Chinese Grand Prix tips: Verstappen to win again, Mercedes to perform better

Red Bull secured a 1-2 in Japan with Max Verstappen coming out victorious, making this the third front row finish of the year for the Austrian team.

Mercedes will likely perform better in this race as they have a history of good results at this track, where they are driving for the first time in five years.

Charles Leclerc may challenge his team-mate Carlos Sainz for the bottom step of the podium as the Monegasque had strong sprint weekends last year.

Here are Planet Sport's best tips for the Chinese Grand Prix.

 

Max Verstappen to win the Chinese Grand Prix and sprint

Verstappen won at Suzuka for a third consecutive year and is in high spirits to add more wins to his roster.

The last time the Dutchman drove in China in 2019 he finished in fourth, and has had many top five finishes as well.

He got a podium here back in 2017 when he finished in third, so he has a good history at this track before he became a world champion. He has also finished in the top 10 at every race in Shanghai except for his first in 2015 where he didn’t finish.

Verstappen and Red Bull will hope to suit the characteristics of this exciting track, with its two long straights helped by DRS and the super-high g force Turns 7-8 enjoyed by the drivers.

This is a track that highly depends on the car, so it’s unlikely for the dominant RB20 to struggle this race weekend at the hands of a three-time world champion.

 

Mercedes to perform better

Mercedes will hope to be the third best team this race weekend behind Red Bull and Ferrari, after struggling in Japan behind McLaren and Aston Martin.

Lewis Hamilton in particular has won here six times (in 2008, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2019) and been on the podium nine times, showing his talent here.

The seven-time world champion will be keen to outperform his team-mate George Russell who has only raced in Shanghai once in 2019 with Williams.

Both drivers will wish to score as many points as possible as they are just one point ahead of Aston Martin who are fifth in the constructors’ championship.

According to Formula 1, Team Principal Toto “Wolff insists that is a positive sign as it moves Mercedes closer to unlocking the pace they believe they should have, and they’ll look to deliver another step forward after the most recent data analysis back at the factory”.

He will hope that the track characteristics of the Shanghai International Circuit will better suit the W15 as it has a mix of speeds (low, medium and high) and corners (tight and wide).

Charles Leclerc to outperform Carlos Sainz

The Chinese Grand Prix is the first sprint race of this year out of a total of six this F1 season.

Leclerc had some great sprint weekends last year, either scoring poles or podiums

In the first sprint race of 2023 at Baku, Leclerc got pole (as well as for the main race) and finished in second, slotting in between the two Red Bulls. Therefore, he will hope to replicate or improve on this result in Shanghai.

Furthermore, at the sprint race in the US in Austin, Texas he finished third. Despite later being disqualified from the main race and finishing lower than he qualified (in second) in the sprint, tire degradation was a massive problem for Ferrari last year.

They have greatly improved on this issue in 2024, so Leclerc will hope to challenge near the front and not lose positions.

The Monegasque will be eager to beat his Spanish team-mate who has outperformed him at every race so far, except for when he couldn’t drive in Jeddah due to undergoing surgery for appendicitis.

He acknowledged his poor qualifying in Japan and had a great comeback race to finish in fourth from eighth on the grid.

He has said he will improve this historical strength of his rather soon, so I don’t doubt he will have a great race weekend in China.

 

Suggested bets:

Verstappen to win the Chinese GP

Leclerc podium finish

Leclerc to win the sprint