Verstappen eases to China win, Norris second ahead of Perez

Max Verstappen overcame two different Safety Car periods to record another easy win at the Chinese Grand Prix.

Continuing the theme of the year so far, Verstappen was imperious out in front and never looked under threat after holding his lead at the start of the race into Turn One.

His final victory margin of almost 14 seconds over McLaren's Lando Norris still did not reflect the sheer dominance of his win, with a 20-second lead being wiped away earlier in the race due to the deployment of a Safety Car on Lap 24.

- Unlapped: Listen to ESPN's F1 podcast

That mid-race disruption helped Norris break Red Bull's recent habit of one-two finishes, with the McLaren driver turning in a supreme final stint to claim second position.

"I'm surprised, I'm very happy, very happy for the team," Norris said in a post-race interview. "Good pit stops, today it worked out, I don't know how, I wasn't really expecting it.

"I got comfortable, I managed the tyres, It's a lot easier task than yesterday. I could just push the car and it felt great and comfortable so good day, good points and another podium, so very happy."

He continued: "I'm surprised by many things, the lack of pace on the Ferrari, our good pace. Us comparing to the Red Bull was surprising. I wasn't expecting today at all, I got everything to be out early and not be on the podium, its a pleasant surprise but shows the team have done a good job, we're working hard and it's paying off.

"I made a bet to how far behind the Ferrari we will finish today. I thought 35 seconds, I was very wrong with that but I'm happy to be wrong. It's been good day for everyone."

PEDRO PARDO/AFP via Getty Images

---

Verstappen's win, and his sprint race victory on Saturday, has extended his championship lead to 25 points over Perez with five races gone and 18 left to run.

The Dutchman is cruising towards a fourth straight championship win.

Verstappen said: "It felt amazing, I think. All weekend we were incredibly quick and it was just enjoyable to drive, every single compound as well, the restarts I think we survived that well. These kind of weekends are of course amazing to feel and to achieve basically what we did this weekend is fantastic."

Ferrari pair Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz had to settle for fourth and fifth ahead of Mercedes driver George Russell.

Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso provided some late entertainment in what was a fairly flat grand prix, charging past old rival Lewis Hamilton and a handful of other cars after a late tyre change -- Alonso finished the race in seventh.

McLaren's Oscar Piastri was unable to replicate Norris' heroics in eighth, while Lewis Hamilton recovered from a poor qualifying for ninth.

Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg continued his super season with the final point on offer in 10th.

China's first F1 race since 2019 did not provide a thrilling spectacle, although there was jeopardy at mid-distance when Sauber's Valtteri Bottas stopped at Turn 11.

Marshalls struggled to remove the car from the circuit, prompting the deployment of a full Safety Car, which bunched the field up and threw plenty of strategy plans by the wayside.

The restart on Lap 27 did not last for long, with a clumsy Kevin Magnussen move on Yuki Tsunoda leading to contact between the pair and sending the Safety Car back out.

Tsunoda was eliminated from the race and Magnussen limped back to the pits for repairs.

Shortly before that restart Aston Martin's Lance Stroll squandered a near certain points finish, driving into the back of RB's Daniel Ricciardo's as the pack slowed and bunched together ahead of the restart.

Stroll had to pit and Ricciardo joined teammate Tsunoda in retiring a few laps later due to the damage to his car.

To add a further set-back for Ricciardo, the stewards gave the Australian a three-place grid penalty for the next race in Miami, and two penalty points on his superlicense for overtaking Hulkenberg under safety car conditions.

Stroll and Magnussen were both given 10-second penalties for the respective incidents, which will be scant consolation to the RB team.

Stroll continued in the race but finished at the back of the field.

Zhou Guanyu, China's first F1 driver, finished in 14th.

After the race, the Sauber driver joined the top three in parking in a specially designated spot on the start-finish straight, allowing an emotional Zhou to lap up the applause of his home crowd.