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F1 Chinese GP Live Commentary and Updates – Race
Minute-by-minute updates for the 2024 Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix.
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After five years away, F1 has returned to Shanghai and with it the first sprint race format of the 2024 season.
Following Max Verstappen’s Saturday double of the sprint race win and pole position for the grand prix, can anyone catch him and Red Bull?
The Chinese GP starts at 8am BST (3pm local time).
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Pit stop
Alonso and Russell pit together, both taking fresh hards, with the Aston coming out in 10th and Russell out in 11th.
Leclerc dives up the inside of Piastri at Turn 14, using DRS, to grab fifth place.
All is calm out at the front, as Verstappen's lead ticks over 8s at the start of lap 12.
Sainz is all over the back of Russell for seventh on the road, the Mercedes struggling for tyre grip at this stage. Russell does well to hold on for now.
Hamilton has moved onto the mediums but the undercut has seen him drop to 19th. That's not ideal.
"That was the worst tyre, man."
"That was the worst tyre, man."
Stroll faces no further action for his move on Hulkenberg as he pits. Bottas, Ocon, Albon and Hamilton also stop after the trio triggered the window a lap previous.
Sainz, meanwhile, is told by his Ferrari engineer that he is on Plan B.
Zhou, Tsunoda and Hulkenberg have all pitted - that's early.
Sauber completes a three-second stop, that's more like it.
Sauber completes a three-second stop, that's more like it.
Leclerc uses DRS down the start/finish straight to pull alongside Russell and hangs on to it around the outside to take sixth place. Great move.
Verstappen is still building his lead gradually, it is up to 7s on Perez at the start of lap nine, with Norris 3.1s off Perez.
And in behind, Bottas has replicated that move to take 10th from Hulkenberg.
Norris, with DRS, dives by Alonso into Turn 14 to take third place off the Aston on lap seven.
Alonso is going really wide through the opening corners trying to protect his tyres but that is inviting Norris on to him. The McLaren driver is just half a second back.
The final points-paying place is up for grabs and Bottas is hounding Hulkenberg for it. A jink to the inside at the hairpin was well covered by the German - no change for now.
Verstappen's lead is 5.4s over Perez at the start of lap six, while Alonso will shift focus on to both McLarens behind him.
Hamilton's made a lovely move through Turns 7 and 8 to get past Magnussen's Haas. P17 is his.
Replays show the Ferrari's forcing each other off the road at the first corner, no wonder Russell found his way through.
On lap five, Perez makes his move, diving up the inside at Turn 6 to take second off Alonso. The Aston Martin was really pushing and punishing his tyres, so he might not fought that one thinking of the long game.
After the slow start, Ferrari duo Leclerc and Sainz have stabilised to sit within DRS range of Russell and Piastri. Stroll isn't far behind on softs but the stewards are looking at his move on Hulkenberg.
Perez hasn't been able to size up a move on Alonso even with DRS. The Mexican was likely to be the biggest threat to Verstappen for the win, but he's losing so much time stuck behind the Aston.
Finally, a move forward for Hamilton as he dispatches Zhou in the mid-sector. Magnussen's next.
Verstappen adds another full second to his lead at the end of the second lap. It is already 2.6s. Everyone else can wave goodbye to Max now.
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Hamilton team radio: "I'm making no ground with this tyre."
His voice sounded resigned to the fact this will be a long race.
His voice sounded resigned to the fact this will be a long race.
Perez has settled himself in third and should be able to take on Alonso given he'll have DRS and the Aston Martin driver will not. But that wasn't an issue for Alonso when he was defending during the sprint.
Hulkenberg had made his way past Sainz at the start but the Ferrari driver picks off the German into Turn 1 to begin the second lap - that's P8.
Verstappen leads by 1.6s at the end of the first lap when DRS is enabled - but Alonso is already out of range. Oh my.
Not the best of starts for Hamilton though. The Mercedes driver has fallen to 19th.
Russell has also made a mega start to jump both Ferraris to move up to sixth.
Green flag
Verstappen gets away well to keep the lead, while Alonso goes around the outside of Perez to take second.
Verstappen makes his way back to pole position on the grid for the start... here we go...
Everyone is away cleanly so the focus is on tyre and brake preparation for the start. The noise from the crowd is really impressive - five years away but China's passion for F1 hasn't disappeared.
Lights green
Verstappen leads away the formation lap.
Verstappen reports a bit of drizzle on the grid as the tyre blankets are taking off the cars. But the rain-o-meter said a 10% chance, that usually means zero.
Tyres: Stroll, Hamilton, Tsunoda and Sargeant each start on the softs, Magnussen starts on the hards and everyone else starts on the mediums.
The grid is cleared to leave the drivers with only their thoughts for the final few minutes before the formation lap.
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Weather report: There's a 10% chance of rain, but it is dry and cloudy right now. The air temperature is 18.9C with the track at 30.9C - a fraction higher than yesterday's action.
There's some late and very urgent repair work going on to Alonso's car floor edge. Not ideal with less than 10 minutes to go until lights out.
Leclerc has two fresh sets of mediums and two fresh sets of hards, more than anyone else, so he can go any which way. That probably means Ferrari has Plan A to Z for this race, which often isn't so good.
National anthem time: A lively and upbeat rendition sung by a children's choir wearing shiny jumpsuits. But due to the noise nobody can hear them. 5/10.
By: Autosport Staff
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