Verstappen explains late nerves on path to Chinese GP win

Max Verstappen won a disrupted Chinese Grand Prix, after two virtual safety cars led to full safety cars in short order.

The Dutch driver executed both restarts well to rebuild his lead after his initial 25 second advantage had been wiped out.

Having pitted for fresh hard tyres during the first, Valtteri Bottas-induced safety car, the three-time drivers' champion was able to turn 57 grand prix wins into 58, further extending his 2024 points lead to 25 points.

After leading home McLaren's Lando Norris and Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez, the 26-year-old shared his feels on another comfortable victory.

“Yeah, I felt amazing,” Verstappen said when asked how the race had gone from his perspective.

“All weekend I think we were incredibly quick. It's just enjoyable to drive every single compound. As well, the restarts I think we all survived that well.”

'The car was basically on rails'

It was a win that never looked in doubt and marks Verstappen's fourth win from the opening five grand prix of the season - and five from six including Saturday's sprint.

In step with his dominant start to the year, he confirmed how strong his RB20 felt over the weekend, saying: “The car was basically on rails, and I could do whatever I wanted to with it. Those kinds of weekends are of course amazing to feel and to achieve what we did this weekend is fantastic.”

However, that did not stop the Dutchman from getting a little nervous in the closing stages, confirming he was worried he had collected some debris on his tyres.

“You hear always noises a little bit,” he explained.

“Of course, I've had it in the past that I’ve retired quite close to the end. And then yeah, there was a bit of debris I think from a car, and you know when the tyres are getting cold and old, it's very easy to puncture them and I just wanted to double check.”