Verstappen denies Hamilton victory during Chinese GP Sprint race

Max Verstappen claimed another Sprint race victory ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Sergio Perez.

The 26-year-old moved back to the top of the pecking order during Saturday’s Sprint race at the Shanghai International Circuit. The Dutchman started the race on P4 but cruised to a commanding victory.

Verstappen steadily worked his way up the order passing race leader Lewis Hamilton in the 9th lap.

Pole-sitter Lando Norris was looking for his first F1 race victory but ran off track during the first lap allowing Hamilton to take the lead. The Brit lost several places and was out of contention for a win. Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso has helpless against a charging Verstappen, who passed him with ease. A few laps later, Hamilton made an error, which allowed Verstappen within DRS range.

The Dutchman passed his old rival and won yet another Sprint race.

Having won the sprint race, the Red Bull driver then set pole a few hours later during qualifying. Verstappen clocked a best time of 1m 33.660s in the decisive Q3 phase to finish a couple of tenths clear of Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez, with Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso a tenth-and-a-half further back in third.

Verstappen passes Hamilton to claim another Sprint victory

The Dutchman said the car felt good after claiming his fifth pole of the year.

“From my side it’s been a really good start to the year and I feel probably very confident in qualifying, even compared to last year. It’s just a shame of course that we retired in Melbourne otherwise I think we could have had already a very strong lead, but overall it’s still a great start,” he said.

Unlike Verstappen, Hamilton struggled during qualifying and failed to make it out of Q3. The seven-time F1 champion will start 18th on the grid for the Chinese GP.

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