NORRIS SURPRISES HIMSELF AS VERSTAPPEN DOMINATES The British driver shone in second place behind the world champion on a weekend when his McLaren team had expected to struggle
JAKE BOXALL-LEGGE
FORMULA 1
Much has changed in the Formula 1 landscape since the championship last arrived on Chinese shores in 2019. The long-awaited end to that hiatus, extended by the lingering effects of COVID-19 restrictions enforced in the nation, offered a fitting period of introspection to consider how F1 has moved on since. Very different cars aerodynamically now grace the field, while F1’s last visit also coincided with the start of its modern-day boom and entrance into the cultural zeitgeist, rather than sitting on the fringes as a niche sporting discipline. Empires have fallen and risen in that five-year span. The Lewis Hamilton-led Mercedes hegemony feels like a distant memory, compared to the contemporary dominance from Max Verstappen and Red Bull. Case in point: Verstappen had never won the Chinese Grand Prix before this season, his machinery previously never really anything better than the third-best car on the grid at that point. In today’s context, it’s really no surprise that he managed to end that barren spell last weekend.
Neither is it a surprise that he did so with a lead that bordered on the unassailable, even when considering the impact of two safety car periods upon his advantage. Getting a better start than team-mate Sergio Perez probably did about 90% of the work, and those hoping for a first-lap contretemps between them (purely in the hope of pitching their magazine editors a ‘Bulls in a China strop’ headline) were left with a sense of disappointment. There’s always next year.
Perez not only failed to find parity with Verstappen into the first corner, but also found Fernando Alonso cruising around the outside with great momentum. The Spaniard’s Aston Martin scampered from its third-place grid slot like a scalded cat and immediately attempted to disrupt Red Bull, and getting between Verstappen and Perez helped the Dutchman and hindered the Mexican.
But that wasn’t the defining factor in Verstappen’s win; you might argue that turning up to the track on race day was more than sufficient. Facetiousness aside, there were several aspects to consider as expected challengers faltered and those considered out for the count had flattered, owing to the conditions prevalent around the Shanghai
