Credit: Red Bull
Max Verstappen crossed the line to claim his 58th Grand Prix victory – and his first in China– just over 13s ahead of Lando Norris in another dominant display.
The result was never really in doubt after yesterday’s sprint, with the RB20 far superior to any other car in dry conditions.
Many in the paddock felt that coming into this weekend, Ferrari would match up well compared to Red Bull given the fact that the circuit in the past has tendered to give cars issues that the SF24 is often the best adept at dealing with – such as front tyre graining.
But, as the weekend drew on, it became clear that the front tyres weren’t the limiting factor, and instead it was the rears, which helped increase Red Bull’s already big advantage.
And despite two safety cars, which compromised the team’s planned two-stop strategy, the reigning champion remained imperious.
“It felt amazing,” said Verstappen in his post-race interview. “All weekend I think we were incredibly quick.
“It was just enjoyable to drive, on every single compound as well. The car was basically on rails, and I could do whatever I wanted with it.”
“Those kinds of weekends are of course amazing to feel and to achieve basically what we did this weekend is fantastic.”
The Dutchman’s only worry came at the end of the race when he asked the team to check the tyres after he suspected he may have run over a piece of debris on the back straight.
“I mean you always hear noises a little bit, I’ve had it in the past where I have retired close to the end,” he explained.
“There was a bit of debris from a car so I passed it [going] 300 KPH, and when the tyres are old and cold, it can be quite easy to puncture them, so I just wanted to double-check.”
Worrying day for rivals
The result means Verstappen extends his championship lead over teammate Sergio Perez to 25 points, after the Mexican came home a slightly disappointing third because of an ill-timed safety car, meaning he was stuck behind the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc after the restart and therefore couldn’t launch an attack on Lando Norris before the end of the race.
But, it’s a moot point considering the three-time champion’s relentless ability to outperform his teammate every weekend.
Max Verstappen is “writing history”
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner explained Verstappen’s ability to extract the most from the car as “unhuman,” as the Dutchman looks set to clinch a fourth world title come year-end.
“He [Verstappen], is just totally at one with the machine,” said Horner in an interview with Sky Sports F1 after the race. “He has this unbelievable feel and empathy with the car, the grip and the conditions and confidence in himself.”
“He has the ability to understand the tyres and what they need, when they need to be pushed and when they need to be saved.”
“He has this incredible racing brain as well. So yeah, it’s almost unhuman, what he’s capable of and it’s a pleasure to work with.”
“Effectively, he’s writing history.”