Perfect Day For Max Verstappen In Shanghai

It was a perfect day at the 2024 Chinese Grand Prix for Max Verstappen, with the Dutchman winning the Sprint race in the morning, then following it up by securing pole position for Sunday’s main race.

His teammate Sergio Perez qualified in P2, locking out the front row for Red Bull, who took their 100th pole position in Formula 1.

Max Verstappen

“The start of the Sprint was a bit tricky for me because the other drivers on the grid had new tyres, so for the first lap they had a bit more grip than I did. My battery was also completely empty, so I had to do a few changes on the wheel to try and get it back up, but once that was all sorted out the pace was good, I was able to look after my tyres well. Ahead of qualifying we changed the fittings on the car and they worked out really well, so I’m very pleased with that. It looks promising for the race, we were strong in the Sprint, but of course there is a lot of information that the other teams can analyse now, so I don’t expect it to be completely straightforward.

“For the race tomorrow I think that the wind direction could have quite a bit of influence on the balance of the car, but if we do a similar performance to today then I will be very happy. Overall, it was a very good Saturday, I couldn’t have really wished for more.

“We celebrated the Team’s 100th pole today with Checo at the front of the grid with me in P2. Naturally starting from pole will help and although it isn’t always a guarantee, it does make life a bit easier. The support in Shanghai has been great, there are a lot of fans in the grandstand and it has been a while since we have raced here, so I’m very happy to be back and looking forward to tomorrow.”

Sergio Perez

“I was happy with the Sprint result in the end this morning, unfortunately it took me a lot of laps to get by the Spaniards and once I got by, it was just too late to get Lewis. Going into qualifying we did a lot of set up changes and I couldn’t get a good read of the car throughout. It was quite a messy qualifying session, we had a bad Q1 with some traffic. My first proper run was my second in Q2 and Q3 didn’t feel perfect either, but I think we managed to learn throughout qualifying and get into a better rhythm. In the end, it was a good one for the Team, I am very happy to have locked out the front row on the day we got our 100th pole. We have a lot better understanding of the car at the moment and that is continuing to pay off. Hopefully we can put on a good show for the Chinese fans who haven’t had Formula One here for a lot of years.”

Christian Horner

“A fantastic qualifying to close out an outstanding day from the Team. The track was evolving quickly today and it was a great performance from both drivers. Max dominated in both sessions, picking up in qualifying right where he left off after his win in the Sprint and Checo did a great job also. He has come into this season with a new frame of mind, he is relaxed while maintaining full focus on the task at hand and that shines through in his performance and delivery; exactly where he needs to be. The win in the Sprint, locking out the front row and securing our 100th pole, fifteen years after our first pole at this very track is really a performance to be proud of. Tomorrow is a different day of course but for now we enjoy today and can reflect on a continued strong effort from the Team both here and back at Milton Keynes. Truly a job well done.”