Max third in sprint race China: 'Trying to survive'

Published on 22 March 2025 by Kees-Jan Koster

After Max Verstappen surprisingly qualified his RB21 on the front row on Friday, he lost one position to Oscar Piastri during the sprint race, which was won by Lewis Hamilton, and ultimately finished in P3. On the 5.451-metre-long Shanghai International Circuit, George Russell in his Mercedes and Charles Leclerc in his Ferrari completed the top five. Max's teammate at Oracle Red Bull Racing, Liam Lawson, finished the sprint race in fourteenth place.

"If you look at the points, it is positive," Max says after the sprint race. "I tried to give it a go, and I had Oscar pushing behind me. So, I tried to keep in Lewis’s DRS because that helps a lot on the back straight."

Max continues: "But unfortunately, in the last eight laps we did not have the pace to the others, so I was trying to survive. I take that P3 because even the cars behind me were catching up quite a lot."

Before the sprint race, the Sauber team decided that Nico Hülkenberg would start from the pit lane after making some changes to the setup of the experienced German's car. Lawson benefited from this and gained a position.

The FIA also imposed a €50,000 fine on the Williams team, of which €40,000 is conditional. The team failed to provide images of the rear wings due to missing SD cards. The team assumed the FIA would supply SD cards for the cameras, but this was not the case.

When the lights went out, Hamilton managed to maintain the lead, despite a good start from Max. Lando Norris was the big loser in the first lap. The Brit lost several positions and came through the first lap in ninth position. The top 3 remained unchanged, while we saw George Russell gain a position over Leclerc.

In the opening stages, the gaps between the top three remained about the same. Piastri slowly closed in on the leaders. After six laps, the young Australian was more often than not within a second. Max also began to close in on Hamilton's Ferrari, giving the Dutchman access to DRS.

Halfway through the race, most of the battles were happening in the midfield. The top three remained the same, but Piastri increased the pressure on Max. All the drivers were struggling with keeping their tyres alive. Carlos Sainz even made a pit stop for a new set of tyres. Hamilton slowly pulled away from Max, and Piastri made his first overtaking move at the start of turn one on lap fourteen, which Max managed to defend.

In the final stages, Hamilton stayed out of reach, and Piastri saw an opportunity to pass Max. Behind Max, Russell and Leclerc finished in fourth and fifth respectively. Norris stayed in P8, earning just one point.

Contest GP China: win a by Max Verstappen signed Red Bull Racing 2025 cap!

Results sprint race China: