Chinese Grand Prix: Max Verstappen wins first Formula One sprint race of season, then bags pole on dominant day
- World champion overcomes power issues to ease past Lewis Hamilton and Sergio Perez in morning’s short race
- Grabs first place on the grid ahead of Red Bull teammate Perez and Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso
Triple world champion Max Verstappen took pole position on Saturday for the Chinese Grand Prix, 0.322 seconds ahead of Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez with Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso third.
Verstappen clocked a fastest lap of 1 min 33.660 sec to cap a perfect day after earlier cruising to a sprint race victory at the Shanghai International Circuit.
“The car worked even better in qualifying,” said Verstappen, who recorded the Red Bull team’s 100th pole position and his first in China.
“That final lap felt pretty decent and very happy to drive here in the dry, it was a lot of fun.”
Lando Norris will start on the second row in his McLaren alongside Alonso for Sunday’s race, the first grand prix to be held in China since 2019 because of Covid-19 pandemic restrictions.
Oscar Piastri was fifth fastest in the second McLaren ahead of the Ferrari pair of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, with George Russell’s Mercedes eighth.