Max Verstappen, the Red Bull defending champion and three-time world champion, clinched victory in the Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix sprint race on Saturday, starting from the fourth position.
The 26-year-old Dutch driver was followed closely by Lewis Hamilton, the seven-time world champion British driver for
Mercedes, who finished in second place, while Sergio Pérez, driving the other Red Bull car, secured a commendable third place, representing Mexico.
The race began with Lando Norris of McLaren, who started from pole position, having a poor start, slipping in the first corner and falling back to the seventh position. Lewis Hamilton took advantage of a better start to lead the race until halfway through. However, Verstappen, in the second half of the race, which was just over 100 kilometers, managed to overtake Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin, who was in second place at the time, and then Hamilton with relative ease, going on to comfortably win the sprint race.
The battle for third place provided the most excitement towards the end. Alonso, Pérez, along with the Ferrari pair of Carlos Sainz Jr. and Charles Leclerc, fought fiercely for nearly a full lap. Ultimately, Alonso drew the short straw in the constant overtaking battle, sustaining damage to his car, forcing him to retire from the race. Pérez, benefitting from the intense competition ahead of him, advanced to claim the third spot.
This Chinese race marks the first sprint race weekend of this year's calendar, with the top eight finishers earning world championship points: eight for the winner, seven for the second place, six for the third, and so on, down to one point for eighth place.
The starting grid for Sunday's Chinese Grand Prix will be decided in the qualifying session, scheduled for 9 AM Central European Time.