Max Verstappen of the Netherlands, driving for Red Bull Racing, took the lead at the beginning of the race. This occurred 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 maneuver at the start of the Chinese Grand Prix had a clear impact on both Ferrari drivers’ race time. Ferrari had hoped that their stronger race pace would allow Leclerc and Sainz, who started from sixth and seventh on the grid, to compete for a spot on the podium. However, Leclerc’s move caused both drivers to fall behind George Russell of Mercedes and Nico Hulkenberg of 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 his stint without making a pit stop, which compromised 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 Turn 1 and 2. From that point on, they were playing catch up. Sainz explained that they had to pit early for the Hard tire and then continue with a one-stop strategy from around Lap 18. He admitted that they pushed the Hard tire as far as they could, but it was clear that they couldn’t make significant progress. Nevertheless, given the performance of the car throughout the weekend and the decisions they made, Sainz believed that fifth place was the best they could achieve.
The incident between the two Ferrari drivers during the Sprint race earlier in the weekend was brought up, with Leclerc describing Sainz’s driving as “over the limit.” When asked if the defensive move at the start of the Chinese Grand Prix was a retaliation to that incident, Sainz chose not to comment directly but acknowledged that it cost them two positions and didn’t benefit either of them.
The Safety Car intervention brought Leclerc close to Lando Norris, but he couldn’t keep up with the pace of the McLaren driver and eventually dropped behind Sergio Perez. Sainz admitted that McLaren was simply stronger throughout the weekend, both in qualifying and the race. He acknowledged that there will be tracks where Ferrari will perform better and others where McLaren will have the advantage. Sainz expressed hope for future upgrades that could provide them with more performance.