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The Mexican pilot Sergio ‘Checo’ Pérez (Red Bull) celebrated its “strong” weekend today after achieving a third place in it Chinese Grand Prixalthough “the double would have been better” with his teammate, Max Verstappenwho emerged as the winner.
The Shanghai event is the fifth day of the world Championship after Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Australia and Japanand precedes the Miami Grand Prixwhich will be held on May 5 and will be the second weekend with a ‘sprint’ format of the season after, precisely, that of China.
F1: How was the race in China today?
“We have reached the podiumbut it would have been better the double“, indicated ‘Checo’ after the race, reflecting on a “strong weekend” in which, however, “we have not read the conditions perfectly.”
“We were missing some rhythm with the middle“We have had problems with balance,” explained the Mexican driver, surpassed today only by Verstappen and the British Lando Norris (McLaren).
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At a press conference, Pérez regretted having had to use his tires more than he would have liked in his battles with the Monegasque. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)who finished 4th, and with the Spanish Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin), who stole second place at the start but finished 7th.
Like other pilots, the Mexican criticized the duration of the two exits from the ‘safety car’ during the race: “It cost us a lot. We lost two positions and it was difficult to fight like that, because the life of the tire drops drastically.”
‘Checo’ closed with bronze a weekend in which he did not have a break: from doing ‘aquaplaning’ in the sprint race classification to come back to finish third in the reduced competition, and to be on the verge of being eliminated in the first qualifying round (Q1) yesterday – “It was almost there”, he acknowledged – to start in the front row after finally achieving the second best time.
Verstappen wins for the first time in China
The Dutch pilot Max Verstappen (Red Bull) reiterated today that its car is “getting better” after taking victory, for the first time, in the Chinese Grand Prix.
The current world champion assured that it was “a very strong weekend”, in which he had “amazing” sensations: “It was very pleasant to drive with all the compounds, the car was on rails and I could do whatever I wanted with it.”
Verstappen joined the critics with the length of the two safety car exits: “It was less fun (…), more strategies would have been seen.”
Despite his victory – he was also the best in the sprint race and in the classification – the current leader of the general classification claimed to have had certain problems: “I had a crash on the second restart (after the safety car left). ) and two laps in I passed over some debris in turn 14, it would have been easy to have a puncture.”
YELLOW FLAG AGAIN! 🟡
Tsunoda causes a yellow flag after leaving the track due to a blow he received from Magnussen. And another incident between Stroll and Ricciardo!
And once again Safety Car 😳 #F1xFSMX pic.twitter.com/IXiIyAkO7l
— FOX Sports MX (@FOXSportsMX) April 21, 2024
In any case, the triple world champion ended up getting almost 14 seconds ahead of second placethe British Lando Norris (McLaren), the only one to opt, along with the Ferraris, for a one stop strategy.
Verstappen won his first Chinese Grand Prix, which only suffered in the ‘sprint shootout’ due to rain that did not appear today, he broke two records this weekend: he conquered the 100th pole for Red Bull and became the first driver since the Finn Mika Häkkinnen (1999) to qualify first in the initial five days of the year.
Looking ahead to the next race, in Miami, he noted: “It should be a good race for us, I am excited about an intense weekend.”
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