. Gasly’s stop costs him some time, and there are reports that an Alpine team member was injured during it.

F1 Chinese Grand Prix: Lap 12/56

08:24 , Chris Wilson

Leclerc moves into the top four, overtaking Piastri on the inside.

F1 Chinese Grand Prix: Lap 11/56

08:23 , Chris Wilson

Verstappe, perez, Norris, Alonso and Piastri make the top five at the moment.

Russell is still denying Sainz, but it looks like the Ferrari will overtake soon.

Hamilton, back in 19th, says on radio that “that was the worst tyre”.

F1 Chinese Grand Prix: Lap 10/56

08:21 , Chris Wilson

More early pit stops, this time from Hamilton, Albon, Ocon and Stroll. Hamilton has switched to the mediums.

For Stroll, some light relief as that earlier incident is cleared.

F1 Chinese Grand Prix: Lap 9/56

08:20 , Chris Wilson

Verstappen has opened up a 7.4s lead before we even reach lap 10.

Some tyre change already as Hulkenberg, Tsuonda and Zhou have already pitted.

F1 Chinese Grand Prix: Lap 8/56

08:19 , Chris Wilson

Leclerc is stuck behind Russell in seventh. He tries to break down the outside but Russell defends well for now.

Down the main straight, Leclerc gets the DRS and overtakes around the outside on turn one!

F1 Chinese Grand Prix: Lap 6/56

08:17 , Chris Wilson

Race control are looking at several incidents already, though nothing reported to the stewards yet.

Stroll overtook Hulkenberg at turn six, while a driver was forced off the track in an incident between Gasly and Albon.

Towards the leaders, Norris is racing well and he takes over Alonso at the turn six hairpin, moving up into third place!

F1 Chinese Grand Prix: Lap 5/56

08:14 , Chris Wilson

Here’s some replays of the start!

F1 Chinese Grand Prix: Lap 5/56

08:12 , Chris Wilson

Verstappen is seemingly racing himself already. His lead is over four seconds already!

Perez has second place once more as he overtakes Alonso on the inside at turn six.

Alonso seemingly realised that he was pushing a lot harder than the Red Bull, so let him overtake.

F1 Chinese Grand Prix: Lap 3/56

08:11 , Chris Wilson

Hamilton doesn’t seem impressed early on, lamenting that he’s making “no ground” on his soft tyres.

Further up the grid, Alonso is managing to hold off the challenge from Sergio Perez despite the latter’s DRS.

F1 Chinese Grand Prix: Lap 2/56

08:09 , Chris Wilson

Here are the standings in lap two.

1) Verstappen

2) Alonso

3) Perez

4) Norris

5) Piastri

6) Russell

7) Leclerc

8) Sainz

9) Stroll

10) Hulkenberg

11) Bottas

12) Ocon

13) Albon

14) Gasly

15) Ricciardo

16) Tsunoda

17) Magnussen

18) Hamilton

19) Zhou

20) Sargeant

F1 Chinese Grand Prix: Lights out!

08:07 , Chris Wilson

Verstappen gets away quickly and stays in first but Alonso has gone aggressive from third and seems to have overtaken Perez around the outside!

Carlos Sainz has lost a couple of places, while teammate Charles Leclerc has lost a place too.

Lewis Hamilton has lost a place too, while teammate George Russell has gained two places.

Alonso, in second, is 1.830 seconds behind.

F1 Chinese Grand Prix: Formation lap!

08:01 , Chris Wilson

Max Verstappen leads the pack around the 3.387 miles of the Shanghai International Circuit.

The majority of the grid are on medium tyres, with the exception of some of those from 11th and further back, including Lewis Hamilton, who is on soft, as is Lance Stroll.

Will we have similar early drama to that of the last race in Suzuka earlier this month?

What is the starting grid?

07:57 , Chris Wilson

1) Verstappen

2) Perez

3) Alonso

4) Norris

5) Piastri

6) Leclerc

7) Sainz

8) Russell

9) Hulkenberg

10) Bottas

11) Stroll

12) Ricciardo

13) Ocon

14) Albon

15) Gasly

16) Zhou

17) Magnussen

18) Hamilton

19) Tsunoda

20) Sargeant

F1 Chinese Grand Prix LIVE: Race updates

07:54 , Chris Wilson

Final preparations underway before the formation lap.

Aston Martin are making some last-minute adjustments to Fernando Alonso’s car, while on Sky Sports they’re discussing Red Bull and Ferrari’s superior tyre degradation. The two leading teams have two new sets of hard tyres left, while Mercedes and McLaren only have one.

Constructor standings ahead of Chinese Grand Prix

07:49 , Chris Wilson

1. Red Bull - 155 points

2. Ferrari - 129 points

3. McLaren - 74 points

4. Mercedes - 42 points

5. Aston Martin - 33 points

6. RB - 7 points

7. Haas - 4 points

8. Williams - 0 points

9. Kick Sauber - 0 points

10. Alpine - 0 points

F1 Chinese Grand Prix LIVE: Race updates

07:47 , Chris Wilson

The Chinese national anthem is playing out as the drivers line up and prepare for lights out.

F1 Chinese Grand Prix LIVE: pre-race Driver Standings

07:42 , Chris Wilson

Here are the updated driver standings after the result of yesterday’s sprint race.

1. Max Verstappen - 85 points

2. Sergio Perez - 70 points

3. Charles Leclerc - 64 points

4. Carlos Sainz - 59 points

5. Lando Norris - 40 points

6. Oscar Piastri - 34 points

7. George Russell - 25 points

8. Fernando Alonso - 24 points

9. Lewis Hamilton - 17 points

10. Lance Stroll - 9 points

11. Yuki Tsunoda - 7 points

12. Oliver Bearman - 6 points

13. Nico Hulkenberg - 3 points

14. Kevin Magnussen - 1 point

15. Alex Albon - 0 points

16. Zhou Guanyu - 0 points

17. Daniel Ricciardo - 0 points

18. Esteban Ocon - 0 points

19. Pierre Gasly - 0 points

20. Valtteri Bottas - 0 points

21. Logan Sargeant - 0 points

Max Verstappen denies Lewis Hamilton a sprint victory in China

07:35 , Chris Wilson

Max Verstappen denied Lewis Hamilton the first sprint win of his career after passing his rival to win in China on Saturday.

Hamilton started second, and rolled back the years at the Shanghai International Circuit by beating pole-sitter Lando Norris off the line, and taking control of the 19-lap charge to the chequered flag.

But Verstappen, who started fourth, ended Hamilton’s dream of re-entering the winner’s enclosure for the first time in 867 days when he blasted past the Mercedes driver on the ninth lap.

Verstappen crossed the line 13 seconds clear of Hamilton with Sergio Perez taking third.

Max Verstappen denies Lewis Hamilton a sprint victory in China

F1 start time: When is the 2024 Chinese Grand Prix and how can I watch?

07:28 , Chris Wilson

A reminder of how you can watch today’s race.

Formula 1 returns to China after a five-year absence as the ShanghaiInternational Circuit hosts the fifth race of the 2024 season - and the first of six sprint weekends.

Max Verstappen returned to winning ways last time out in Japan, cruising to another victory and leading home a third Red Bull one-two finish of the season, with team-mate Sergio Perez again second-best.

The race begins at 8am BST and will be broadcast live on Sky Sports in the United Kingdom, and ESPN in the United States. Sky’s coverage of Sunday’s race starts at 7am (BST).

The race highlights will be aired on free-to-air Channel 4 at 12:30pm (BST) on Sunday.

When is the 2024 Chinese Grand Prix and how can I watch?

Lewis Hamilton responds to Nico Rosberg comments after worst F1 qualifying since 2017

07:20 , Jamie Braidwood

Lewis Hamilton insisted he is “mentally very strong” after his worst qualifying in nearly seven years which was labelled a “disaster” and “unnecessary” by former rival Nico Rosberg.

Hamilton will line up in 18th position for Sunday’s Chinese Grand Prix after his troubled start to the new season took another desperate twist in Shanghai.

Earlier on Saturday, Hamilton rolled back the years to lead the sprint race for eight laps before he had to settle for second after he was overtaken by eventual winner Max Verstappen.

But four hours after a result Hamilton described as his “best in a long time”, the 39-year-old was brought crashing back down to earth when he was eliminated in the opening phase of qualifying for Sunday’s main event.

Lewis Hamilton responds to Nico Rosberg comments after worst F1 qualifying since 2017

Lando Norris warns F1 fans will be turned off by Max Verstappen’s dominance

07:10 , Jamie Braidwood

Lando Norris fears Max Verstappen’s “boring” dominance of Formula One is forcing fans away.

Verstappen became the first driver this century to start the season with five consecutive pole positions after a crushing performance in qualifying for Sunday’s Chinese Grand Prix.

The Dutchman, 26, saw off Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez by 0.322 seconds at the Shanghai International Circuit to take top spot, after he earlier raced from fourth to first in the 19-lap sprint race.

Remarkably, since Verstappen beat Lewis Hamilton to the 2021 world championship in Abu Dhabi, the Red Bull driver has won 37 of the 48 races staged, and he is firmly on course to wrap up his fourth title in as many seasons.

07:00 , Jamie Braidwood

The Chinese Grand Prix returns as Max Verstappen starts on pole and Lewis Hamilton takes to the grid in a lowly 18th after his worst qualifying result since 2017.

Hamilton finished second in Saturday’s F1 Sprint - a result he described as his “best in a long time” - but was brought crashing back down to earth when he was eliminated in the opening phase of qualifying for Sunday’s main event.

The seven-time world champion locked up at the penultimate corner on his speediest lap, and he finished in the Q1 knockout zone, leaving only RB’s Yuki Tsunoda and Williams’ Logan Sargeant behind him on the grid.

Verstappen, who is on course to take his fourth consecutive world championship, saw off team-mate Sergio Perez, with Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso third and Lando Norris fourth - ahead of Oscar Piastri in the other McLaren.

Charles Leclerc and Sainz finished sixth and seventh respectively for Ferrari, while George Russell could manage only eighth on a poor afternoon for the Silver Arrows.

Follow live coverage of the Chinese Grand Prix with The Independent