Sam Bird admitted that he is ‘concerned’ with one thing the BBC pundit saw from Red Bull driver Max Verstappen during the F1 Sprint at the 2024 Chinese GP this Saturday.
The Jiading District has welcomed Formula 1 back to East Asia for the first time since 2019. It is also the stage of the first F1 Sprint of the 2024 season. But the F1 Sprint at the Chinese GP yielded the same result as four of the six events over 2023 as Verstappen won with Red Bull.
Verstappen totally dominated the pinnacle of motorsport en route to his third successive F1 drivers’ championship last year. He won four of the six Sprints and 19 of the 22 Grand Prix to register a record tally of 575 points. The 26-year-old is already on 93 points in 2024, as well.
Sam Bird is ‘concerned’ with how Max Verstappen won the F1 Sprint at the Chinese GP
Red Bull have seen Verstappen claim the victory at the Bahrain GP, the Saudi Arabian GP, the Japanese GP and, now, the F1 Sprint at the Chinese GP to start the 2024 campaign. He even made light work of beating Lewis Hamilton for the win in Shanghai during the 19-lap Sprint.
Verstappen only qualified in fourth place during the rain-soaked SQ3 session on Friday with Lando Norris taking pole position. Yet Hamilton running the McLaren driver out wide at the start gave the Red Bull driver third. Fernando Alonso even did not defend from him over P3.
READ MORE: 5 unforgettable Chinese GP moments including Schumacher’s last win in F1
Overtaking Hamilton for the lead of the F1 Sprint at the 2024 Chinese GP was also light work for Verstappen. The Mercedes racer hardly defended from his fierce rival as Verstappen took the inside line into the Turn 14 hairpin. Verstappen then built a strong lead to Bird’s sadness.
McLaren Formula E driver Bird said on BBC Radio 5 Live (20/4 04:25). “I’m concerned at just how quickly Verstappen has disappeared from Lewis Hamilton and the chasing pack.”
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen has won with a big margin every time in 2024
Verstappen overtook Hamilton for the lead on Lap 9 of the 19 and eventually took the finish 13 seconds clear. The Red Bull racer was even able to open the advantage without requiring his Mercedes rival to lose any time fighting for his runners-up finish as he ran unchallenged.
Red Bull also got a double-podium finish with Sergio Perez seizing third place. The 34-year-old took the chequered flag 15 seconds behind Verstappen, as well. While Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg was the last finisher in P19 a massive 49.630s behind Verstappen after 19 laps.
Verstappen will now look to enjoy a similarly dominant win in the Chinese GP on Sunday. He even won the Bahrain GP by 22.457s to his Red Bull teammate and the Saudi Arabian GP by 13.643 after Perez’s five-second time penalty. Verstappen won the Japanese GP by 12.535s.
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