2024 Chinese Grand Prix

The 2024 Chinese Grand Prix (officially known as the Formula 1 Lenovo Chinese Grand Prix 2024) was a Formula One motor race that was held on 21 April 2024 at the Shanghai International Circuit in Shanghai, China. It was the fifth round of the 2024 Formula One World Championship and the first Grand Prix weekend of the season to utilise the sprint format. It was also the first Chinese Grand Prix since 2019 as the planned races from to were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.

Lando Norris of McLaren took sprint pole position in a heavily rain-affected sprint qualifying. Ultimately, both races were won by Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing, who also took pole position for the main race. Zhou Guanyu became the first Chinese Formula One driver to compete at his home race. Norris finished second in the main race, his 15th career podium, while Verstappen's Red Bull team-mate, Sergio Pérez, finished third, taking his final podium in Formula One and, , the most recent podium finish achieved by a Mexican driver.

Background

The event was held at the Shanghai International Circuit in Shanghai for the 17th time in the circuit's history, and for the first time since the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the country, across the weekend of 19–21 April. The Grand Prix was the fifth round of the 2024 Formula One World Championship and the 17th running of the Chinese Grand Prix.

Championship standings before the race

Ahead of the weekend race, Max Verstappen led the Drivers' Championship with 77 points, 13 points from his teammate Sergio Pérez in second, and 18 from Charles Leclerc in third. Red Bull Racing led the Constructors' Championship with 141 points, separated from Ferrari by 21 points and from McLaren by 72, in second and third, respectively.

Entrants

The drivers and teams were the same as the season entry list with no additional stand-in drivers for the race. Zhou Guanyu of Sauber became the first Chinese driver to compete at his home Grand Prix.

Tyre choices

Tyre supplier Pirelli brought the C2, C3, and C4 tyre compounds (the middle three in their range) designated hard, medium, and soft, respectively, for teams to use at the event.

Sprint format

The weekend was the first of six in the season to follow the sprint format. The FIA was criticised by some drivers for choosing to run the sprint format at a venue that had not hosted a Formula One race for some years, with drivers concerned that one practice session would be insufficient for them to sufficiently prepare.

Practice

The only free practice session was held on 19 April 2024, at 11:30 local time (UTC+8), and was topped by Lance Stroll of Aston Martin ahead of Oscar Piastri of McLaren and Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing. A brief red flag period was observed after a patch of grass at the side of the track in turn 7 caught fire.

Sprint qualifying

Sprint qualifying was held on 19 April 2024, at 15:30 local time (UTC+8), and determined the starting grid order for the sprint.

Sprint qualifying report

In a session heavily affected by rain, Lando Norris of McLaren took sprint pole position ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso. Norris' pole position time was initially deleted due to a track limits violation at turn 17 in the preceding lap. However, the time was reinstated, as track limits violations at turn 17 did not result in an automatically invalid lap time (as defined by the race director's notes), and analysis showed that Norris lost time by exceeding track limits. This marked a second consecutive sprint pole for Norris having also achieved sprint pole at the 2023 São Paulo Grand Prix.

The start of the second segment of sprint qualifying (SQ2) was delayed after the same patch of grass that was burned during practice again caught fire. In SQ3, Sauber drivers, Zhou Guanyu and Valtteri Bottas saw their first appearances in the final segment of any type of qualifying for the season, with Zhou going on to qualify 10th and Bottas in 9th.

Sprint qualifying classification

Sprint

The sprint was held on 20 April 2024, at 11:00 local time (UTC+8), and was run for 19 laps.

Sprint report

Verstappen won the sprint ahead of Hamilton and Verstappen's teammate Sergio Pérez. Sprint polesitter Norris dropped down to sixth behind Leclerc and Sainz of Ferrari in fourth and fifth, respectively. Alonso, who started in third, retired from a puncture after a collision with Sainz.

Following the sprint, Alonso was given a ten-second penalty for the collision.

Sprint classification

Notes
* – Fernando Alonso was classified as he completed more than 90% of the sprint distance. He also received a post-sprint ten-second time penalty for causing a collision with Carlos Sainz Jr. The penalty made no difference as he was already classified in the last position.

Qualifying

Qualifying was held on 20 April 2024, at 15:00 local time (UTC+8), and determined the starting grid order for the main race.

Qualifying report

Verstappen set the fastest lap time in all sessions, earning Red Bull Racing's 100th pole position in their history. He was joined by teammate Pérez in the grid's front row ahead of Alonso and Norris in third and fourth respectively. The session was red-flagged in Q2 after Sainz spun out to the barriers in the last turn, breaking off his front wing and was able to continue but change for a new one until Q3 started. Hamilton exited in Q1 for the first time since the 2022 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

Qualifying classification

Notes
* – Logan Sargeant qualified 20th, but was required to start the race from the pit lane as his car was modified during parc fermé conditions.

Race

The race was held on 21 April 2024, at 15:00 local time (UTC+8), and was run for 56 laps.

Race report

Logan Sargeant started the race from the pit lane after his Williams team broke parc fermé conditions. As the race began, Fernando Alonso moved his Aston Martin ahead of Sergio Pérez of Red Bull Racing to slide into second place behind the other Red Bull Racing of Max Verstappen, who proceeded to create a large gap. Pérez soon regained the position as brief contact between Nico Hülkenberg of Haas and Alonso's Aston Martin teammate Lance Stroll was observed and investigated by stewards. A similar instance between Alexander Albon and Pierre Gasly of Alpine was also investigated.

The drivers began their first routine pit stops on lap nine. However, Pierre Gasly pulled away from his box sooner than expected, before all four tyres were fitted, causing an engineer to fall over. While no major injuries were reported, Alpine was fined €10,000 after the race for the unsafe procedure. While Max Verstappen made his stop, Lando Norris stayed out, allowing him to briefly inherit the lead of the race. Soon, Valtteri Bottas' Sauber ground to a halt, his engine expiring as he went into turn 11. Marshals struggled to move the car as it appeared to be stuck in gear, facilitating double-waved yellow flags before it was decided that a virtual safety car period was required. During this period of time, numerous drivers who had not yet made their pit stops opted to change their tyres as the virtual safety car period transitioned into a full safety car period. During this period of time, drivers decided to box once more, with Zhou Guanyu in particular suffering a slow stop.

The safety car was called in on lap 26. During the restart, Alonso locked up into turn 14, creating a concertina effect which culminated into Lance Stroll hitting the rear of Ricciardo's car, pitching it upward from the impact and pushing it into the McLaren of Oscar Piastri. Both Ricciardo and Piastri suffered major damage to their diffusers, with the former being forced to retire a few laps later. Piastri carried on but with reduced performance. Stroll was given a ten-second penalty and two penalty points by the steward. In an interview following the race, Ricciardo, who had a chance to score his first points of the season, revealed that he was displeased with the crash, criticising Stroll's lack of responsibility regarding the incident. After the restart, RB's Yuki Tsunoda was sent into a spin by Kevin Magnussen in turn 6. Tsunoda suffered terminal rear-right damage and retired on the spot, and marshals also had trouble moving the car. Magnussen continued and completed the race at 15th place, but was demoted to 16th after being given a 10-second penalty for causing the collision Stewards investigated a safety car infringement involving Sargeant and Hülkenberg, penalising the former with a ten-second penalty.

The two incidents facilitated a second safety car period, with drivers opting to change their tyres once more; Alonso took the soft tyres over hards, so he had to stop once again later on to swap to mediums. Ricciardo overtook Nico Hülkenberg during this safety car period; stewards imposed a ten-second penalty for Ricciardo, turned into a three-place grid drop as he could not serve the penalty, in the following Miami Grand Prix. The safety car period ended on lap 31, with Verstappen leading the race ahead of Norris and Charles Leclerc of Ferrari. During this period, Alonso's car snapped at the final straight, but swiftly recovered to gain DRS, and Stroll and Magnussen, who both had ten-second penalties, had a brief battle for sixteenth. Stroll won the battle after he passed Magnussen on the first two turns. Meanwhile, Zhou and Gasly battled against Sargeant, with Gasly displeased with Sargeant's defence. Zhou passed Magnussen to finish fourteenth in his first home race and received a celebratory parking spot in his honour after he finished.

The race was won by Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing, with Lando Norris behind him and Verstappen's teammate Sergio Pérez completing the podium. Fernando Alonso achieved the fastest lap of the race.

Race classification

Notes
* – Includes one point for fastest lap.
* – Kevin Magnussen finished 15th, but received a ten-second time penalty for causing a collision with Yuki Tsunoda.
* – Logan Sargeant received a ten-second time penalty for overtaking Nico Hülkenberg under safety car conditions. His final position was not affected by the penalty as he was classified last.

Championship standings after the race

;Drivers' Championship standings

;Constructors' Championship standings

* Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

References

External links

{{F1GP 2020–29

China
Grand Prix
Chinese Grand Prix
2024