1 month ago
Formula 1 returned to Shanghai for nan first clip since 2019.
Max Verstappen was successful a convention of his own, successful a expansive prix punctuated by 2 mid-race information cars successful speedy succession.
BBC Sport's main F1 writer Andrew Benson answers your questions aft nan Chinese Grand Prix.
Is it nan car aliases nan driver? If you swapped Max Verstappen pinch personification for illustration Nico Hulkenberg, wherever would they finish? - Becky
This year’s Red Bull looks apt to spell down arsenic 1 of nan top Formula 1 cars successful history - arsenic will its 2 contiguous predecessors. And it’s clear that immoderate apical driver would triumph successful it.
But that’s not to opportunity that everyone could make winning successful it look arsenic consummately easy arsenic Max Verstappen does. And nan Dutchman’s team-mate Sergio Perez is nan grounds for that.
Last year, Verstappen won 19 of nan 22 races. But Perez was 2nd down him successful only 4 of them - which is simply a beautiful stark statistic.
This year, which has started pinch Red Bull looking - if thing - moreover much ascendant than past year, Perez has been 2nd down Verstappen successful 3 of his 4 wins, and grounded to capitalise erstwhile nan Dutchman retired successful Australia.
To reply nan mobility astir Hulkenberg, he and Perez were reasonably evenly matched erstwhile they were team-mates astatine what was Force India, though Perez vanished up successful nan title successful 2 of their 3 seasons together, and scored podiums which Hulkenberg has ne'er managed.
Of course, location are respective amended drivers connected nan grid than Perez, who would each triumph successful a Red Bull if they were successful it alternatively than Verstappen - Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso, Charles Leclerc, George Russell, Lando Norris, Carlos Sainz and possibly others, too.
But Verstappen is operating astatine an highly rarefied level astatine nan moment, and everyone successful F1 recognises it. So, nan reply to, is it car aliases driver, is - it’s both.
Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,Max Verstappen leads nan 2024 championship, 25 points up of team-mate Sergio Perez
What needs to hap successful F1 to bring backmost nan times erstwhile it was competitory and unpredictable? After a life of joyousness it’s now boring - Shaun
It’s existent that location is very small competitory jeopardy successful F1 astatine nan infinitesimal - Verstappen seems capable to triumph from beautiful overmuch anyplace connected nan grid.
Red Bull’s rivals person hopes of being capable to adjacent nan spread complete time. But realistically, it’s highly apt Verstappen will predominate nan adjacent 2 seasons and it will return until nan caller chassis and motor regulations are introduced successful 2026 for immoderate meaningful change.
Is Lance Stroll bully capable for F1? Yet different incident successful China and wholly outperformed and outclassed by his team-mate - Kevin
Lance Stroll intelligibly made a awesome correction successful ramming nan backmost of Daniel Ricciardo’s RB astatine a information car restart successful China. But he is usually a perfectly competent F1 driver who decidedly has talent - for example, his rod position for Racing Point successful nan bedewed successful Turkey successful 2020.
Having said that, astir successful F1 would work together that connected a ranking of existent drivers he would beryllium towards nan bottom, and it’s besides adjacent to opportunity he has had 7 years to beryllium himself and he would astir apt not person a thrust if his begetter was not a billionaire who owned nan squad for which he races.
As for being out-performed and out-classed by his team-mate, yes, that’s a adjacent comment. But his team-mate, Alonso, is exceptional, to opportunity nan least.
Stroll mightiness not person beaten a team-mate successful F1 different than Sergey Sirotkin astatine Williams backmost successful 2018, but he has compared overmuch amended against each nan others - including Sebastian Vettel - than he has against Alonso.
Where do you deliberation Williams will extremity up agelong term? After seemingly making immoderate advancement past play it again feels different measurement backwards - John
It’s a spot early to opportunity Williams person gone backwards. Last year, they vanished seventh and aft 5 races of this year, they are eighth. They person not scored a constituent yet, but they person had a very difficult commencement to nan year.
Team main James Vowles took a consequence by going into nan play without a spare chassis - which was a usability of nan organisation being stretched by his desire to bring it up to date, which severely needed doing. It spot him, because nan drivers kept crashing nan car.
Vowles is simply a agleam feline pinch a clear imagination for what he wants to execute pinch Williams. But it should not beryllium underestimated conscionable really overmuch activity is required to move them into a genuinely modern F1 team.
With Lewis Hamilton going to Ferrari adjacent year, will he person a realistic chance of winning Grands Prix again? - Chris
At nan moment, fixed nan comparative competitory positions of Ferrari and Mercedes, Hamilton’s prime seems for illustration a perceptive one.
Whether he tin triumph again will dangle wholly connected 2 things - tin Ferrari nutrient a competitory car successful nan clip he is driving for them, and will he beryllium faster and amended than Charles Leclerc?
No-one knows nan answers to those questions yet.
What does nan early look for illustration for Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu, pinch Audi targeting different drivers? - Miles
Not great, frankly. Sauber will morph into Audi successful 2026, and beryllium taken complete by nan German car institution successful nan people of this year.
Chief executive serviceman Andreas Seidl is chasing Carlos Sainz, pinch Nico Hulkenberg besides a consideration. Valtteri Bottas besides has a chance of being kept connected - he is simply a very coagulated performer.
Zhou Guanyu is not expected to beryllium retained. But he has plentifulness of fund successful which different squad mightiness beryllium interested. But that’s only a might.
Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,Sauber drivers Valtteri Bottas (left) and Zhou Guanyu (right) look uncertain futures pinch nan team
In first qualifying, why do teams nonstop drivers retired truthful precocious that they only person 1 thigh to get a accelerated capable time, particularly Mercedes? Lewis was 18th successful China - Janet
Tyres are constricted successful qualifying and, if a driver wants to person 2 caller sets of soft tyres for nan apical 10 shootout, he cannot usage 2 caller sets successful some qualifying 1 and 2 - he does not person enough.
He has to either usage a utilized group for his first tally successful Q2 (or Q3) aliases usage a group of mediums for a first tally successful Q1. Or conscionable do 1 tally successful Q1 aliases Q2.
But that’s not what happened to Hamilton. He simply made excessively galore mistakes, locking his beforehand wheels into nan Turn 14 hairpin.
This was influenced by a tailwind location that day, but arsenic Hamilton said: “It was not my champion qualifying.”
Changes to nan set-up he had chosen arsenic an research to effort to further Mercedes’ knowing of their car did not help.
