Max fourth in Chinese Grand Prix: 'The longer we drove, the better it went'

Published on 23 March 2025 by Florence Cobben

Max Verstappen has come fourth in the Chinese Grand Prix. The world champion, after a difficult start, manage to climb his way back up through the grid and maximize his result. Oscar Piastri won the race from pole position, followed by McLaren-teammate Lando Norris and Mercedes-driver George Russell.

Over the team radio, Max tells his race engineer: “The end was not too bad, the beginning was quite tough. But yeah, that was good. Some fun racing too at the end. Let’s analyse everything. I think the last few laps were competitive, that’s for sure.”

After the race the world champion explained his start to the Dutch media: “I just had no grip. I wanted to go around the cars in front, but I kept oversteering. I couldn’t rely on the tyres. So after I didn’t want to take too many chances with my front wing. In the end it was the right call, because with how I was driving in the first stint they would’ve overtaken me anyway.”

Regarding the first stint, Max says: “I drove the first stint as the team asked me too, in terms of saving the tyres. We were too slow, but at least I did what they wanted. The problem is the race ahead quickly runs away from you. The second stint was also difficult; the tyres somehow got too warm and then you can’t attack. But the longer we drove, the better it went compared to the other teams. So, there’s something to be positive about. In the closing stages we had more pace, so there’s positive feelings here, and some hope.”

The high point of the race was Max’s overtake on Ferrari-driver Charles Leclerc. He says: “I saw that he had a lot of oversteer, so I tried to force him into a position where he would have to defend in turn two, because he then couldn’t make the apex anymore. So, I could then go around him in turn three.”

Finally, some comments for the performance of the team: “We just have to get to work. We know that we’re not as strong as other teams, we just have to get to work.”

As the lights go out and the Chinese Grand Prix gets underway, Max has a difficult start. He loses two places to Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton's Ferraris. Leclerc and Hamilton have contact, causing the Monegasque to lose part of his front wing. Meanwhile, Norris almost immediately passes Russell, slotting in behind the race leader.

Max focuses on managing his tyres and loses more and more terrain to the drivers in front of him. By lap fourteen, Max is five seconds behind Leclerc. It’s at this point Max dives into the pits. The four-time world champion has an efficient pit stop, lasting only 2.2 seconds. In the laps following, the rest of the grid follows suit, also heading in to change their tyres. Russell also has a good stop, passing Norris, but only a couple of laps later Norris takes the place back. Max begins his new stint on hard tyres, first passing teammate Liam Lawson, then he passes by Oliver Bearman and Lance Stroll. By lap 21, the Dutchman is in sixth place with a three second gap to Hamilton, who has swapped with Leclerc.

Max’s new stint shows his calibre. By lap 37 he’s in two seconds distance from Hamilton, but any track battle is postponed as the Brit is called into the pits. A handful of other drivers, too, elect for a second pit stop, but some engineer-driver duos are heard discussing a one stop strategy. Russell and Piastri seriously consider the option. With Hamilton in the pits, Max is promoted to P5.

With just ten laps to go, more and more drivers commit to the one stop strategy, contrary to the expectations of Pirelli. Max also chooses for the one stop. The world champion loses less than a second a lap compared to Hamilton, who will have to distance a fifteen-second gap to catch up to Max. Max, too, is hunting down the driver ahead, trying to cross a three-second gap. With just five laps to go, Max is in Leclerc’s rearview mirrors. In lap 53 the battle between the Red Bull and Ferrari drivers commences – Max pulls his car alongside Leclerc’s in turn one, crosses back over in turn two, and is ahead by turn three. With this beautiful overtake manoeuvre, Max claims fourth, maximizing his result in the Chinese Grand Prix. Piastri is first across the finish line and wins the third Grand Prix of his career. Norris wrestled his car to second, having to manage a braking issue right up to the finish line. Russell completes the podium.

After the race, Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) and Pierre Gasly (Alpine) were disqualified because they did not comply with the regulations. Leclerc’s and Gasly’s cars were found to be too light and Lewis Hamilton had too much wear on the skid blocks. These are titanium blocks under the car that are supposed to protect the plank from damage. Due to the disqualifications, Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) and Carlos Sainz (Williams) move into the top ten, which means they still take points home.

Results Grand Prix China: