P1racenews AI automatic summary:
F1 Chinese GP: Verstappen dominates as Norris splits the Red Bulls
Following his historic achievement of securing Red Bull’s 100th pole position on Saturday, Verstappen dominated the race in Shanghai, unchallenged since 2019 and skillfully navigating two safety car restarts in the middle of the race. Leading comfortably from the start, he established a significant lead over Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin. However, the safety car interventions due to incidents involving Valtteri Bottas and Yuki Tsunoda momentarily disrupted Verstappen’s momentum. Despite these interruptions, Verstappen maintained his composure and controlled the race, ultimately crossing the finish line with a 13.7-second lead over Lando Norris. Norris, who executed a strategic pit stop under the virtual safety car, secured second place ahead of Sergio Perez. Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz impressed by making a one-stop strategy work, finishing fourth and fifth, respectively. George Russell briefly pressured Sainz but eventually had to settle for sixth place, while Alonso’s late stop for soft tires did not yield a top-ten finish as he struggled against competitors on worn hard tires.
