Max Verstappen of Red Bull won the Chinese Grand Prix with relative ease.

Despite a safety car coming out in the middle of the race, the Dutchman won easily, and Lando Norris finished ahead of Sergio Perez’s other Red Bull.

Charles Leclerc of Ferrari in fourth place and Carlos Sainz in fifth place completed the top five, edging out Mercedes driver George Russell and Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso in sixth and seventh place, respectively.

Although he had trouble finding his pace during the race, Lewis Hamilton overcame his subpar qualifying to finish tenth.

Henry Clark of Mail Sport evaluates a few of the Shanghai winners and losers.

Victors

Max Verstappen: 9

The Dutchman had an almost flawless weekend as he increased his lead in the drivers’ standings with a strong victory at the Shanghai International Circuit.

After a challenging qualifying round, Verstappen triumphed in the sprint race and went on to dominate the remainder of the weekend.

Although some people may grow weary of seeing the same old results in races, Verstappen’s tenacity is admirable.

You believe it is reasonable to state that, even after just five races, it will take a remarkable circumstance for this successful machine to fail to win a fourth straight world championship.

His inability to set the Grand Prix record for quickest lap is the only thing keeping him from receiving a perfect ten.

Lando Norris: 8.5

A consequence that no one anticipated, not even Norris.

Given the difficulties of this track, few anticipated the British driver’s McLaren to be competitive, but he put on an incredible drive to take second place ahead of Sergio Perez.

The fact that Norris had to bounce back from giving up pole position and placing sixth in the sprint race to lead the field for the best of the rest title on Sunday is what made his performance even more remarkable.

Six Lewis Hamilton: 6

A turbulent weekend for the seven-time world champion, to put it mildly.

As he finished second in sprint race qualifying and held onto that position in the main event, Hamilton provided an early reminder of why he is thought of as one of the sport’s top operators in the wet.

However, Hamilton qualified 18th for this morning’s race after a poor qualifying session on Saturday.

Even though it took him some time to get up through the field, he finished in ninth place, which was a respectable result in a race where limiting damage was the main strategy.

He barely makes it into the winners enclosure on this list after that heroic rescue attempt.

Those who fail

Aston Martin

Fernando Alonso: 5

Lance Stroll: 2

Alonso showed some impressive moments in Shanghai, but after qualifying in third place, he ended up in seventh place, which will upset him.

Given that George Russell and Mercedes were able to finish ahead of him, his outcome will be more painful.

Although Stroll, a teammate, started the week off brightly in the first session, that was about where the good things ended.

He crashed into Daniel Ricciardo’s back on a sloppy driving maneuver, ending Ricciardo’s race early and sending Stroll limping home in 16th place.

Ricciardo Daniel – 4

Stroll’s shunt was unavoidable, but it felt like a hugely wasted chance for the under-pressure Australian, who appeared headed for his first points finish of the year.

He did better than his RB teammate Yuki Tsunoda in qualifying, which was a first for this season. Sadly, circumstances outside his control prevented him from capitalizing on that edge.

Carlos Sainz – 6

Although the Spaniard has received high praise for his efforts this season, his performance this past weekend was by far his weakest of 2024.

After sending his car for a spin in qualifying, Sainz waited until late to sneak into Q3, and he was unable to get past Charles Leclerc, his Ferrari teammate, in the race.

Though not a bad weekend by any means, it was unimpressive by Sainz’s own high standards.