Verstappen passed
He will be the favorite to win Sunday's Chinese Grand Prix, which is the fifth race of the season. Verstappen has won three of the first four GP races and 22 of the last 26.
The sprint — F1 will run six this season — is about one-third the distance of a full race. The winner gets eight points with seven for second, six for third and so forth.
Saturday's race was run on a dry track, unlike the wet and slippery qualifying session on Friday.
Verstappen likened the sprint qualifying on Friday to “driving on ice.” Verstappen was among several drivers who ran off the track in a chaotic, wet session exacerbated by the track, itself.
The track is the great unknown going into Sunday's race. This is the first Formula 1 race in
Two small grass fires broke out on at the edge of the track in Friday practice. The circuit was built on a marshy area, and a methane gas leak in suspected.
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AP Formula 1: https://apnews.com/hub/formula-one
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