Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton took the lead at the start, when pole sitter Lando Norris (McLaren) slowly pulled away from the starting line. After battling with Hamilton in Turn 1, Norris slid wide and off the track, losing another five places.
Promoted to third, Verstappen bided his time from the start, then overtook Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) and Hamilton to secure another F1 victory.
F1 Chinese GP sprint results
2024 F1 Chinese GP Sprint Race Report
Pole sitter Norris briefly led the charge into the first corner, but he was unable to stop the fast-starting Hamilton from taking the lead. Norris ran wide trying to counter, which allowed Alonso, Verstappen, Carlos Sainz (Ferrari), Sergio Perez (Red Bull) and Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) to also get ahead of him.
Hamilton led the first lap ahead of Alonso, Verstappen, Sainz, Perez, Leclerc, Norris – who lost six places in total – and Piastri.
Hamilton moved out of range of Alonso’s DRS on lap four, with Verstappen complaining of a flat battery early in the third. Sainz put pressure on him from the start before falling back to Perez.
Verstappen DRS overtook Alonso for second position on lap seven and immediately pursued Hamilton.
Hamilton locked himself into the hairpin on the next lap, allowing Verstappen to close quickly. He overtook him a lap later in the same place.
Verstappen then took a dominant victory, while Perez worked hard to overtake Sainz. Leclerc then attacked Perez several times in the hairpin.
Sainz fought his way past Alonso but his fellow Spaniard fought back, gifting Perez third place. The Ferraris collided at the hairpin before Leclerc overtook Sainz at Turn 2, after Alonso was forced to pit with a puncture – and was ultimately forced to retire due to damage.
Hamilton fell more than 12 seconds behind Verstappen, but stayed ahead of Perez to cross the line in second.
Leclerc finished fourth but was visibly angry with Sainz, while Norris chased Sainz for sixth, ahead of Piastri and George Russell (Mercedes), who started on softs.