Max Verstappen, from the Netherlands, driving for Red Bull Racing, took the lead at the beginning of the race. This happened on April 21, 2024, during the Chinese Grand Prix, which is part of the Formula 1 World Championship. The race took place in Shanghai, China.
Carlos Sainz believes that Charles Leclerc’s defensive move at the start of the Chinese Grand Prix had a clear impact on the race time of both Ferrari drivers. Ferrari expected their stronger race pace to allow Leclerc and Sainz, who started sixth and seventh on the grid, to compete for a podium position. However, Leclerc’s move caused both drivers to fall behind George Russell from Mercedes and Nico Hulkenberg from Haas when they reached Turn 1 on the first lap.
Leclerc took advantage of a Virtual Safety Car period to make a pit stop and secure fourth place with a one-stop strategy. On the other hand, Sainz had to continue without making a pit stop, compromising his race plan. Despite this setback, Sainz managed to salvage fifth place and expressed satisfaction with the result considering the circumstances.
Sainz acknowledged that their pace during the race was not enough to achieve a better position than fifth. He also mentioned the poor start they had, losing two positions in Turns 1 and 2. From that point on, they were playing catch-up. Sainz explained that they had to make an early pit stop to switch to hard tires and then continue with a one-stop strategy from lap 18. He admitted that they pushed the hard tires as much as they could, but it was clear that they were not making significant progress. However, given the car’s performance throughout the weekend and the decisions they made, Sainz believed that fifth place was the best they could achieve.
El incidente entre los dos pilotos de Ferrari durante la carrera Sprint al comienzo del fin de semana fue mencionado, con Leclerc describiendo la conducción de Sainz como «más allá del límite». Cuando se le preguntó si la maniobra defensiva al comienzo del Gran Premio de China fue una retaliación a ese incidente, Sainz optó por no comentar directamente, pero reconoció que les costó dos posiciones y no benefició a ninguno de los dos.
La intervención del Coche de Seguridad acercó a Leclerc a Lando Norris, pero no pudo seguir el ritmo del piloto de McLaren y terminó cayendo detrás de Sergio Pérez. Sainz admitió que McLaren simplemente fue más fuerte a lo largo del fin de semana, tanto en la clasificación como en la carrera. Reconoció que habrá circuitos donde Ferrari se desempeñará mejor y otros donde McLaren tendrá ventaja. Sainz expresó esperanzas en futuras actualizaciones que puedan proporcionar más rendimiento.
