The world champion won the Shanghai Sprint by 13 seconds over Hamilton.
Formula One standings are now led by a Red Bull driver by 15 points.
Max Verstappen, a three-time world champion for Red Bull, won the opening sprint race of the Formula One season on Saturday at the Chinese Grand Prix. In the 19-lap race at the Shanghai International Circuit, Verstappen defeated Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton by a margin of 13.043 seconds, increasing his lead in the championship over third-place finisher Sergio Perez.
On the ninth of 19 laps, Verstappen overtook Hamilton and extended his advantage to maintain his dominance in Formula One across all categories. Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz of Ferrari came in fourth and fifth place, It was really frantic in the first few laps, Verstappen added. “The car handled pretty well once I got in the lead, After winning three of the first four Grand Prix races of the season, the 26-year-old will be the favorite to win Sunday’s Chinese Grand Prix, the fifth race of the season. In addition, Verstappen has won 22 of the last 26 races.
In the Shanghai Sprint, Verstappen and Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin started on the second row, behind Lando Norris of McLaren and Hamilton.
The first of six sprint races in the Formula One season, the sprint is around one-third the length of a full race. Eight points are awarded to the winner, with seven going to second, six to third, and so on.
In the driver standings, Verstappen gained eight points for winning the Chinese sprint, moving him up to 85 points, while Perez continued to hold second place with six points.
Hamilton, a seven-time champion, was somewhat relieved to finish second because he hasn’t played a significant role in the race in a number of seasons. His final Formula One victory came in the second-to-last race of the season in Saudi Arabia in 2021.
Hamilton remarked, “I forgot what it felt like to be out ahead.” “It was comfortable for the brief moment I had it. I felt appreciative of the present.
The qualifying session on Friday was wet and slick; in contrast, the sprint race on Saturday was held on a dry track. Verstappen compared Friday’s sprint qualifying to “driving on ice” after a number of drivers, including the Dutchman, went off the course during a wild, rainy session that was made worse by the track conditions.
Before the first Formula 1 race in China in five years, the track is a big uncertainty. A thin layer of liquid asphalt, referred to as a “seal coating,” has been put to the circuit. Prior to the event, F1 tyre supplier Pirelli indicated it was not entirely aware of the adjustments.